Brooke Henderson continues to lead the LPGA event at Lake Merced with Morgan Pressel one shot behind.
Two teenagers who represent the LPGA Tour’s future figure to compete Sunday with a woman who represented the tour’s future almost a decade ago.
That’s the compelling story line heading into the final round of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic at Lake Merced Golf Club.
After bogeying the final two holes Saturday to settle for an even-par 72, 17-year-old Canadian Brooke Henderson is at 9-under, one shot ahead of Morgan Pressel and Min Seo Kwak.
In fourth place, three shots back, is the world’s top-ranked player and the tournament’s defending champion, Lydia Ko. She turned 18 on Friday and shot 71 on Saturday.
Pressel vaulted into contention with Saturday’s best round, a 67 in blustery conditions. Pressel, who turns 27 next month, hasn’t won on the LPGA Tour since 2008.
A year earlier, at age 18, she became the youngest player to win a major title, the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
So, if there’s anyone who can relate to what Henderson and Ko are doing — and enduring — it’s Pressel.
“To think that that was me is kind of crazy,” Pressel said. “I’ve certainly never had nearly the success Lydia has had, and she’s handled it all with an incredible smile and extreme poise. …
“She and Brooke both bring tremendous tenacity and fire. They know they can do it. They step up to that tee and there is no fear.”
Henderson called Pressel her “biggest role model” and fondly remembered meeting Pressel in Ottawa when Henderson was all of 8. The two later played together in the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open.
“Ever since then, she’s been very kind to me,” Henderson said of Pressel. “I’ve still always been a little nervous around her because I’ve looked up to her my whole life, but I’m really looking forward to” playing alongside her Sunday.
Ko recalled the first time she met Pressel, in a practice round at the 2012 Australian Open.
“I was just going to tee off, and then she came and she said, ‘Can I join you?’ ” Ko said. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God, yes.’ We played a couple of holes and I got her autograph.”
Pressel dealt with an injury to her left thumb in 2012. She took cortisone shots to no avail. The injury bothered her for about a year — and caused pain throughout her arm — until a physiotherapist diagnosed a nerve in her neck as the root of the problem.
Pressel espouses the “when you’ve got your health, you’ve got everything” mantra.
“I’m just really enjoying the moment, really enjoying the competence that I have,” said Pressel, who added that she’s “certainly enjoying being able to practice without any pain.”
Improved health didn’t immediately turn into improved results for Pressel. Take, for example, how she fared at Lake Merced last year. After an opening-round 69, she went 76-79-76 to finish at 12-over and tied for 68th.
“I remember standing over every tee shot last year thinking that the fairways are about 5 yards wide,” Pressel said. “I spent a lot of time in the trees.”
Pressel has responded lately. She finished third, a shot out of a playoff, in the ANA Inspiration this month. She’ll be in the final group Sunday, with Henderson and Kwak, whose 69 on Saturday was punctuated by an eagle at the par-5 ninth. She holed out a 52degree wedge from 88 yards.
Seven years from her last title, Pressel talked about how special a victory at Lake Merced would be.
“It would mean the world to win, for sure,” Pressel said. “All I’ve been trying to do is put myself in position. I know I’m capable of it, and I certainly will need a good round.
“But whether it’s this week, next week, within the next month, I just feel really good about where my game is headed.”