Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson set for U.S. Women’s Open showdown

The fireworks celebrating America’s birthday may be over for another year, but the pyrotechnics on the LPGA Tour between world No. 1 Lydia Ko and hard-charging second-ranked Brooke Henderson promise to scorch the earth for some time to come.

The two teens enter this week’s U.S. Women’s Open on fire. Ko, 19, continued her incandescent, three-win 2016 with a three-shot victory in Arkansas two weeks ago, while 18-year-old Henderson went wire to wire to cap a sizzling, four-shot triumph at the Cambia Portland Classic on Sunday.

Not bad for the young Canadian’s inaugural title defense.

“To try to defend a championship for the first time and to be able to do it, I think, is a really big deal,” said Henderson, who became just the third golfer -- along with Hall of Famers Annika Sorenstam and Kathy Whitworth -- to go back-to-back in the event.

“That’s amazing,” Henderson said. “They were two incredible women that did amazing things out on the golf course, and in their lives. To be in the same sentence and to be acknowledged alongside them is very, very cool.”

Ascending to such heights is new for Henderson.

“It’s pretty crazy to think I am the No. 2-ranked player in the world,” Henderson told SFGate recently. “I still have one more spot to climb over, and it’ll take a lot of work to pass Lydia.”

Of course, breathing such rarefied air is somewhat ho-hum for Ko, who has clinched nearly every “youngest ever” mark in golf. Indeed, on paper, there would appear to be no contest between the 13-time tour-winning Kiwi by way of South Korea and her younger challenger.

To start, there are those 13 regular-season wins to three for Henderson, who, just a year ago, was not even a member of the tour. Like Ko, though, Henderson took the LPGA by storm, winning the Portland tourney in 2015 by a blistering eight strokes to earn her tour card.

This time around -- like Ko and other greats of the game -- Henderson eked out a W even without her “A” game. Getting off to a smoking start, with a 7-under 65, Henderson added a 68 in the second round and ended the weekend with 70-71.

“I think I’ll get a lot of confidence knowing that I can compete against the best in the world when I don’t necessarily have my best game,” she said.

Certainly, Ko has won with less than her best, but the stats for the young woman who has held the top spot in the Rolex Rankings for 37 straight weeks are A+.

Henderson, in just her sophomore year on tour, has two wins and an additional nine top-10 finishes in 18 starts this season. Despite entering five fewer events, Ko outpaces Henderson in year-to-date earnings ($1.8 million to $1.3 million).

Not the longest hitter out there, at 117th, Ko is a controlled, cerebral player who relies on a short game that has her sixth in the league in greens in regulation and sand saves, and first in putting average and putts per GIR.

Henderson, second to Ko in the rankings since mid-June, proved Sunday she can scheme with the best of them. But she goes after the ball with the swashbuckling aggressiveness of someone who’s 12th in driving distance and 111th in accuracy off the tee.

And then there are Ko’s two major titles to Henderson’s one -- but that one was a doozy. No. 2 came on strong down the stretch at the Women’s PGA Championship last month to close with a final-round 65 and tie the world’s most dominant player.

Henderson went on to beat Ko on the first extra frame by sticking her approach shot and cleaning up with a clutch, three-foot birdie putt.

“Getting the major championship win just a couple weeks ago in Washington and knowing that I can win a major championship was definitely a huge momentum changer, confidence boost,” said Henderson, whose torrid 2016 has launched her into the stratosphere previously reserved for Ko. “And then coming off a win here, I think it’s really is going to give me a lot of confidence. I know U.S. Open, it takes a lot of skill, patience, and I’m really excited for it.”

No doubt, so is Ko, who relishes her burgeoning rivalry with Henderson.

“I think this is great for the women’s game and the LPGA,” Ko said after her PGA loss. “There were a lot of juniors out there, so maybe a few of them got inspired by seeing us play.”

Juniors and the rest of the golf world will see them play together along with 2014 Kraft Nabisco champion Lexi Thompson in at least the first two rounds of the Women’s Open at CordeValle.

Each member of the marquee trio is going after her first Women’s Open win. Thompson has two top-10 finishes in nine starts in the contest, while Henderson’s best result in three tries was a T5 in 2015.

This week will mark the fifth Women’s Open start for Ko, who has steadily improved from a T39 in her first appearance in 2012 to a T12 last year.