Henderson Continues to Impress


Even though she doesn't have full-time LPGA Tour status, Brooke Henderson continues to show she belongs among the elite players. The 17-year old Canadian followed up her opening 2-under 69 with a 65 to take the 36-hole lead at the North Texas Shootout. The $1.3 million LPGA Tour event began Thursday at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas.

Henderson the 2013 Canadian Women's Amateur champion and runner-up at last year's U.S. Women's Amateur before turning pro, carded three birdies on the front nine and three more on the back to reach 8-under 134, a stroke ahead of South Korea's Inbee Park (66) and Juli Inkster.

The 54-year-old Inkster, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame since 2000 thanks to 31 victories, including seven majors, came into the second round tied for the lead with Cristie Kerr and Sydnee Michaels after with a 66. On Friday, the California native carded four birdies and two bogeys for a 69.

Park, ranked No. 2 in the Rolex Ranking behind Lydia Ko, recorded five birdies Friday.

Henderson finished third in last week's Swinging Skirts Classic, a stroke out of a playoff involving eventual winner Ko and Morgan Pressel. Despite her high finish, Henderson still had to qualify on Monday to earn a spot at Las Colinas. That was difficult as she was forced to fly overnight from San Francisco to Texas.

"I hit a lot of good shots," Henderson told reporters after the second round. "My putter was really working. I had a lot of birdie opportunities, and I was able to make a lot. I made a really long putt on 16, which really kept the momentum going, and it was lucky, too. I hit it pretty hard and it hit the center of the cup and went in, and that's always nice.

"On the back nine, my driver struggled a little bit, and I was able to hit some great shots out of trees and under limbs and everything and able to keep it going."

The Ontario teen added that her experience at during the Swinging Skirts Classic at Lake Merced Golf Club has given her a big boost in the Lone Star State. "Last week definitely helped out a lot, finishing solo third and having a chance to win on Sunday was a lot of fun, and I definitely learned a lot from it.

"And then I had to Monday qualify earlier in the week, so I just sort of kept the momentum rolling. A decent round yesterday. It could have been a little better, could have been a little worse, and then today - I'm happy with today's round, but there's a long way to go."

Inkster is seeking her first title since the 2006 Safeway International in Portland. The veteran hopes to continue her fine play over the weekend and will see what happens. "I'm just not counting my chickens before they hatch," the mother of two grown daughters said.

"I mean, I've got a lot of golf left and there's a lot of great players out there, and everybody is kind of bunched up. You know, they wanted a shootout, that's probably what they're going to get."

Park, a 13-time LPGA winner who had three victories last year and won the HSBC Women's Champions in March, birdied three of the final four holes to rise into a tie for second. "I think a couple birdies on the last two holes will definitely help going into the weekend, and I know how this golf course plays because I won here a couple years ago. So yeah, I mean, I'm still going to need to shoot a couple good rounds, but yeah, I feel like I'm in good shape," the 26-year-old from Seoul said.

Trailing Henderson by two shots are a pair of South Koreans - Mi Hyang Lee (66) and Hee Young Park (67), France's Karine Icher and American Lexi Thompson, who both shot 69s.

Michaels followed up her 66 with a 76 to drop into a tie for 47th at even-par 142 with, among others, defending champion Stacy Lewis, who's shot rounds of 69 and 73.

After struggling in the opening round with a 75, Ko rebounded with a 68 to head into Saturday at 143.

For updated scores, visit http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/volunteers-of-america-north-texas-shootout/leaderboard.