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TSN Senior Reporter

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It’s hard to comprehend what Brooke Henderson just did, hard to put into words the accomplishment.

At 18, the Smiths Falls Sensation captured a tournament that a teenager isn’t supposed to win. And she did it by beating another teenager in a playoff.

Henderson’s victory over Lydia Ko at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is easily one of the greatest moments in Canadian golf. That’s not hyperbole, it’s simple fact. In her first full year on the LPGA Tour, she grabs a major, taking down 19-year-old Ko, the world’s No.-1 ranked player. Only two other Canadians have won majors and both are icons of the sport in our country.

We all knew that Henderson was good, but this good? This quickly? She hasn’t even been a pro for two years. Heck, she can’t even buy a drink in most bars.

What Henderson did is simply remarkable; how she did it could be even more stunning. She did what 18-year-olds aren’t supposed to do. I know 18-year-olds who can’t clean their room, let alone top the golf world.

In the blaze of a Sunday afternoon, in the thick of one of the biggest tournaments in golf, she stayed patient, while others around her were faltering. She stuck to her game plan when the leaderboard told her to press. And she pulled off an amazing array of clutch shots.

Take your pick as to which one will be remembered as the shot that led to victory.

Was it the 90-foot eagle putt on the 11th?

Or maybe the 40-footer for birdie on 17?

It could easily be the up-and-down out of the sand that included a 10-foot par putt on 14.

My vote might go to the par putt on the 18th. After a poor drive bounded into the woods and a second shot hit overhanging branches, she calmly lofted a wedge to 12 feet and dropped it in, centre cup.

The first two shots in the playoff were vintage Brooke. An aggressive line off the tee with her favourite club, the driver, set up a perfect angle into the green. A seven-iron to three feet more or less closed things out.

It was an afternoon you will remember. You’ll remember where you were, who you were with. You will remember how you jumped up off the couch when that putt on 17 found the bottom of the cup. You’ll remember how you screamed when her second shot in the playoff landed and stopped so close to the hole.

Canada even paused from watching the Stanley Cup - the Stanley Cup!! - to follow Henderson’s final holes.

Last night, as we watched in our rented home in Pittsburgh, Pa., where we were setting up for coverage of the U.S. Open, a Facetime call came in. It was TSN’s James Duthie from San Jose where he was covering the Penguins and Sharks. It was mid-game but he didn’t care. He couldn’t get Golf Channel on a TV in the press box. We turned the phone to the TV where we were and he watched the final putt.

Like Mike Weir’s playoff win at Augusta or Sandra Post’s title in this same tournament back in 1968, one she only claimed after an 18-hole playoff over legend Kathy Whitworth, this moment for Henderson is one that a country shared with her. From one side of the country to the other, Canadians sat glued to their TVs, sharing a moment that doesn’t come very often.

And you know Henderson’s happy to share. Although she’s still young, she realizes her place as a beacon for fans, those who are hard-core golfers and those who are merely sports lovers, who like to see a Canadian succeed. And she is graceful in her acceptance of the praise, wise to the effect she can have with a smile or a high-five or a Tweet sent at the right moment. That effect exploded yesterday and will continue to do so for years to come, I expect.

For the last year or so, I’ve asked countless times as to just how good I thought Henderson could be. We now know the answer. Check that: I think we now know the first part of the answer. This woman is just getting started. I think we should be ready for more of this. A lot more.