SAMMAMISH, Wash. -- If you want anything more from a golf tournament -- heck, from any kind of sporting event -- than what the KPMG Women's PGA Championship delivered Sunday, your expectations require a reality check.
On a sunny afternoon at Sahalee Country Club, where Hall of Famers Vijay Singh and Bernhard Langer had won majors, Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko and Ariya Jutanugarn starred in an instant classic that needed an extra hole before it was over.
It was a Hall of Fame-type shot by Henderson that decided the playoff over Ko after they tied at 6-under-par 278, one stroke ahead of Jutanugarn, a 7-iron to three feet from 155 yards to set up a winning birdie on the 412-yard 18th hole.
Ko was going for her third major championship victory in a row, but Henderson secured her first instead. She became the third Canadian major champion, joining Sandra Post (1968 LPGA Championship) and Mike Weir (2003 Masters).
"Walking down the fairways, they were yelling my name," Henderson said. "But on [the last hole] they were just yelling 'Go Canada.' And that was kind of a surreal feeling. I really can't put words to it."
The roars and applause moving through all the tall Douglas firs and Western red cedars that frame the holes at Sahalee were one explanation for a dramatic final nine, which began with Ko holding a three-stroke lead but developed into a back-and-forth showdown to rival some of the best conclusions in major history.
"The way the noise echoed here was really cool," Henderson said. "I'd never really experienced that before. And then a lot of those cheers ended up being for me, which was even cooler."
Another way to tell the story is the relevant numbers. Henderson, 18, shot a closing 65. Ko, 19, closed with a 67. Jutanugarn, 20, bidding for her fourth straight victory, finished with a 66.
When Henderson sank a 13-foot putt to complete a scrambling par on the final hole of regulation, Jutanugarn, stretched out, leaning against her bag while lying down in the fairway, applauded. It harkened to Fuzzy Zoeller waving a white towel after Greg Norman sank a long putt at Winged Foot during the final round of the 1984 U.S. Open. When Henderson won the playoff, Ko clapped before she hugged her.
"I just got outplayed," said Ko, who was full of praise for Henderson. "For Brooke to shoot 65 on the final day of a major at a course like this, it's very impressive. And in the playoff hole, for her to take the 'Tiger line' just right of the left trees, and then going right for the pin from the perfect yardage, she just played great."
Henderson's scrambling par and winning birdie on the 18th hole were far from her only highlights. She changed the complexion of the championship on the 506-yard, par-5 11th hole, where a good second shot left Henderson in good position short of the green, 90 feet from the flagstick.
Putting uphill through about 20 feet of fringe, Henderson gauged the right-to-left eagle effort perfectly even after having to reassess where she was aiming when a spectator in the gallery that she was targeting moved as she got over the ball.
"I was going, 'OK, I'm not aiming at him anymore,' " Henderson said. "To have it go in was incredible. I was just trying to nestle it up and make sure I made birdie. That was a huge momentum-changer for me."
The eagle got Henderson within a shot of Ko, who had stiffed approaches on the first and fourth holes to set up easy birdies and added another one from eight feet on the difficult par-4 eighth. Ko made a birdie on the 11th, but Henderson, playing two groups ahead, sank a five-foot birdie on No. 13 to get back to within one.
Henderson pulled into a tie with a 36-footer for a 2 on the par-3 17th hole. Ko had a much easier attempt -- and a chance to give herself a touch of breathing room -- after hitting her tee shot to five feet at the water-guarded par 3 but couldn't capitalize.
"I'm not really sure if I pushed it," Ko said. "I didn't feel it was a bad stroke. So maybe I misread it a little bit. But I've been putting really solid in that range, especially on the second day. So I can't really fault that one as the key. Brooke just made a great putt on the 18th for par. And for her to do that, you kind of get the feeling maybe it's her day."
Henderson has been looking up to Ko for a while, using her for motivation. When Henderson played in her first Canadian Women's Open at age 14, she thought it was quite an achievement until Ko, who was only 15, won the tournament.
"I thought I was doing well, then she showed me that there was much more," Henderson said. "And it definitely really has helped me to be better and to believe in myself, too, just watching her."
Starting the 2015 LPGA season without exempt status, Henderson used weekly qualifiers and sponsor exemptions to carve a spot for herself on tour, and the native of Smith Falls, Ontario, won the Cambia Portland Open.
The youngest winner of the Women's PGA (formerly the LPGA Championship), Henderson will jump to No. 2 in the Rolex Rankings, right behind Ko, thanks to this victory. This won't be the last time the two talented teens have a memorable afternoon.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool we're both coming on to the stage," Henderson said. "I hope we have lots of extra holes and lots of times where we're contending for the championship."
That would be cool -- for them and everyone else.