KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Brooke Henderson didn’t join the LPGA Tour thinking she would end up amongst the best Canadian golfers of all-time. At least not so soon, anyway.

Henderson tied the Canadian record for most career victories on the LPGA or PGA Tour on Saturday when the 21-year-old captured her eighth career title by shooting a 2-under 70 to win the Lotte Championship for the second year in a row.

Sandra Post had eight career victories on the LPGA Tour between 1968 and 1981, while Mike Weir and George Knudson equalled that on the PGA Tour.

“When I was younger it was just a goal to be on the LPGA Tour, to win my first event,” Henderson said.

“And when that happened and I won my first major the year after, things kind of just started to fall into place. I knew the record was eight. Just kept creeping toward it the last three years, which was really exciting.”

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., won last year’s event in Hawaii for her sixth Tour victory and followed that up in August 2018 as the first Canadian in 45 years to win the CP Women’s Open.

“I think starting last year I sort of saw that it was within my reach if I had two good seasons. Last year put me into great position, and coming back this year it’s been on the back of my mind every week that I tee it up. I’m just really happy that I have finally done it.

“Looking forward to overtaking it now.”

She finished 16 under on Saturday at Ko Olina Golf Club to beat South Korea’s Eun-Hee Ji by four strokes.

All the highlights from Brooke’s repeat performance in Hawaii ???? pic.twitter.com/XDRFo8KBht

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) April 21, 2019

Nelly Korda, tied with Henderson for the third-round lead, finished with a quadruple-bogey 8 for a 77 that left her seven strokes back at 9 under. She hit into the water twice on 18, then threw her ball in after finishing. The 20-year-old American also had a double bogey on the par-4 seventh.

“Pretty bad,” Korda said. “I mean, it was a tough day, but I ended really poorly and I’m pretty disappointed in that. … It was an unfortunate final round, but there is nothing I can do about it anymore.”

Ariya Jutanugarn (73) and 2016 winner Minjee Lee (74) tied for third at 11 under.

Henderson bogeyed her first hole, but that was the only blemish in the final round as she followed that up with three birdies and 14 pars.

She looked to be in some trouble on the par-4 16th, but saved par when she hit a put from off the green.

“It’s really amazing to even be mentioned in the same sentence as Mike Weir, George, and Sandra,” Henderson said. “This week was really special. I always love coming to Hawaii. Last year was such an incredible week for me, to be able to hoist that trophy for the first time. Coming back I knew I knew the golf course really well.”

Fellow Canadian and Olympic teammate Alena Sharp watched Henderson play out the round and joined her in celebration.

“Congrats my friend ?BrookeHenderson! Unbelievable title defense and tying Sandra Post’s record for most wins by a Canadian on the ?LPGA tour. So freaking proud of you!,” tweeted Sharp (72), who finished 2 under for 40th place.

Henderson takes home US$300,000 for the win. Through seven events in 2019, she has made six cuts, has one victory, three top-10 finishes and one top-15 finish for $498,151 total earnings.

Henderson, ranked No. 12 in the world, has one major among her tournament victories, winning the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship after beating Lydia Ko in a playoff when she was only 18.

KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Defending champion Brooke Henderson shot a 3-under 69 on Friday at blustery Ko Olina Golf Club for a share of the third-round lead with Nelly Korda in the Lotte Championship.

Korda had a 71, matching Henderson with a bogey on the par-4 18 to get to 14-under 202.

“There are still 18 more holes left and a lot can happen” Korda said. “The weather is unpredictable. The wind swirls and gusts, so it’ll be an interesting day. We’re all going to be fighting.”

The 21-year-old Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., is trying to match Sanda Post record for LPGA Tour victories by a Canadian with eight.

“It was really windy today,” Henderson said. “Really had to stay patient.”

The 20-year-old Korda won the Women’s Australian Open in February for her second LPGA Tour title. She opened the season with five straight top-10 finishes before tying for 52nd two weeks ago in the major ANA Inspiration. On Friday, she birdied Nos. 12, 14 and 16, before dropping the stroke on 18.

Defending champ @BrookeHenderson making it look easy at @LPGALOTTE! She’s tied for the lead heading into the finale ???? pic.twitter.com/WGzseMJOQQ

— CP Women’s Open (@cpwomensopen) April 20, 2019

“Was a bit of a frustrating day on the front nine,” Korda said. “Was not hitting it well. I was not putting well at all. Kind of got it back on the back nine. It was pretty frustrating today. Wasn’t the happiest camper out there.”

Minjee Lee and second-round leader Eun-Hee Ji were a stroke back. Lee, the Australian who won the 2016 event, had a 70. She was bogey-free and also birdie-free, but did chip-in for eagle on the fifth hole.

“It was pretty hard out there,” Lee said. “The wind was really gusty and the pin placements were pretty hard for the wind direction we had.”

Ji shot 74 after opening with rounds of 65 and 74.

“It’s still a really packed leaderboard, and whoever plays really well tomorrow is going to come out on top or close to the top,” Henderson said. “Right now it’s hard to say what that number is going to be. Kind of all just depends on the wind.”

Ariya Jutanugarn made the third day’s most dramatic move, shooting a 66 to bolt from nine back to two. She avoided bogeys, drained long putts – she needed just 23 – and birdied all but one of the par 5s.

“I think the most important thing today is I feel I’m really too far behind the lead,” Jutanugarn said. “I feel like I can’t catch anyway, so what I want to do is just be patient, do my best every shot.”

Henderson was even par on the front nine, then birdied four of the first six on the back, slam dunking a speeding putt from off the 13th green.

“I knew I had to get going a little bit, make some birdies,” she said. “I was hitting it well the last few holes on the front nine, just wasn’t converting. It was nice to get that birdie-birdie (10-11). Gave me a little momentum going into a couple of par 5s, and I was able to make some putts, which was really nice.”

Her approach to the 18th – Ko Olina’s toughest hole this week – squirted into the back trap. After a good bunker shot, she lipped out a 5-footer for par.

Korda watched from the fairway and missed the green with her approach. She chipped to the fringe then left her par putt short.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (72) was tied for 44th.

KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Eun-Hee Ji rebounded from a bogey on the par-4 18th with a pitch-in eagle on the par-5 first and shot a 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead over Nelly Korda on Thursday in the Lotte Championship.

Ji had a 15-under 129 total to break the tournament 36-hole record by five strokes.

“I think it was lucky (today),” Ji said. “I had to chip it in three times. Makes a lot of difference for me.”

She played her final nine in the afternoon at Ko Olina in 6-under 30, following the eagle with birdies on four of the next seven holes.

“I just kept focus on my game,” Ji said. “I hit it well and made a lot of putts from there. That makes it a lot different.”

The 32-year-old South Korean won the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in January in Florida for her fifth LPGA Tour title. Her biggest victory came in the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.

Defending champion Brooke Henderson (68) of Smiths Falls, Ont., and 2016 winner Minjee Lee (68) were tied for third at 11 under. If the 21-year-old Henderson claims her eighth LPGA Tour title Saturday, she will tie Sandra Post’s record for victories by a Canadian. Henderson and Korda played junior golf together.

“It’s pretty cool to have us both make it this far on tour,” Henderson said. “Growing up playing junior events together I think this was both of our dreams, so it’s pretty cool to come out here and have it be a reality every single day.”

Korda birdied four of her final five in the breezy morning session in a 68, also finishing on No. 9.

“It was completely different to yesterday,” Korda said. “I actually experienced Hawaii weather today. It was tough. I didn’t hit every shot perfect. I had a couple bogeys. But I ended up playing pretty solid today.”

Driver off the deck!! @BrookeHenderson with another look at eagle early ???? pic.twitter.com/sp8DHYmf9u

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) April 19, 2019

The 20-year-old American won the Women’s Australian Open in February for her second LPGA Tour title. She opened the season with five straight top-10 finishes before tying for 52nd two weeks ago in the major ANA Inspiration.

Azahara Munoz (66) and Moriya Jutanugarn (67) were 10 under.

Michelle Wie shot her second straight 77 to finish ahead of only one of the 143 players to complete two rounds. The 2014 winner in her home event, she has struggled with pain in her right hand following off-season surgery.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (73) was tied for 49th place, 13 shots back. Anne-Catherine Tanguay (73) of Quebec City was 16 shots back, Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee (76) was 5 over and Orangeville, Ont., native Brittany Marchand (79) was 9 over.

KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Nelly Korda took advantage when Hawaii’s tough trade winds took a break.

Korda rolled in the last of her nine birdies at the 18th in a bogey-free round of 63 Wednesday for a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Lotte Championship at Ko Olina Golf Club.

“I got here Saturday and I swear I couldn’t even walk because it was so windy,” said Korda, who is making her Lotte debut. “But I like the place. Everyone is really friendly and it just feels good to be here.”

Eun-Hee Ji birdied six of the final eight holes for an 8-under 64.

Ji won the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions for her fifth LPGA Tour victory. The 2009 U.S. Women’s Open champion also had a bogey-free round

Ji has played in all eight Lotte events, never shooting lower than 66 before Wednesday. She admitted she was uncomfortable in the wind and surprised at how peaceful it was in paradise.

“It’s always windy out here,” Ji said. “But today was no wind and this course . a lot of changes if no wind, so that makes it little easier today.”

Defending champion Brooke Henderson and Hyejin Choi, playing on a sponsor exemption, are two shots back.

Defending champ @BrookeHenderson kept the momentum at the @LPGALOTTE, with an eagle ? en route to an opening 7-under ?pic.twitter.com/aZb0PnpGhZ

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) April 18, 2019

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., won last year in wind gusts of 30 mph. On Wednesday, she offset her only bogey by chipping in for eagle on the 15th.

“I think I was able to use some of that strategy from last year this year,” Henderson said, “which is a big help.”

Ji turns 33 next month, making her the oldest LPGA winner this year. Korda, who turns 21 in July, was one of the youngest when she snagged her second win in February in Australia.

In her third LPGA season, she is now No. 10 in the Rolex Rankings and has five top 10s in six starts this year. She also leads the tour in birdies.

Hannah Green, of Australia, who holed out for eagle from just inside 100 yards on the third hole, is tied for fifth at 66 with So Yeon Ryu of South Korea.

A big group at 67 includes 2016 Lotte champ Minjee Lee, In Gee Chun, sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn and rookies Suzuka Yamaguchi and Lilia Vu.

Jin Young Ko, the new No. 1 after winning two of her last three starts, finished at 69. She is coming off a victory at the year’s first major and has finished outside the top five just once in her last six starts.

Kim Kaufman had a hole-in-one on the fourth hole – the first of her six-year LPGA career. She shot 71.

Hawaii’s Michelle Wie – the 2014 Lotte champion who is coming back from a wrist injury – shot 77.

“Just coming back, some shots are going to hurt,” Wie said. “Trying to figure my way around that and just trying to get back in the swing of playing again.”

Alena Sharpe (69) of Hamilton was six shots back. Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay shot 72, Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee shot 73 and Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont.., had a 74.

On a day-to-day basis Anne-Catherine Tanguay likes to focus on the process of being a professional golfer. But when she takes a step back from her daily regimen of practise, journaling, and evaluation, she does have some pretty lofty goals.

The Quebec City native is in the field at the LOTTE Championship that teed off on Wednesday along with fellow Canadians Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., Hamilton’s Alena Sharp, Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee and Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont.

Tanguay is the third-highest Canadian on the Race to the CME Globe rankings behind No. 20 Henderson and No. 39 Sharp. Although she’s not much of a rankings watcher, Tanguay’s aware that she needs to keep moving up from her current position of 90th to achieve some of her long-range goals.

“I think that this year it’s been more important for me to focus on the process rather than the results,” said Tanguay, who arrived in West Oahu, Hawaii, for the tournament on Sunday. “I feel like the rankings are more of a collateral to the rest of the work I put in toward my goals.”

Her most immediate goal? Representing Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The top 15 world-ranked players will be eligible for the Olympics field of 60 women, with a limit of four players from any given country. Beyond the top 15, players will be eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15. The women’s qualification period will end June 29, 2020.

“It’s brand new and I feel like it’s not really part of our culture in the golf industry to have this in mind, unlike every other sport where their ultimate goal is to make the Olympics,” said Tanguay. “For us it’s been more play majors, win majors. It’s become my focus more in the past year and more and more people are asking me about it.”

Tanguay is excited to be back at the Ko Olina Golf Club, home of the LOTTE Championship. She enjoys how the course plays and has been preparing all week for the windy conditions on the Hawaiian island.

“This is my third time here, so there’s no surprise that it’s going to be windy,” said Tanguay, who says she hardly has to consult her yardage book for the course. “I’ve been practising my side-hill lies but the No. 1 factor here is the wind. I just wanted to come prepared.”

Canada’s top-ranked golfer and Canada’s iconic railway are partnering for five more years, both on and off the course. Canadian Pacific (CP) has renewed seven-time LPGA tour-winner and the No. 12 ranked female golfer in the world, Brooke Henderson to serve as its golf ambassador.

Since signing on with CP in 2017 as a golf ambassador, Henderson has won four more LPGA Tour titles, including her historic win on home soil at the 2018 CP Women’s Open where she became the first Canadian to win the National Open Championship in 45 years.

Joining the CP family is sister and caddy Brittany Henderson, who will also wear the CP logo as she supports Brooke as a team and family member.

“It is an honor to extend Brooke’s sponsorship until Dec. 31, 2023, and welcome Brittany to the CP family,” said Keith Creel, CP President and Chief Executive Officer. “Brooke remains the perfect ambassador for CP as we continue to grow the game of golf, advocate for healthy living through CP Has Heart, and build on the iconic Canadian brand that is CP. Adding Brittany to the CP family was a natural decision, as railroaders know that precision and excellence requires a strong team.”

CP continues to sponsor Team Canada, a relationship that marked the beginning of Brooke’s relationship with the railway. Both the Hendersons are graduates of the amateur program that supports young golfers as they pursue their professional dreams.

Brooke has also been named a repeat winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as the Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year. In addition, PostMedia recognized her as their 2018 Summer Female Athlete of the Year and Canadian Sport Awards named her their 2018 Athlete of the Year.

“I am so proud to continue my relationship as an ambassador for CP. As many of my own family members have worked for CP in my hometown of Smiths Falls, it is truly special for me to wear the logo and continue that long history as a member of the CP family. Furthermore, the sincere gesture to add my sister Brittany to the CP family is incredible, as she’s been with me every step of my career. We both look forward to celebrating many more victories with the CP family.”

Already in the CP family is four-time LPGA Tour winner Lorie Kane, who signed on as an ambassador in 2014 when CP took over title sponsorship of the National Open. Kane, who was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 2017 and named a recipient of the Order of Canada in 2006, has an established reputation as one of the most personable and consistent players in the game, and has dedicated many efforts off the course to champion support for CP Has Heart.

CP recently named SickKids Foundation as its official charity beneficiary of the 2019 CP Women’s Open that will be hosted at Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ontario. Through its CP Has Heart program, CP will once again make a substantial donation to support local paediatric care. Follow along this season as golf ambassadors Brooke and Lorie encourage fundraising efforts to help reach this year’s $1.75M donation target.

In the five years of CP’s title sponsorship of the CP Women’s Open, $8.5 million has been raised to support children’s heart health in Canada. This will mark the third time in six years southern Ontario has hosted the CP Women’s Open resulting in more than $3.3 million dollars invested in London (2014 – $1.3 million) and Ottawa (2016 – $2 million).

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Jin Young Ko won the ANA Inspiration for her first major title, celebrated with the traditional winner’s leap into Poppie’s Pond and will jump to No. 1 in the world ranking.

The woman who said this year that her goal was to be the happiest player on the course was thrilled about the first two.

“I still can’t believe,” Ko said. “I’m really happy.”

She wasn’t all that excited about the No. 1 spot in the world.

“I just try to focus on my game on the course,” Ko said. “It doesn’t matter about world ranking. I don’t like numbers like No. 1 or No. 2. I’m just playing on the course.”

She did that better than anyone else over four days on the Mission Hills course made more difficult by thicker rough, tighter fairways and some longer holes. On Sunday, the 23-year-old South Korean closed with a 2-under 70 in hot and mostly calm conditions for a three-stroke victory over Mi Hyang Lee.

“If ball goes right or left it doesn’t make me happy, but I’m still trying to be happy,” Ko said. “Also, I really try, don’t think about future, doesn’t matter. Just focus on my swing, on the putting. That’s why I win this week.”

After bogeys on 13 and 15 cut her lead to a stroke, Ko made a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th and closed with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th. She also had a rough back-nine stretch Saturday, allowing In-Kyung Kim to cut a five-stroke deficit to a single shot going into the final round.

“Yesterday was a little bit hard for me,” Ko said. “I’m not robot. We are human.”

Ko won for the fourth time on the LPGA Tour, completing a desert sweep after taking the Founders Cup two weeks ago in Phoenix. She leads the money list and has five top-three finishes in six events this year.

Is she surprised by her start?

“No, no, no,” Ko said. “I had really hard practice in winter training off-season in Palm Springs.”

Ko gave caddie David Brooker his third victory in the event. The Englishman also leaped into Poppie’s Pond with Grace Park in 2004 and Lorena Ochoa in 2008.

“He knows this course,” Ko said. “He helps me all the time on the course. So really say thank you for my caddie.”

She finished at 10-under 278.

Lee parred the final six holes in a 70.

“This is really good momentum for me,” said Lee, also from South Korea. “I’m so happy with this week.”

Ko had a three-stroke lead at the turn and faced little pressure until stumbling with the two bogeys. Her drive on the par-4 13th jumped into the thick right rough and her long approach ended up short of the green in the left rough. After missing a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-3 14th, she hit into the left greenside bunker on the par-4 15th and missed a 12-foot par try.

“I had couple miss shot, but I think it will be fine,” she said.

It was.

Lexi Thompson was third at 6 under after a 67.

“My caddie, Benji (Thompson), helped out tremendously,” Thompson said. “I was getting down a little bit, but he just kept me right in there playing aggressively the whole day – making those birdies and just firing at every pin I could.”

Kim closed with a 74 to tie for fourth at 5 under with Carlota Ciganda. The 30-year-old South Korean lost a chance to win the event seven years after missing a 14-inch putt on the final hole of regulation and losing on the first hole of a playoff.

Kim declined to comment after the round.

Ciganda finished with a 68.

Brooke Henderson (72) of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (73) tied for 17th at 2-under par.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Jin Young Ko turned a four-stroke deficit into a five-stroke lead in only 10 holes Saturday at the ANA Inspiration. She nearly gave it all back, setting up a final-round shootout in the first major championship of the golf season.

Ko ended up with a one-shot advantage over second-round leader In-Kyung Kim, shooting a 4-under 68 in unexpected calm conditions at tree-lined Mission Hills to reach 8-under 208.

Kim birdied the par-5 18th for a 73, giving herself a chance to win the event seven years after missing a 14-inch putt on the final hole of regulation and losing to Sun Young Yoo on the first hole of a playoff.

Four strokes behind fellow South Korean player Kim entering the round, Ko walked off the 10th green with the five-shot lead after a quick three-stroke swing. Ko holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4 10th minutes after Kim snap-hooked a drive into the right-side trees and made a double bogey on the par-5 ninth.

Kim rallied to birdie the 10th, her first birdie of the day after making eight of them in a second-round 65, and pulled within two strokes when Ko hit into the water short of the green on the par-3 14th and made a double bogey of her own.

Ko followed with a bogey on the par-4 15th, cutting her lead to a single stroke. Ko pushed the margin back to two with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th. She missed a 10-foot birdie try on the 18, and Kim closed with a 5-footer in the final group.

Mi Hyang Lee and Danielle Kang were 5 under. Lee had a hole-in-one on 17 and birdied 18 in a 68. Kang shot 70.

Two Canadians are in the top 10. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp jumped into a tie for fifth after a 5-under 67 pushed her to 3 under for the tournament.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is tied for eighth at 2 under. She shot 71 on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Ko won the Founders Cup two weeks ago in Phoenix for her third LPGA Tour title and leads the money list. She tied for second last week in Carlsbad for her fourth top-three finish in five events this year.

The 30-year-old Kim struggled with the 2012 loss at Mission Hills before finally ending a long victory drought late in 2016. Her confidence restored, she won three times in 2017, capped by a major victory in the Women’s British Open.

Ko played the front nine in 5-under 31. She birdied the par-5 second, ran in a 40-foot birdie putt on the par-4 fourth and tied Kim for the lead at 7 under with an 8-footer on the par-3 fifth. Ko pulled ahead with a birdie on the water-guarded sixth, driving inches short of the rough a few feet short of the pond fronting the second tongue of fairway and hitting a 9-iron to 6 feet. She increased the lead to two shots with a birdie on No. 9, hitting a wedge to 6 inches.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Ally McDonald was the last player to finish the first round of the ANA Inspiration.

It was worth the wait.

The 26-year-old from Mississippi closed with a 5-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th in fading light Thursday to take the lead at 4-under 68 in the first major championship of the year.

Playing in the last group of the day off the first tee, she birdied all four par-5 holes on the tree-lined Mission Hills course toughened this year by thicker rough, tighter fairways and some longer holes.

“On a major championship golf course you have to start out playing the par 5s really well,” McDonald said. “The par 4s play really tough, very long.”

Only 28 of the 112 players broke par, with McDonald and the other afternoon starters facing gusting wind. She had a one-stroke lead over 2014 champion Lexi Thompson, Jin Young Ko, Hyo Joo Kim and Linnea Strom. Thompson, Ko and Kim played in calmer morning conditions, but with the thick rough wet from dew.

“I just drove the ball really well,” McDonald said. “Gave myself a lot of opportunities to make good approach shots into the green. … Sometimes you hit the ball above the hole and you have to take a two-putt.”

McDonald played at Mississippi State after becoming the only female player to win the state boys’ high school championship. She has made only two previous starts in her third season on the tour, tying for 58th two weeks ago in Phoenix in the Founders Cup and missing the cut last week in Carlsbad.

“I think in this position that I’ve never been in it’s so easy to get ahead of yourself,” McDonald said. “For me, I’m just going to take it easy. I know that on the very first day a great round is awesome, but there is so much more golf left to play.”

McDonald birdied the last three holes on the front nine and added on another on the par-5 11th. She gave back a stroke on the par-3 14th before pulling ahead on the water-guarded 18th.

Also playing in the afternoon, Strom made a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th, with the pin on the far right side, to reach 4 under, then bogeyed the 18th after hitting her drive over the right-side cart path and under a tree. The former Arizona State player from Sweden is making her fifth start in her first season on the LPGA Tour.

“I know it’s a tough course, but there are some birdies out there,” Strom said.

Thompson birdied the final two holes, hitting to a foot on 18 after caddie Benji Thompson talked her into a lower-lofted wedge.

“I wanted to hit my 50 degree, which was max what the yardage was,” Thompson said. “He was like, ‘No, just chip the 47, take the spin off, in case a gust does come up.’ Sure enough, it did. Just chipped up there. I was like, ‘Thank you so much, Benji.”’

Ko won the Founders Cup.

“I don’t have greed on the course,” Ko said. “Course is hard, so I’m thinking always, ‘Hit the fairway, also green, middle of the green. Like two-putt is fine. I’m good.”’

Playing partner Jessica Korda had seven birdies in an adventurous 70. Coming off a second-place tie in Phoenix in her return from a left forearm injury, she also had a double bogey after driving out-of-bounds on the par-4 third and three bogeys.

“A serious roller-coaster,” Korda said. “Glad I got off it on 18. It was a crazy day.”

She was tied with fellow morning starters Lydia Ko, Cristie Kerr, Jane Park, Lizette Salas, Amy Yang and Lauren Stephenson and afternoon players Jing Yan, Mi Hyang Lee and Xiyu Lin.

Lydia Ko, the 2016 winner, matched playing partner Thompson with a birdie on 18.

“You just have to play smart,” Lydia Ko said. “If you are in not so good position, try and not get yourself out of it.”

Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park, 2011 winner Stacy Lewis and Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., topped the group at 71.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot a 4-over 76 to finish the day tied for 80th.

Defending champion Pernilla Lindberg shot 73. She beat Inbee Park last year on the eighth hole of a sudden-death playoff that ended on a Monday. Park, the 2013 winner, also shot 73, playing in the afternoon.

Michelle Wie and Nelly Korda shot 74 in the afternoon.

Wie hadn’t played on tour since withdrawing during the first round of her Singapore title defence in late February because of pain in her right hand. She played a four-hole stretch in 5 over, then birdied the next four holes.

“It was definitely a battle,” Wie said. “Definitely proud of myself for coming back. Front nine felt just really rusty.”

Sei Young Kim made a 10 on No. 18 in a 78. After laying up on the par 5, she twice hit into the water and was penalized a stroke for dropping from the wrong height. Kim instinctively held out her arm and dropped at shoulder-height, but the modernized Rules of Golf that began this year require drops to be knee-height.

It’s no secret that Brooke Henderson wants to catch Sandra Post for most wins by a Canadian on the LPGA Tour. Matching Post’s record at this week’s ANA Inspiration – where the Canadian golfing great won twice – would be Henderson’s ideal event to do it.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp are the only Canadians in the field at the ANA, the first major of the LPGA Tour’s season, starting Thursday in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Post won the event in 1978 and 1979 when it was known as the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle. Post has eight career LPGA wins, one more than Henderson

“Tying Sandra would be amazing. I’m really looking forward to, and excited, that hopefully I will get this eighth win this year and to do it at a major would be incredible,” Henderson, 21, said. “Especially at ANA where she has won twice.

“I talked to her there before and she’s given me some hints on how to beat the course and hopefully I can put those into action and see what I can do.”

As winner of the Women’s PGA Championship in 2016, Henderson qualified for the ANA Inspiration well before this season began. But her strong start to this year – three top-10 finishes and one top 15 – would also have qualified her.

Sharp qualified as one of the top 20 players on the LPGA’s 2019 money list not already in the field.

“I’m really happy with my start to the season,” said Henderson. “I feel like I have been in contention a little bit, I’ve felt the competitive juices flowing. It’s been fun, for sure.

“I feel like my game is in a good spot, I just think there’s some small things I’m continuing to clean up.”

Another highlight of Henderson’s season has been her prominent role in the LPGA’s Drive On campaign.

In the campaign’s 45-second introductory video released on March 20, Henderson is seen practising at a driving range and she is the first of several golfers to do a voiceover encouraging girls to overcome adversity and be true to themselves.

“It was pretty amazing to be a part of a film like that, that is so powerful and has so much meaning behind it,” said Henderson. “I didn’t really realize I was going to be one of the biggest people to kickstart it, but definitely an honour.

“Drive On’s just getting started and I think it will empower not only women and young girls but I think people of all genders and all ages, helping them to push past negativity and focus on what you’re trying to do and get there.”

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This is for every girl. Let’s crush it ?? #DriveOn

A post shared by CP Women's Open (@cpwomensopen) on Mar 20, 2019 at 10:00am PDT