LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea left the mistakes to everyone else down the stretch in the LPGA Tour season opener.

Ji managed a strong wind and temperatures in the 50s on Sunday by making three birdies on the back nine to pull away and close with a 1-under 70, giving her a two-shot victory in the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.

Ji got her mistakes out of the way early, opening with two bogeys to fall behind Lydia Ko. The 32-year-old South Korean took the lead for good with a birdie on the 10th hole at Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons, and she stayed in front the rest of the way.

“It was a little bit chilly for me today. My body was a little bit tight on first tee, so I just pulled a little bit, and I made a bogey,” she said. “I made a bogey again second hole. I was like, ‘OK, wait a minute. I need to play this.’ But I have like 16 more holes, and I just trust my swing after that.”

Ko was one shot behind when she pulled her tee shot on the par-5 13th and never found it, and then compounded the error with a three-putt for a double bogey. Ko made double bogey on the closing hole for a 42 on the back nine and a 77.

Ji finished at 14-under 270 to win by two over Mirim Lee, who made only one bogey in her round of 68. Nelly Korda (71) finished third.

“I just enjoyed my game with my celebrity partners,” Ji said. “It makes it more fun and I relaxed more. So I didn’t get nervous.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., started the day a shot behind the leaders but struggled on Sunday, shooting a 4-over 75 on the round. That put her into a tie with Stacy Lewis for sixth at 8 under for the tournament.

“I actually hit it great today,” said Henderson.

“I gave myself a lot of great opportunities and just the putter, you know, wasn’t working, which sort of sucks. But overall I feel like I hit it really well and I battled, which is nice.”

 

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@BrookeHenderson locks up her first top 10 of the 2019 @lpga_tour season with a T6 finish at #DiamondLPGA ????

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Jan 20, 2019 at 3:42pm PST

The LPGA opener was limited to winners over the last two seasons. It also included a celebrity field of athletes and entertainers who competed for a $500,000 purse using the modified Stableford scoring system.

Former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz had 33 points in the final round for a three-point victory over former pitcher Mark Mulder. Smoltz was busy doing math with the Stableford system, trying to hold on for the victory.

“I played really defensively knowing I could get two points for par,” Smoltz said. “I never thought the bogey I made at 17 would be the difference.”

Lewis, in her first competition as a mother, shot 70 and tied for sixth.

Ariya Jutanugarn, the No. 1 player in women’s golf who captured every major award last year, went into the weekend two shots out of the lead and closed with a pair of 75s to tie for 18th. Her sister, Moriya Jutanugarn, managed a bogey-free round for a 69 to tie for fourth with Shanshan Feng (70).

Ko says her problems on the 13th started with thinking she had to hammer her tee shot.

No one could find it in the marsh area left of the fairway, though Ko was at least consoled to see “like a million balls in there, so it makes me feel better that I wasn’t the only one that hit there.”

She hit another tee shot and easily carried the bunker, and then hit a stock 3-wood onto the green.

“I was like, ‘Well, that was stupid.’ Because I could have just hit a normal driver, and I probably wouldn’t have duck-hooked it and it would still be able to be in play,” Ko said. “I guess there’s moments I thought it was necessary, but then it wasn’t. But, hey, you’re always going to have some of these failures along the way.”

The LPGA is now off for two weeks before resuming in Australia for the Vic Open. The tour returns to the United States on March 21-24 for the Founders Cup in Arizona.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Lydia Ko could only think about the putts that didn’t go in, perhaps because she was used to making so many.

Ko ran off four birdies on the front nine Saturday for a 30, and it was enough to carry her to a 5-under 66 and a share of the lead with Eun-Hee Ji going into the final round of the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions on the LPGA Tour.

Ji also was hot early, and a pair of birdies early on the back nine gave her a 66.

They were at 13-under 200.

But the big story for Canadian golf is Brooke Henderson. The Smith Falls, Ont., native was poised to make it a three-way tie at the top until she made bogey on the par-3 closing hole for a 69, leaving her one shot behind.

“Hopefully things go my way, but it’s really cool to be in this position going into Sunday,” said Henderson.

“I feel like I have a positive things to take. Hopefully, do something similar tomorrow and hopefully the putts will drop.”

With seven LPGA victories, Henderson entered 2019 one back of the all-time win record by Canadian professionals held by Mike Weir, George Knudson and Sandra Post. She’d tie the record with a win Sunday.

The LPGA Tour season opener is limited to winners each of the last two seasons for a $1.2 million purse. It also includes a 49-player field of celebrities and athletes competing for a $500,000 purse. Former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz had 39 points in the modified Stableford format, giving him a four-point lead over retired pitcher Mark Mulder. Mardy Fish from the world of tennis was five points behind.

There are eight different countries in the top-10 heading into Sunday’s final round of the #DiamondLPGA.

Lydia Ko and Eun-Hee Ji share the lead at 13-under par. pic.twitter.com/IhrcnrTeT1

— LPGA (@LPGA) January 19, 2019

The forecast for the final round was cooler temperatures in the upper 50s and 20 mph wind with gusts even stronger. Henderson hopes that works in her favour.

“I think I can grind it out, and a lot of my wins have come in windy conditions,” Henderson said. “I tend to play a little bit better. Hopefully, things go my way, but it’s really cool to be in this position going into Sunday. I feel like I have a lot of positive things to take.”

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Canada’s Brooke Henderson kept out of trouble and kept bogeys off her card Friday on her way to a four-under 67 and a two-shot lead in the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, the winners-only start to the LPGA Tour season.

The 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., had the only bogey-free round at Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons and is now 10 under for the tournament.

Ariya Jutanugarn, the No. 1 player in women’s golf who captured every major award last season, made two bogeys, including the par-3 closing hole. The Thai is not sure how she didn’t make more, considering how she hit the ball.

She mixed in six birdies over an 11-hole stretch and it added up to a 67, leaving her two shots back and tied for second along with Lydia Ko (68) and Eun-Hee Ji (67).

“I didn’t expect to finish 4 under today at all because I hit everywhere. I keep missing fairways and greens, and I’m at 4 under,” Jutanugarn said. “I’m going to say my short game helped me a lot today because I keep missing the green – and I’m not missing by two yards, I’m missing by like 10, 15 yards.”

No matter. She was poised going into the weekend to get her encore season off to a big start.

Henderson was at 10-under 132 as the seven-time tour winner tries to match Sandra Post, George Knudson and Mike Weir for the most pro titles by a Canadian. Henderson has had at least a share of the 36-hole lead in five of her seven victories.

“It’s always fun to be in the final group and be in contention,” Henderson said. “It’s what we play for pretty much every single week. It’s nice to be here. It’s only the halfway point, but I still need to make a lot of birdies and keep hitting it to win.”

She didn’t make as many birdies as she wanted in the second round, but it was enough. Henderson began the back nine with two straight birdies, and closed with seven straight pars to stay in the lead.

Another round, another lead for @BrookeHenderson ???#DiamondLPGA pic.twitter.com/M9m7uIbWC8

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 18, 2019

Stacy Lewis, in her first tournament as a mother, followed her opening 66 with a 74. That dropped her to 17th place in the 26-player field limited only to LPGA Tour winners each of the last two seasons.

The field also has a strong celebrity component, with 49 athletes and entertainers competing in a modified Stableford format for a $500,000 purse. Former tennis player Mardy Fish posted 39 points for the second straight day, but with bogeys over his last two holes, his lead was down to one point over former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz.

Jutanugarn played the second round with former NBA star Ray Allen, and even though she was hitting shots all over the course, she found plenty of time to talk.

“I asked him how to manage when you’re like the best player, like how to manage everything,” Jutanugarn said. “We talked all 18 holes, and he helped me a lot with like how to manage, be like a top player. … It means so much to me. Ray is so nice to me. I kept asking him questions.”

Mirim Lee had a 69 and was alone in fifth place, while Lexi Thompson (69) and Marina Alex (67) were another shot behind.

Henderson won two times last year, including the CP Women’s Open in Regina. She won the KPMG Women’s PGA for her first major in 2016. Despite shutting it down for two weeks over the break while in Canada, she likes the mix she had of rest and practice when she got back to the work.

“Overall, I’m really happy to be in double digits after two rounds. That’s pretty cool, minus 10,” she said. “So I feel like there’s not too much wrong, but just maybe a little bit of inconsistency. Some putts, I wasn’t hitting them quite as well as I would have liked.”

On the airplane from Ottawa after her Christmas holidays, everyone recognized Brooke Henderson.

“That was just kind of different, but kind of cool,” said Henderson with a laugh from Naples, Fla., as she prepared for the LPGA season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions this week in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

While the 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., insists life hasn’t changed much as she’s rocketed up the golf rankings the past few years, the airplane scene shows just how far Henderson has come in the general Canadian sport landscape.

With seven LPGA victories, Henderson enters 2019 one back of the all-time win record by Canadian professionals held by Mike Weir, George Knudson and Sandra Post.

To match or eclipse that mark, the reigning Canadian Press female athlete of the year (an award she has won three times in the past four years) said she’s focused on keeping her scoring average below 70. Her 2018 average of 69.99 was good enough for fourth on tour and if she meets that goal again, she said everything else would fall in line.

The key to her success will be her putting, as it’s the one area of her game that has held her back in the past. She said she’s been working hard with her father Dave (who is also her coach) on speed.

Having good pace on the greens, she said, would be a difference-maker this year.

“I’ve been working on consistency and make sure I’m ready for 2019,” she said. “And I feel like I am.”

Henderson earned a legion of new fans at least year’s CP Women’s Open in Regina, when she won by four shots and became the first Canadian woman to win on home soil in 45 years. She also won the Lotte Championship in Hawaii in April.

“I feel like I’ll be in contention a lot of the time and hopefully that leads to getting at least one win this year,” said Henderson. “But I’d love to keep that streak going of having at least two (she’s won two tournaments each of the past three years).”

Adam Hadwin, Canada’s top-ranked male golfer, certainly wouldn’t doubt that possibility. He calls Henderson “a force.”

“With someone like her, with her being so young, the world is her oyster,” said Hadwin. “My hope is that she continues to enjoy the game and she stays the young, happy kid that she is and she continues doing what she’s doing. If she can do that, she’ll have an extremely long, successful career.”

Despite the money (she’s earned more than US$1.4 million the last three years in a row and counts Rolex as one of her sponsors), and the fame (a bobblehead doll made in her likeness has become a collector’s item), Henderson doesn’t feel like her life is that much different.

It’s been a big adjustment going from a town of 9,000 to being recognized around the world, she admitted, but Henderson remains close to the people who have been by her side for years.

After dropping the ceremonial puck before an Ottawa Senators game in December and receiving a standing ovation, she watched the game in a box surrounded only by family and some friends she’s known since grade school.

“The people that have always been there for me and always been important to me ? they haven’t changed at all,” she said. “I feel like I’ve just grown friends around the world. I’ve brought things in, in addition to those people from my life in Smiths Falls.”

Henderson, who joked at the 2017 CP Women’s Open about retiring early, said she’s not looking too far ahead these days.

The 2019 season is her main focus.

“I feel like I’ve handled everything pretty well so far,” said Henderson. “I’m just trying to get a little bit better every day, and have a great year.”

Henderson is the lone Canadian in the winners-only event this week. The first full-field event of the LPGA Tour season goes Feb. 7-10 in Australia.

CANADIANS TO WATCH ON THE LPGA TOUR IN 2019

• Brittany Marchand – Marchand, 26, managed to secure LPGA status for 2019 after finishing tied for seventh at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in July, her best result of the year. The native of Orangeville, Ont., is Canada’s second-ranked female golfer behind Henderson.
• Alena Sharp – Sharp, 37, said in 2018 she battled depression as she struggled on the course. But a run of solid results to end of her year secured LPGA Tour status once again in 2019 for the native of Hamilton. She’s looking for her first win.
• Jaclyn Lee – Calgary’s Lee finished in sixth place at the LPGA Tour’s Q-Series (an eight-round qualifying tournament) to comfortably earn status for 2019. The 21-year-old announced in December she would be leaving Ohio State University to turn professional. While she’s still going to get her degree, she won’t play on the golf team.
• Anne-Catherine Tanguay – The native of Quebec City is back on the LPGA Tour for the second year in a row after finishing eighth in Q-Series. She finished 126th on the money list last year.

There was a quiet poise to Brooke Henderson on that Sunday morning last summer in Regina ahead of her final round at the CP Women’s Open.

She had experienced big moments before: her first LPGA Tour win as a 17-year-old in 2015, her first major victory a year later, her first appearance at the Olympics.

This tournament was different.

No Canadian had won the national open since Jocelyne Bourassa in 1973. Supporters who crammed the galleries could sense something special was happening.

Henderson would deliver in emphatic fashion, firing a closing-round 65 for a four-shot victory.

“The 18th hole, standing on that green, surrounded by family and friends and hundreds of fans and spectators cheering me on – it was sort of a surreal moment,” Henderson said. “To finally hold that trophy that I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl, it gives me chills just thinking back on it.”

It was one of two tournament titles and 11 top-10 finishes for Henderson last season. On Wednesday, she was rewarded for her stellar campaign by being named a repeat winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as The Canadian Press female athlete of the year.

Henderson, who has won the award in three of the last four years, picked up 30 of 54 votes (55.6 per cent) in a poll of broadcasters and editors from across the country.

“Especially this year being an Olympic year with all the great athletes that competed in the Winter Olympics, it’s a big honour and I’m just really proud to take home this award again,” said Henderson, who was also named Postmedia’s Female Athlete of the Year.

Figure skater Kaetlyn Osmond and short-track speedskater Kim Boutin tied for second place with 10 votes each (18.5 per cent).

The winner of the Lionel Conacher Award as Canada’s male athlete of the year will be named Thursday and the team of the year will be named Friday.

With wet weather in the forecast, Henderson had an early start for her final round at the CP Women’s Open. Showing no sign of nerves or timidity, she lashed her opening drive down the fairway and birdied the hole for a two-stroke lead.

Angel Yin, Sung Hyun Park, Su Oh and others tried to make charges that day but Henderson wouldn’t buckle. In fact, the Canadian found another gear.

Henderson pulled away with four straight birdies on the back nine and tapped in a birdie putt on the 18th hole to send the crowd into a tizzy. Her seventh career LPGA Tour victory moved her one behind Sandra Post’s record for all-time wins by a Canadian.

“The blinders were on,” Post said. “She was looking at the finish line and she just looked like it was hers. She wasn’t nervous. It was hers.”

It was an emotional summer for Henderson and her family. Her maternal grandfather died in early June and her paternal grandfather died in early August.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., remained steady and consistent throughout the year. She won the Lotte Championship last April in Hawaii, earned US$1.47 million over the season and finished ninth in the world rankings.

“Big performances on the biggest stage amongst stiff competition in one of the highest-profile sports in the world,” said Edmonton-based Postmedia editor Craig Ellingson.

Henderson was fourth in scoring average (69.99) on the LPGA Tour, eighth in driving distance (268-yard average) and fourth in greens in regulation (74.5 per cent).

Her short game statistics were middle of the pack. Henderson was 72nd in putting average (29.7 putts per round) and 87th in sand saves (43.7 per cent).

“It’s easy to get down on yourself when things aren’t going perfectly,” Henderson said. “I feel like I stayed really patient through the majority of the year. When things were not very good, they always turned around. You just have to wait them out and I did that.

“Even going into the CP Women’s Open, I was in contention a few times and wasn’t able to get the job done. But I feel like I learned from those experiences and then when I put myself in position in Regina, I wasn’t going to let it go that time. I was able to seal the deal.”

Bobbie Rosenfeld, an Olympic medallist in track and field and a multi-sport athlete, was named Canada’s best female athlete of the half-century in 1950.

The first winner of the Rosenfeld award was golfer Ada Mackenzie in 1933. Marlene Stewart Streit leads all golfers by taking the honour on five occasions (1952, ’53, ’56, ’57, ’63).

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France _ Canada’s Brooke Henderson is two strokes back at the halfway mark of the Evian Championship, the final major of the LPGA Tour season.

The 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., is tied for sixth at 6 under after a 2-under 69 on Friday. She’s two strokes behind Maria Torres of Puerto Rico, Mi Hyang Lee of South Korea and Americans Mo Martin and Amy Olson.

After two birdies in a row on Nos. 4 and 5, Henderson had a bogey at No. 6 and a double bogey at No. 7. But she bounced back on the back nine with four birdies and one bogey.

“I feel like my game is in a really good spot,” said Henderson. “To be able to rebound like that mentally I think is really key. On this golf course you got to stay patient, and I feel like we were able to do that even though it’s very difficult at times.

“I’m really excited for the next few days, so we’ll just see what happens.”

Tour rookie Torres, the first Puerto Rican to earn an LPGA card, shot a 2-under 69 before Olson (65), Martin (66) and Lee (66) matched her 8-under 134 total.

“It’s something new and it’s exciting (to lead),” said the 23-year-old Torres, who is ranked No. 184. She missed the cut at 10 over in her only previous major, the Women’s PGA Championship won in July by the South Korean world No. 1 Sung Hyun Park, who won’t play this weekend.

Park (71) started and finished play Friday at 6 over at the sun-soaked Evian Resort Golf Club and missed the cut by three shots.

Olson had seven birdies and secured a share of the lead with an 18-foot par-saving putt on the 18th.

“That was huge,” said the 26-year-old North Dakota native, whose career-best finish in a major is tied for ninth at the ANA Inspiration this season. “Seeing it drop, that’s a lot of confidence going into tomorrow.”

Olson’s working week in France meant she needed a replacement to bake cookies for the Indiana State linebackers coached by her husband, Grant. The Sycamores play Saturday at Eastern Illinois.

“The head coach’s wife made them for the linebackers this week,” Olson said. “She got me covered.”

Lee made an eagle at her final hole, the par-5 ninth, to be the highest ranked co-leader, at No. 59. The South Korean’s two career LPGA wins are more than the other three combined, though Martin won the 2014 Women’s British Open.

One shot back, Carlota Ciganda of Spain carded 70 to follow a 65 that only Torres equaled Thursday.

A seven-woman group on 6 under included Georgia Hall (68), last month’s Women’s British Open champion, plus former major winners Henderson (69) and So Yeon Ryu (69).

Austin Ernst (70) is also two shots back, completing her round minutes before Hurricane Florence made landfall close to her home state South Carolina.

“I’ve checked the weather app every day and talked to my family back home,” said the Seneca native. “It’s more flooding (risk) where I am. Let’s see what happens.”

American amateur Rachel Heck, who is only 16 years old, safely made the cut at her second major. A 73 got her to 1 over.

The top-ranked American, world No. 5 Lexi Thompson, was in tears on the 18th green and missed the cut by one stroke. She swiped her club in frustration after a scuffed chip that led to a bogey-5 and a round of 75. The 2014 ANA Inspiration winner had also dropped a shot at the 17th.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Aiming to stylishly cap a rookie season that Hurricane Maria almost denied her, Maria Torres shared the first-round lead on 6 under at the final women’s golf major Thursday.

Torres, the first Puerto Rican player to get an LPGA Tour card, went birdie-birdie-eagle from the 13th to 15th holes in a 65 that tied her atop the Evian Championship leaderboard with Carlota Ciganda of Spain.

“I just want to come here and play, and whatever happens, happens,” Torres said.

Carefree laughs flowed from the 184th-ranked Torres, who last September was on her home island when the hurricane struck.

In the aftermath, the University of Florida graduate struggled to register for the second part of tour qualifying school. Finally, at Daytona Beach in December, Torres won a three-way playoff to claim the last tour card on offer.

Nine months later, the 2016 Southeastern Conference college player of the year is relishing her first competition in France.

“It’s awesome to be here,” Torres said. “I love it, I’m like almost rolling down the par-3s with all I’ve been eating here.”

Torres matched a target set by the 21st-ranked Ciganda, who had six birdies and no bogeys on the 6,523-yard Evian Resort Golf Club course.

Both excelled on the par-5s. Torres played the four long holes in 5 under, including her eagle at No. 15, against three birdies for the 28-year-old Ciganda, who previously helped Arizona State win a college title.

One shot back, Austin Ernst of the United States made eagle-3 at the 13th in a 5-under 66 to stand alone in third place.

A three-player group on 67 included Brooke Henderson of Canada, winner of the 2018 CP Women’s Open and 2016 PGA Championship; Nasa Hataoka of Japan, who won the qualifying school tournament,  and two-time major winner So Yeon Ryu of South Korea.

Highlights from @BrookeHenderson’s opening-round 67 ???? pic.twitter.com/yfrTd1G1jf

— CP Women's Open (@cpwomensopen) September 13, 2018

Canadian Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., opened with a 2-over 73 to share 56th place. Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., sits right on the projected cut line of 3 over par.

Georgia Hall, a homegrown British Open champion last month, had a bogey-free 68 to stand in a big group on 3 under which included seven-time major winner Inbee Park of South Korea.

Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park had a tough day, shooting a 6-over 77 playing in the same afternoon group as Hall. The South Korean player, who won the PGA Championship in July, dropped shots at four of the first five holes.

“Nothing went well,” Park said through a translator. “It was a very disappointing day.”

Defending champion Anna Nordqvist of Sweden and fifth-ranked Lexi Thompson of the U.S. shot even-par 71s among the early starters, who enjoyed the best of 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees F) heat.

Forecast stormy rain held off just until the last groups completed play, including 16-year-old American Rachel Heck who had a 1-under 70 in her second major.

“I was looking around thinking I can’t believe I am actually here,” said Heck, a native of Memphis, Tennessee who got a wild-card entry.

Annika Sorenstam has learned a thing or two about what it takes to be the best.

So when the World Golf Hall of Fame member says Canada’s Brooke Henderson is well on her way to becoming one of the top players on the LPGA Tour, it makes sense to pay attention.

Henderson’s emotional win at the CP Women’s Open last month in Regina could be just the beginning, the 72-time winner on the LPGA Tour said in an interview ahead of the final major of the season – the Evian Championship, starting Thursday in Evian-les-Bains, France.

“What Brooke did was an amazing display of golf,” Sorenstam said of Henderson’s triumph, which ended a 45-year drought for Canadians at their national championship.

“If this continues, she will soon be one of the best in the world.”

Sorenstam, who in 2014 was named the best Swedish female athlete in history, won three times in Sweden during her career.

She’s also a two-time winner of the Evian Championship, where Henderson will try to put an exclamation mark on a memorable year.

Sorenstam said she likes Henderson’s game, which mixes an aggressive approach off the tee with a nice short game.

The combination, she said, is going to be beneficial for the native of Smiths Falls, Ont., for years to come.

“She has gotten off to a quick start in her young career,” Sorenstam said of Henderson, who turned 21 on Monday. “I am sure there will be many more wins to follow.”

Henderson has unfinished business at the Evian. She finished tied for ninth and tied for 25th in 2016 and 2015, respectively. Last year’s tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to weather, and she finished tied for 58th.

“It’s a beautiful golf course – usually challenging with the weather – but I think it suits my game well, particularly with how I’m striking the ball right now,” said Henderson.

“Hopefully all the pieces come together for the week and I can play well again.”

With more than US$1.2 million earned this season, Henderson sits second on the LPGA Tour money list with seven tournaments left. She’s also third on the year

that points list after the CME Group Tour Championship, the final event of the year, she’ll win a $1-million bonus prize.

Henderson’s CP Women’s Open victory was her second of the year. She also captured the Lotte Championship in Hawaii in April.

“I think it’s finally starting to sink in that I won our national championship, and it’s just such an amazing feeling and a dream come true to know that my name will always be on that trophy,” said Henderson.

With her win in Regina, Henderson figures to be a strong candidate for the Lou Marsh Trophy, given to Canada’s athlete of the year.

The award has been claimed by a golfer only three times: Marlene Streit (1956), Sandra Post (1979), and Mike Weir (2003).

“It’s something that would be an incredible achievement and honour to be in the conversation for,” said Henderson. “Hopefully my game and my achievements on the course can put me in that position some day.”

Henderson now has seven victories since turning professional. The most by a Canadian – male or female – is eight, a record held jointly by George Knudson, Post, and Weir, all of whom accomplished the feat much later in their careers.

Henderson celebrated her birthday at home with her family and said the week off was “definitely needed” after her win and then playing in the Cambia Portland Classic the week after, where she tied for 21st.

“It was nice having a tournament to just roll straight into to try and act as normal as possible, but to just be able to relax for a few days and reflect on everything has been great,” she said.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Marina Alex matched the course record with a 10-under 62 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead over Canadian Brooke Henderson and Minjee Lee in the Cambia Portland Classic.

With Stacy Lewis unable to defend her title as she prepares for the birth of her first child, Alex is using her friend’s caddie, Travis Wilson, at Columbia Edgewater.

“It’s been a blast,” Alex said. “The timing was great. He wanted to work a couple more events before the season ended and I was looking. Trav is awesome. So much fun, really lighthearted.”

They had a lot of fun Thursday morning on the tree-lined layout.

“The course is in perfect shape,” Alex said. “So, if you’re hitting your lines, you’re going to make a ton of putts. … I’m going to have to come out and make as many birdies as I can the next three days.”

Winless on the tour, the 28-year-old former Vanderbilt player birdied the last four holes and five of the last six in a back-nine 30.

“Got my ball-striking together and it was awesome,” Alex said.

Henderson, the 2015 and 2016 winner from Smiths Falls, Ontario, birdied five of the last six holes for a 64. The 20-year-old star is coming off a victory Sunday in the CP Women’s Open on home soil in Regina.

“I could see the scores were really low today, so I wanted to go low on the back nine,” Henderson said. “And I was able to get five birdies. I’m really happy with this round.”

Lee closed with a bogey on the par-4 ninth. The Australian birdied her first five holes and six of the first seven.

“I think it was a combination of everything,” Lee said. “Most of the day I struck it pretty well with my iron shots. I had pretty good control of the yardages and I hit some solid putts.”

Robynn Ree was at 65 after a closing bogey. After a last-minute putter change, the 21-year-old former Southern California player played the first 10 holes in 7 under. She had 10 birdies _ five in a row on Nos. 2-6 _ and two bogeys.

“I was like maybe I’ll get the new putter vibes,” Ree said. “Luckily, that worked out today and my shots were so much better. I was really fortunate that I was hitting well and putting well.”

Women’s British Open champion Georgia Hall matched Su Oh at 66.

“It’s an amazing golf course,” Hall said. “It’s in great condition.”

Anna Nordqvist, Brittany Lincicome, Angela Stanford and Mariah Stackhouse topped the group at 67.

Lexi Thompson eagled the par-5 seventh in a 68. She missed the cut last week in Canada after tying for 12th in Indianapolis following a three-week break for emotional and mental fatigue.

Inbee Park, playing for the first time since the Women’s British Open, opened with a 69 playing alongside Thompson and Shanshan Feng (72).

There are five other Canadians in the field.

Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., opened with a 3-under 69. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp and Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay (72) are even while Charlottetown’s Lori Kane (76) and Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., (78) are well back.

Karen Stupples had a 69 in her first tour start in more than two years. The 45-year-old English player is a commentator for Golf Channel.

“I was pretty nervous,” Stupples said. “I started to get nervous last night. But managed just to play and have fun with it today. It was really fun, actually. I enjoyed it and the challenge. One-under par, that was pretty good. It was way above my expectations.”

PORTLAND, Ore. – It took a while for Brooke Henderson’s win at the CP Women’s Open to sink in.

The 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., made history on Sunday when she became the first Canadian to win the national women’s golf championship in 45 years. Speaking a day before teeing off at the Cambia Portland Classic – a tournament she has won twice in her young career – Henderson said last week’s win at Regina’s Wascana Country Club felt like it was “meant to be.”

Or maybe it seemed too good to be true.

“Sunday night when I was trying to fall asleep I had like a nightmare that it wasn’t over and I didn’t actually win, so I kind of woke up like panicked,” Henderson said.

“It’s starting to sink in a little bit more now. It’s just incredible, and to have the amount of support that I did, not only from the fans, but also from a lot of my friends out on tour. When I finished on 18, to get showered in champagne and just have them there waiting for me was really special.”

Henderson, who said winning in Canada was “a big check mark” in her career, can now turn her focus toward a strong finish to the LPGA season. Henderson sits second in the Race to the CME Globe, a season-long points contest that awards a US$1 million bonus to the winner.

Henderson trails Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn by 1,098 points with eight events left.

“I feel like it was a big move for my CME and also my world ranking winning last week, which is really exciting to see those numbers go closer to the top,” Henderson said.

“Hopefully I can just finish strong and put myself in a good position going into CME.”

Henderson picked up her first career LPGA Tour win at Portland’s Columbia Edgewater Country Club in 2015 and defended her title in 2016. She hopes to take advantage of a course that suits her style to pick up valuable points this week.

“I just really like the tall trees, kind of narrow fairways. For a while I only seemed to win on courses like this,” Henderson said.

“But just the atmosphere here is a little bit different. The fans are always great. Very supportive. I think just getting the win in 2015 by I think it was eight shots, which was pretty cool for my first win out on tour, just since then I feel like coming back here every hole I have a good memory.

“And some bad ones – but I feel like the good ones overtake those.”

Fresh off her historic win @cpwomensopen, 2-time @PortlandClassic winner @BrookeHenderson addressed the media earlier today ==> pic.twitter.com/4DkVdo3Syb

— LPGA (@LPGA) August 29, 2018