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Henderson shoots her way into contention with sizzling 67 and that was just the start for Canadians in Cambridge.
CAMBRIDGE, ONT.— Canada’s Alena Sharp shot her second straight 66 at the Manulife LPGA Classic on Friday to move into a share of the clubhouse lead at 12-under-par 132. American Lexi Thompson and South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim were tied with Sharp while Perrine Delacour of France and American Lindy Duncan were one shot back.
Sharp, from Hamilton, double-bogeyed the third hole at Whistle Bear Golf Club. She came back with an eagle on the par-5 ninth and had a run of three straight birdies on the back nine.
Shanshan Feng of China moved to 10 under with a 69. She was tied with Bronte Law of England and Minjee Lee of Australia.
Canadian Brittany Marchand shot a 70 to make her first career LPGA Tour cut. The full-time Symetra Tour player from Orangeville, Ont., opened with a 67 and was five strokes off the lead.
Canadian star Brooke Henderson was six shots off the pace. She re- bounded from a pedestrian opening round by firing a 67. Henderson started a run of four straight birdies on the ninth hole and played bogeyfree the rest of the way.
“That was the day that I needed,” she said.
With just a few groups left on the course, Delacour had the low round of the day with a blistering 62. It was the lowest score at the tournament since three players shot 63 when the tournament moved here in 2015.
South Korea’s Inbee Park (2014) and Hee Young Park (2013) share the tournament low of 10-under-par 61. Both scores were recorded at the Grey Silo Golf Course in nearby Waterloo.
Suzann Pettersen of Norway had a 71 to move to 9 under while fellow first-round co-leader Mi Hyang Lee of South Korea remained at 8 under with a 72.
Conditions were warm and breezy and preferred lies were in effect for the second straight day.
Henderson, one of the longest hitters on tour, was crushing the ball off the tee during Thursday’s opening round but struggled with the putter. She was visibly frustrated with her short game at times and didn’t speak with reporters after signing her scorecard.
“I played really well yesterday, I hit a lot great shots, I just didn’t make any putts and my energy kind of dropped a little bit,” Henderson said. “Today I was able to get a few tap-in birdies that were only at three or four feet and that gave me a lot of confidence.
“I felt like I could make any putt out there.”
The world No. 15 from Smiths Falls, Ont., has had a rather quiet season after a huge year in 2016.
Henderson won her first major title last year and reached No. 2 in the world rankings.
The 19-year-old is still looking for her first victory this season. She has just two top-10 finishes over 13 events.
Augusta James of Orangeville, Ont., had a 73 to fall to 1-under 143, which was near the projected cutline. Maddie Szeryk (78-67) of London, Ont., and Maude-Aimee LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que., (74-71) were expected to just miss the cut at 145.
Play continues through Sunday, with a $1.7-million U.S. purse up for grabs.