Henderson Maintains Lead in Swinging Skirts Classic


Despite carding an even-par 72 Saturday, 17-year-old Canadian Brooke Henderson stayed atop the leaderboard at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic. The 72-hole LPGA Tour event began Thursday at Lake Merced Golf Club Daly City, Calif.

Henderson carded three birdies and three bogeys to enter Sunday's final round at 9-under 207, a stroke ahead of South Korean Min Sao Kwak (69) and American Morgan Pressel (67).

Trailing by three is No. 1-ranked Lydia Ko, who had a 71, while four back are China's Shanshan Feng and No. 3 Stacy Lewis, who also carded 71s.

"Overall, it was a great day and I'm really happy to be where I am," said Henderson, who broke the tournament record with a 65 Saturday. "If someone told me at the beginning of the week I would be leading going into the final round, I would have taken it."

Ko knows she has some work to do to catch Henderson, who's seeking her first victory in only her second start since turning pro in December. "Obviously, I would love to be a little closer, but it was tough out there," said Ko.

"Even when you've got 2-footer, you're still thinking about it because of the wind. I just need to make a couple birdies (Sunday) and give myself a good chance."

The New Zealander, who turned 18 on Friday, has been impressed with Henderson's performance so far. "I saw the leaderboard, and every time it's there, even though we played a couple tough holes, she wasn't losing shots. She was gaining shots," Ko said. "Shows how strong she is in her mental game, too."

In seventh place at 212 is So Yeon Ryu (71), and one stroke further back are Germany's Sandra Gal (71) and South Korea's Sei Young Kim (70).

For all the scores, visit http://www.lpga.com/leaderboard.