WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – France’s Perrine Delacour took advantage of Alison Lee’s late two-hole meltdown to take the third-round lead Saturday in the Kingsmill Championship.

The 21-year-old Delacour birdied three of the final five holes for a 4-under 67. She had an 11-under 202 total on Kingsmill Resort’s River Course.

“I think tomorrow I will be nervous because that’s the first time in the lead,” Delacour said. “So, I’m going to be nervous, but I’ll try to do my best and we’ll see after 18 holes.”

She’s comfortable on the River Course.

“It’s good,” said Delacour, winless in 19 career starts in two seasons on the LPGA Tour. “Pretty similar to European golf courses. It’s good for my game.”

After opening a four-stroke lead, the 20-year-old Lee dropped back with a bogey on the par-4 16th and a four-putt double bogey on the par-3 17th. She finished with a 70, leaving her a stroke behind.

“Poor putting. That was a huge mistake,” Lee said. “That first putt, I didn’t think I would leave it that short. The second putt, I thought it would break right to left. I hit a really firm stroke, felt confident, and ended up breaking to the right and I had a poor putt coming back.”

Still a student at UCLA after turning pro in December, Lee tied for fourth in the Kia Classic in March in California and has three top-25 finishes.

“I’m not too disappointed with my round,” Lee said. “Obviously I am disappointed with those two holes, and definitely affects where I am in position going into tomorrow. I mean, one stroke is a lot out here, and unfortunately I lost two strokes on this hole. Just need to go into tomorrow with confidence and remind myself I’m hitting it well and not think about that hole or putt too much.”

Delacour birdied Nos. 14, 16 and 18 to take the lead.

Paula Creamer, So Yeon Ryu and Minjee Lee were 9 under. Creamer shot 66, Ryu 68, and Minjee Lee 69.

“It was kind of a grind,” Minjee Lee said. “I mean, I didn’t really stuff it up and just play amazing golf. I was just kind of in between. I had a good couple birdies and I had good scrambles.”

Lexi Thompson was 8 under after a 67.

Kelly Tan had a 64, the best round of the week, to move into a tie for 11th at 6 under. She had seven birdies in her bogey-free round.

“My putter was just so hot,” Tan said. “I was hitting my iron shots really good, too. This is a great golf course. Tough to really stick the ball really close to the hole, so I mean, I get a lot of 15-, 20- footers and even 10-footers, and I just didn’t seem to miss them.”

Top-ranked Lydia Ko was tied for 20th at 3 under after a 70.

Youngster Brooke Henderson shot a round of 74 today, placing her 12 shots back of Delacour.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Alison Lee shot a 4-under 67 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead in the LPGA Tour’s Kingsmill Championship.

The 20-year-old Lee, still a student at UCLA after turning pro in December, had a 9-under 133 total on Kingsmill Resort’s River Course.

“Anything can happen. This tournament is only halfway over,” Lee said. “I’m going to try my best to stay focused and stay in the game.”

Lee tied for fourth in the Kia Classic in March in California and has three top-25 finishes.

“Coming into today, I felt really confident, especially after my round yesterday,” Lee said. “I was striking the ball well, was putting well and got it rolling on the front nine.”

She birdied the par-4 first to reach 4 under for the day, dropped a stroke on the par-4 sixth, rebounded with a birdie on the par-5 seventh and closed with two pars.

“Too bad on the back,” Lee said. “I started to kind of lose a lot of the focus and a lot of my concentration and I was kind of struggling with my approach shots. Thankfully, I was able to make a lot of good saves and par saves coming down the stretch.”

Australia’s Minjee Lee and France’s Perrine Delacour were tied for second. The 18-year-old Minjee Lee had a 67, and Delacour shot 68.

Minjee Lee turned pro in September after leading Australia to victory in Japan in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship. She eagled the par-5 third, hitting a 4-iron about 200 yards to 7 feet.

“This is my rookie year and kind of the first time I’ve been in this situation, so it’s going to be a whole new experience,” Minjee Lee said. “My mindset? I just want to have fun with my caddie and play some really good golf. Nothing too serious.”

Delacour eagled No. 7, hitting a 3-wood to 10 feet

“I got a lucky bounce and hit the green in two,” Delacour said.

So Yeon Ryu was 6 under after a 69.

“To be honest, my shot is not that really great,” Ryu said. “But really good thing is when I had a chance I made pretty much everything.”

Suzann Pettersen, Christina Kim, Jing Yan and Catriona Matthew were 5 under. Pettersen shot a 65 for the best round of the day, Kim had a 68, and Yan and Matthew shot 67.

“As far as I know this is a four-day tournament,” Pettersen said. “It’s always nice to get a good start. Played OK yesterday, just didn’t get anything out of my round. Scored well today. Course is in great shape. The greens are really, really good.”

Second-ranked Inbee Park was 3 under after a 67. She won the North Texas Shootout two weeks ago for her second victory of the year.

First-round leader Joanna Klatten followed her opening 65 with a 75 to drop into a tie for 22nd at 2 under.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko and Canadian teen Brooke Henderson also were in the group at 2 under. Ko, a two-time winner this season, and Henderson, playing on a sponsor exemption, each shot 69.

Fellow Canadians Sue Kim, Rebecca Lee-Bentham, Jennifer Kirby and Alena Sharp missed the cut.

Third-ranked No. 3 Stacy Lewis had a 74 to drop to 1 over.

Defending champion Lizette Salas missed the cut with rounds of 74 and 73. Three-time Kingsmill winner Cristie Kerr also dropped out, shooting 73-76.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – France’s Joanna Klatten had five birdies in a six-hole stretch and finished with a 6-under 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s Kingsmill Championship.

Klatten birdied Nos. 3-6 and 8 and closed with a par on No. 9 on Kingsmill Resort’s River Course.

“I made a few bombs, which is nice, but it was just solid,” Klatten said. “I’ve been playing pretty good lately. Just struggled with the putting the last few tournaments, but today it was fixed.

“I definitely had luck on my side today. I had good breaks and it feels good. Lately, it felt the other way around, but I knew that it always evens out. Today, it definitely did.”

The 30-year-old former Georgia State player is winless in 27 career events on the LPGA Tour.

“This is one of my favorite courses all year,” Klatten said. “I feel very comfortable here. It suits my eye really well. I think you have an advantage if you’re among the long hitters.”

Morgan Pressel, Alison Lee and Pat Hurst were a stroke back, and So Yeon Ryu, Paula Creamer, Jacqui Concolino and Perrine Delacour followed at 67.

Michelle Wie withdrew because of a hip injury after a 78.

“Regrettably, I need to withdraw today due to a left hip injury that has been bothering me this week,” Wie said on Twitter.

She had a double bogey, six bogeys and one birdie.

Pressel had five birdies in a bogey-free round. Winless since 2008, she has two top-three finishes in her last four events. She was third in the ANA Inspiration and second in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.

“I just played pretty steady out there today,” Pressel said. “I don’t think I hit the ball quite as well as I would’ve liked to, but made a few really good up-and-downs. Made birdie when I had the opportunity. The good up-and-downs certainly were part of the reason why I had no bogeys.”

Lee had seven birdies and two bogeys. The 20-year-old former UCLA star tied fourth in the Kia Classic in March and has three top-25 finishes in her rookie season.

“I was able to grab a couple birdies going down the stretch,” Lee said. “Especially the last four holes – I got three birdies. I’ve been putting it a lot better. That’s what I’ve struggling with the past month, like my putting. But I had a lot of good rolls today.”

The 45-year-old Hurst had a bogey-free round. She won the last of her six LPGA Tour titles in 2009.

“You got to hit the ball well out here,” Hurst said. “It’s all about the angles out here and being on the right side of the fairway and the way you come into the greens. If you’re hitting the ball good, it’s easier to put them in that spot.”

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis opened with a 69, top-ranked Lydia Ko and Canadian teen sensation Brooke Henderson shot 71s, and second-ranked Inbee Park had a 72.

Three-time Kingsmill winner Cristie Kerr had a 73, and defending champion Lizette Salas shot 74.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Symetra Tour has announced that 17-year-old Brooke Henderson has received sponsor exemptions to play in two upcoming Symetra Tour events. She will play in the Four Winds Invitational at Blackthorn Golf Club, June 19-21, and the Tullymore Classic at Tullymore Golf Club, July 3-5.

Henderson recently finished third at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic, missing out on a playoff by just one shot. That finish vaulted the Smith Falls, Ont., native up 116 spots to No. 91 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Henderson then Monday Qualified for the LPGA Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout and finished in a tie for 13th. Henderson is competing this week on the LPGA at the Kingsmill Championship.

The Team Canada Young Pro Squad member is now ranked No. 80 in the world in her first year as a professional.

“It’s exciting for me to have the opportunity to play in the Four Winds Invitational and the Tullymore Classic on the Symetra Tour,” said Henderson. “I’m so thankful to be living my dream of playing professional golf and I will use these weeks to continue working on my game.”

Prior to turning professional in December of 2014, Henderson was the top ranked amateur in the world. In 2014, she was the runner up at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, finished in a tie for tenth at the U.S. Women’s Open and won the individual title at the Women’s World Amateur Team Championships.

In 2012, Henderson became the youngest ever to win a professional tournament when she won as a 14-year-old on the Canadian Women’s Tour.

The Four Winds Invitational and the Tullymore Classic will be the second and third events that Henderson has played on the Symetra Tour. She finished in a tie for second with her older sister, Brittany, at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic earlier this year. Brittany, who ranks 11th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list, is expected to play both events.

The Four Winds Invitational is part of the Symetra Tour’s Potawatomi Cup where players have the chance to earn an additional $50,000 in bonus money over the course of five events. The Tullymore Classic is one of seven new events on the 2015 schedule and one of three in the state of Michigan.

For more information about the Four Winds Invitational, visit www.fourwindsinvitational.com. For more information on the Tullymore Classic, visit www.tullymoregolf.com.

RYE, N.Y. – Canadian teen Brooke Henderson will play her first LPGA major as a pro in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

The tournament on Monday announced the 17-year-old Henderson has received a sponsor’s exemption. The major will be played June 11-14 at Westchester Country Club.

Henderson had the 54-hole lead in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic two weeks ago at Lake Merced in San Francisco. She wound up third. Henderson has played two other events this year and has earned $161,557, which would make her equal to No. 29 on the LPGA money list.

She isn’t an LPGA member because of its minimum age requirement of 18.

Henderson tied for 10th in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2 last year as an amateur.

IRVING, Texas – Lydia Ko sent her caddie up a pine tree behind the 14th green – and tumbled down the leaderboard Thursday in the North Texas Shootout.

Lydia Ko had a triple bogey after losing a ball in the tree and dropped three more strokes on the next two holes Thursday to put her career-long LPGA Tour cuts streak in jeopardy.

“I would never have imagined for it to be stuck up there,” Ko said.

Coming off a victory Sunday in California in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic, Ko finished with a 4-over 75 to fall nine strokes behind leaders Juli Inkster, Cristie Kerr and Sydnee Michaels.

On the par-4 14th, Ko’s second shot flew past the green and behind the tree. The top-ranked New Zealander tried to go over the tree coming back, but failed to clear it. She was given a penalty drop beneath the tree for an unplayable lie even though caddie Jason Hamilton was unable to identify the ball.

“You just get those days where things that you least expect happen,” Ko said. “It’s good to know my caddie is always there to do what’s best for me. I didn’t know he was that good climbing trees.”

Said Hamilton: “Not being able to see it from the ground, I felt I better get up there.”

The 18-year-old Ko followed the triple bogey with a double bogey after hitting into the water on the par-4 15th and lost another stroke with a bogey on the par-4 16th.

Ko was tied for 117th in the 144-player field that will be cut to the top 70 and ties after the second round and to the top 50 and ties after the third. She has made the 36-hole cuts in all 50 of her tour starts.

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to pull off something amazing,” Ko said.

Ko said Wednesday that she will donate her earnings to the earthquake relief effort in Nepal. She has two LPGA Tour victories this year and leads the money list with $908,810.

The 54-year-old Inkster also shared the first-round lead last week in California and ended up tying for 15th. She won the last of her 31 tour titles in 2006.

“Hopefully, I can build on this,” Inkster said. “I’m not really looking forward to winning. I mean, as (Jack) Nicklaus said, `I’ve played good at first rounds and really haven’t played good my second rounds.'”

Kerr won the Kia Classic in late March for her 17th tour victory.

Kerr and Michaels each had only 24 putts.

“The greens are really good here,” Kerr said. “So, if you hit the greens, even if you have a little longer than you wanted with your shot, you have some opportunities. So, it was a good day for me.”

Fort Worth resident Angela Stanford was a stroke back at 67 along with Lexi Thompson, Natalie Gulbis, Maria Hernandez, Ryann O’Toole, Karine Icher, Sandra Gal, Gerina Piller, Wei-Ling Hsu and Alena Sharp.

Michelle Wie topped the group at 68.

Defending champion Stacy Lewis opened with a 69 in her home-state event.

After qualifying on Monday, Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson finished at -2. Rebecca Lee-Bentham carded a 4-over 75 on the day while fellow Canadians Sue Kim and Jennifer Kirby opened at +5.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson is off to a great start since turning pro a few months ago.

The 17-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., is coming off a third-place finish at her second LPGA Tour event this season and will be brimming with confidence at this week’s stop in Irving, Tex. Henderson said Wednesday she’s feeling really good about her game and is excited about her future at this level.

“I think the possibilities are endless,” Henderson said on a conference call. “I just have to go out there, everything is meant to happen for a reason. Hopefully good things will happen.”

Henderson earned US$132,721 for her result at last week’s Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic. She opened the season in early February by finishing tied for 33rd at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.

Next up is an appearance at this week’s $1.3-million Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout at Las Colinas Country Club. She won a playoff Tuesday to secure the second qualifying spot.

“This year is a learning experience year for me,” Henderson said. “It’s my first year as a pro and I’m sort of on a mixture of tours.

“So when I have the an opportunity to play an LPGA event, I definitely want to take advantage of it and play the best that I can.”

Henderson already has sponsor’s exemptions to participate in the May 29-31 Shop-Rite LPGA Classic and the June 4-7 Manulife LPGA Classic in Cambridge, Ont.

She hopes to use the maximum six exemptions she’s allowed this season and also qualify for other tournaments through the summer. Playing for Canada at this summer’s Pan Am Games in Toronto is also a possibility.

It has been a hectic start to the season, but Henderson is used to the grind.

“I think travelling as an amateur on the international stage the last couple of years has really prepared me for this year because it has been a ton of travel,” Henderson said. “Playing not on one tour in particular, but travelling around LPGA, Symetra and mini-tour stuff, I’ve been trying to take advantage of as many opportunities to play as I can and to play well when I do get those opportunities.

“Like I say, it has been a ton of travel but I’m really enjoying it and I don’t regret my decision (to turn pro) one bit.”

Henderson, who won three times on the Canadian Women’s Tour as an amateur and was a runner-up in the U.S. Women’s Amateur, has already gained valuable experience in the early going this season. Playing in the final group at a pro event will only serve her well going forward, even if she came just short of her first LPGA Tour victory.

“Playing on Saturday, I was very, very comfortable, which I felt was a really good thing,” she said. “I didn’t have many nerves. I was really focused and ready to go. Sunday was a little bit different. I was a little more nervous and a couple shots just weren’t what I was really looking for.

“But I think feeling the way I did Saturday is a really good sign for future final groups and (playing) on the weekend.”

IRVING, TX – Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Brooke Henderson had little time to reflect on her third place finish at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic – a result that had Canadian golf fans glued to their television sets reeling with pride from coast-to-coast.

Just a few hours after recording her career best finish on the LPGA Tour, the Smiths Falls, Ont., native was on a plane leaving San Francisco, headed to Texas so she could attempt to “Monday qualify” for this week’s Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout Presented by JTBC.

“Yeah, it was a little bit crazy,” Henderson said. “We went straight to the airport Sunday night, and didn’t have a flight. We got one and it was delayed until 4 a.m., so we spent most of the night in the airport. We arrived here (at the golf course) just before 10 a.m. ‑ actually probably around 9 a.m. in the morning – and Brian, my caddie, went out and looked at the course a little bit, and I got some rest, and then was ready to play at 2 p.m.”

Despite the less than ideal travel arrangements, Henderson was 1-under thru 13 holes when her Monday qualifying round was suspended due to inclement weather at Las Colinas Country Club.

Henderson finished her round Tuesday at 1-under 70 to head into a four-person playoff. She sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the second hole to take the final qualifying spot.

“On the first playoff hole I gave myself a good look at birdie, was probably 15 feet straight up the hill,” she descibed. “I saw a little more break in it than it was, and then I was lucky. On the second playoff hole I was a foot away from where I was the previous time, so I knew the break a lot better and was able to make it.”

When asked about the wealth of encouragement she has received from her home country, Henderson reflected pensively on the state of golf in Canada. “The support back home is amazing. I think Canadian golf has been waiting for something. Mike Weir has definitely been a headliner, and there’s been a lot of other great players like Graham DeLaet and David Hearn and Brad Fritsch that have come up on the men’s side, and then of course Lorie Kane, Alena Sharp, and a few other young pros that are starting to make their way onto the Tour now.

“But I think over the last couple years, the amateur teams have been playing really well. Last year, Corey Conners and I, we were both finalists in the U.S. Amateur, and that had only happened once before, and it was pretty cool. I think the interest in Canada is continuing to grow, and I think golf in Canada is growing pretty rapidly.”

Henderson will join fellow Canadians Rebecca Lee-Bentham, Alena Sharp, Jennifer Kirby and Sue Kim in the North Texas Shootout field.

DALY CITY, Calif. – Lydia Ko celebrated another birthday week at Lake Merced with another victory Sunday in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.

Ko won for the second straight year, this time beating Morgan Pressel on the second playoff hole by rolling in a 5-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th for her seventh career LPGA Tour victory. She turned 18 on Friday.

Ko made two birdies in the three times she played the closing hole at Lake Merced. She made an 8-footer in regulation to close with a 2-under 70.

Pressel had to settle for three pars on the 18th. She missed a 15-footer in regulation for the win, closing with a 72. Her best chance was a 10-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole that grazed the edge of the cup. Pressel badly pulled an 8-foot birdie putt on her third try with Ko in close.

“At the start of the day, I didn’t know how it was going to go,” Ko said. “It’s been a great birthday week again.”

Brooke Henderson, the 17-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., holed a bunker shot for eagle on the par-5 14th to stay close to the lead and she had a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole to join the playoff. It missed on the low side and she had to settle for a 74.

Ko, already the No. 1 player in women’s golf, moved to the top of the LPGA Tour money list with her second tour victory and third worldwide title this year. But it was hard work. She never had the lead until making her winning putt on the 20th hole of the day.

Equally important was a 40-foot birdie putt on the par-3 15th that curled in from the left side right when it looked as if this was Pressel’s tournament to win. Ko missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 17th for a share of the lead, though she converted on the 18th to finish at 8-under 280.

It was a tough loss for Pressel, whose last victory was in 2008 at the Kapalua LPGA Classic. She had a two-shot lead with four holes to play until making back-to-back bogeys, and then failing to make a birdie on the 18th.

The par-5 closing hole could not be reached in two, so it effectively came down to a wedge and a putt.

“I just couldn’t convert the putts,” Pressel said. “It all comes down to putting. She birdied it twice and I didn’t.”

Ko opened with two straight bogeys and fell as many as four shots behind. She also chopped up the 16th hole with a poor tee shot and an approach that went well long, leading to a bogey. But the Korean-born Kiwi was spared by sloppy play all around her over the final hour on a crisp afternoon.

Henderson, trying to become the third player in history to win on the LPGA Tour before turning 18, was shaky from the start. She hit her opening tee shot to the right behind trees and had to punch out to the fairway, leading to bogey. She came up well short on the par-3 third and made another bogey, and fell out of the lead for the first time since Friday morning.

The Canadian never caught up, though she was never out of it until missing her 25-foot birdie attempt on the 18th.

“It was one of the least nervous putts I had all day,” Henderson said. “I could see it going in in my mind, but it didn’t happen in real life.”

She headed for Texas to try to Monday qualify for the next LPGA event. Finishing in the top 10 only makes a player eligible for the next tournament if she is an LPGA member. Henderson last year was denied a waiver to the LPGA’s minimum age requirement of 18.

Pressel took the lead by making pars, and she started to seize control when she rolled in a 45-foot eagle putt on No. 6 for a two-shot lead. But she missed three short putts on the front nine – two for birdie, one for par – that kept her from getting a little more separation.

The final hour took shape with three big shots. Henderson holed her bunker shot for eagle on the 14th to reach 8 under and get within one shot of the lead. Moments later, Pressel got up-and-down from behind the green to get to 10 under and, in the group ahead of them, Ko made her big birdie putt to reach 8 under.

Pressel dropped shots on the next two holes. Henderson chunked a chip on the 15th and made bogey. Ko went well long on the 16th and missed a 10-foot par putt. Pressel had a one-shot lead going to the last hole and could hear the gallery’s big cheer on the green when Ko made her 8-foot putt to tie her for the lead.

Brooke Henderson (Robert Laberge/ Getty Images)

DALY CITY, Calif. – Not old enough to join the LPGA Tour without permission, 17-year-old Brooke Henderson has been good enough for long enough to know about pressure.

She could get her fill of that in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.

Leading by as many as five shots Saturday with Lake Merced at its toughest all week, Henderson closed with a pair of bogeys that reduced the Canadian teen’s margin to one shot over Morgan Pressel and Min Seo Kwak going into the final round.

Henderson had to settle for an even-par 72. She kept the lead, even though she lost some momentum.

And she kept her engaging smile.

“Overall, it was a great day and I’m really happy to be where I am,” Henderson said. “If someone told me at the beginning of the week I would be leading going into the final round, I would have taken it.”

Even so, the final two holes changed the dynamics of this tournament.

Henderson had looked unflappable even in conditions so tough that Pressel (67) and Kwak (69) were the only players to break 70. The wind made the Pacific air feel close to 50 degrees, and overnight rain made the course soft and longer. Pressel hit a 5-wood into the seventh hole Saturday; she had been hitting 9-iron.

Henderson didn’t miss a fairway until the par-5 14th hole, and she converted that into birdie with an up-and-down from a greenside bunker. But she couldn’t escape a pair of mistakes to close out her round, and it didn’t help that her group was on the clock over the final two hours.

From a bad lie in the left rough on the 17th, she worried about going right and down a steep slope and instead went short and left. Then, she didn’t realize until making contact on her pitch that “something really hard” was under the turf. Her club bounced and the ball shot over the green, and only a tough up-and-down from there allowed her to get away with no more than a bogey.

On the par-5 18th, she thought her third shot was good until she didn’t hear anyone clap. It was long and in the rough, and she couldn’t get up-and-down.

Henderson was at 9-under 207, and suddenly had more contenders than just Pressel and Kwak.

Defending champion Lydia Ko, who turned 18 on Friday and now is chasing someone even younger, salvaged a 71 and was three shots behind. Ko was as many as six shots behind and was happy to be that close to Henderson.

“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.”

Pressel birdied four of her last six holes, including a 5-iron hybrid to 15 feet on the 15th hole, for a 67 on a day when the average score was 74.6.

Stacy Lewis and Shanshan Feng of China each had 71 and were four shots behind.

More than just her first LPGA victory is at stake for Henderson. She was denied a waiver to the LPGA Tour’s minimum age requirement of 18 last year. Commissioner Mike Whan has granted only two exceptions to the rule – Ko and Lexi Thompson – mainly because both had already won on the LPGA.

Perhaps a victory by Henderson will change his mind. This is only her second LPGA event since she turned pro in December.

And while there might be some truth that teenagers on tour are too young to appreciate nerves, Henderson is different. She has been a starlet in Canada for years, winning three times on the Canadian Women’s Tour as an amateur, capturing the Canadian Women’s Amateur and finishing runner-up in the U.S. Women’s Amateur. She also was medalist at the Women’s Amateur Team Championship.

Expectations are high in Canada, a country that loves its golf and hasn’t had an LPGA winner since Lorie Kane in 2001. Henderson is used to that.

“If you have pressure, it means you’re doing something right,” Henderson said. “I try and use it to my advantage and try and use it to help me get better.”

The most pressure might be seeing Pressel with her on the first tee Sunday, along with Kwak.

Henderson recalls meeting Pressel, who won the Kraft Nabisco at 18 and remains the LPGA Tour’s youngest major champion, at a golf outing in Ottawa when Henderson was 8. She refers to Pressel as her biggest role model in golf and concedes she still gets a little nervous around her.

Pressel remembers what it was like to be a teen in the spotlight. She was poised to win the U.S. Women’s Open at 17 until Birdie Kim beat her with a bunker shot on the last hole at Cherry Hills, and Pressel came through two years later at Mission Hills. She has been following Henderson’s progress over the years.

“I knew she would be something special out on our tour as well,” Pressel said.