OCALA, Fla. – Lydia Ko played enough golf Thursday to catch up to the lead. She just didn’t play enough to finish the rain-delayed second round of the Coates Golf Championship.

Ko, the No. 1 player in golf making her 2016 debut, was 4-under par for her round and had a 15-foot birdie putt on her final hole at the par-4 ninth hole at Golden Ocala when the horn sounded to stop play because of thunderstorms in the area.

Ko was 7 under for the tournament, tied with Ha Na Jang.

Jang, who opened with a 65, didn’t hit a shot Thursday. She was to tee off in the afternoon, but within an hour of play being stopped, several greens already were flooded. Play was suspended for the rest of the day and will resume on Friday.

The 72-hole tournament is scheduled to end Saturday.

Haru Nomura made seven birdies for a 66 and finished two rounds at 6-under 136.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson was in a large group at 4 under that included Michelle Wie, Suzann Pettersen, U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun, Lexi Thompson and Juli Inkster, who birdied her opening hole of the second round before the storms arrived.

Henderson has three holes to play in her second round.

Ko started quickly Thursday by opening with two birdies. But she birdied only one of the par 5s, though she never missed a fairway.

“I felt more comfortable today. I was pretty pleased to see all my balls finish in the fairway,” Ko said.

Ko played with Morgan Pressel, who was 3 under, and Paula Creamer, who was even. They could tell storm clouds approaching and Creamer jokingly said that play would be stopped right before they finished. All they could do was laugh when they reached the ninth green to mark their golf balls.

“At least we don’t have to go back to the range,” Pressel said.

Ko, the 18-year-old from New Zealand, is coming off a five-victory season that included her first major (Evian Championship in France) and LPGA player of the year. She conceded to having some rust during her start on Wednesday, though she was dialed in for much of her second round until the rain arrived.

“Last year was an awesome year, so much better than I ever expected,” Ko said. “Things I only dreamt of happened. But you have to forget about it. It’s a whole new year. Obviously, you come into the year with a bit of confidence, but you never know what’s going to happen.”

Pettersen started with a 73. After making the turn, she birdied five of the next six holes – the exception was the par-5 fifth hole – to get within range. Pettersen played with Stacy Lewis (1 over) and Alison Lee, with whom Pettersen was involved in a bitter rules controversy at the Solheim Cup last year over a putt that Pettersen said was never conceded. Pettersen said there was no drama with the group and the media “want to make it another story.”

“Alison and I are pretty good friends,” she said. “I’m very happy with the way I’m playing.”

OCALA, Fla. – Top-ranked Lydia Ko shot a 3-under 69 on Wednesday in the Coates Golf Championship in her first round of the season, leaving her four strokes behind leader Ha Na Jang.

The 18-year-old Ko closed with a birdie on the par-5 18th, her fourth birdie on the back nine on the Golden Ocala course that features some tributes to holes at Augusta National, St. Andrews and others.

Ko tied for second last year in Ocala to reach No. 1 in the world ranking, and went on to win five times, and sweep the points-based player of the year award, Race to the CME Globe and the money title.

“First nine holes were pretty rusty, but almost felt like our whole group as we made the turn, we started making birdies,” Ko said. “On 10 it was my first birdie of the season, so it was great.

“Obviously, starting to get back into playing competitively and think more target-oriented. It’s definitely different than hitting the ball on the range. It’s a pretty solid start. I’m happy with the way I finished today and definitely the back nine, hitting a few wedges close.”

She is learning how to drive – a car.

“I got my learner’s permit, so whoever is around Orlando or around ChampionsGate, I would recommend not being on the road when I am,” Ko said. “Everybody said it’s the same as a cart, but it’s nothing like a cart. It goes so much faster.”

Jang made an 18-foot birdie putt on 18 for a bogey-free 65 and a three-stroke lead over six players. Winless on the LPGA Tour, the South Korean player also tied for second last year behind Na Yeon Choi.

“It’s perfect, no bogeys,” Jang said. “I just keep going just simple, simple, simple.”

Jang had the first hole-in-one on a par 4 in LPGA Tour history last week in the season-opening event in the Bahamas. She used a 3-wood for the albatross on the 218-yard hole.

“I got my new dog, named it Albatross,” Jang said. “I have three dogs – Birdie, Eagle and Albatross. I need one more dog, Hole-in-one.”

U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun had a 68 in her first start as an LPGA Tour member. Sei Young Kim, Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Kim Kaufman, Candie Kung and Kelly Tan also shot 68.

Lexi Thompson was in the group at 69. She had only three pars on the first 14 holes, making seven birdies and four bogeys.

“It’s definitely challenging,” Thompson said. “You have to keep it in the fairway with it being tree-lined. The rough is only about an inch deep, but you’re going to get some gnarly lies and some fliers, so you’ve got to keep it in the fairway.”

U.S. Solheim Cup captain Juli Inkster, at 55 the oldest player in the field, also had a 69.

Michelle Wie birdied three of the last six holes for a 70. She missed the cut last week in the Bahamas after a bee stung her on the palm of her right hand.

Brooke Henderson also carded a 70. The 18-year-old leads the Canadian contingent. Maude-Aimee LeBlanc had a 72, while Alena Sharp had a 75.

Hyo Joo Kim, the Bahamas winner last week, opened with a 71.

Stacy Lewis had a 74, making a double bogey on par-4 ninth after driving left into the trees. She tied for second in the Bahamas for her ninth runner-up finish in a 40-event victory drought that dates to June 2014. The 11-time tour winner has 22 career second-place finishes.

Lewis played alongside Suzann Pettersen and Alison Lee, the two central figures in a Solheim Cup controversy last season in Germany.

In September, Pettersen infuriated the Americans by insisting that Lee be penalized for picking up her ball when she thought her short second putt had been conceded in a fourballs match. The U.S. then staged the biggest comeback in event history, winning 8 1/2 points in the 12 singles matches to take the cup.

They were friendly in their first pairing since the incident, with Pettersen stopping to offer assistance when Lee had a nosebleed on the first tee.

“I’m fine,” Lee said about the nosebleed. “It happens all the time. It’s happened at previous tournaments. It’s just annoying.”

Lee opened with a 72, and Pettersen shot 73.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Hyo Joo Kim won the season-opening Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic on Sunday, relegating Stacy Lewis to yet another second-place finish.

Kim rebounded from a bogey on the 16th hole with a 9-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th and closed with a par for a two-stroke victory over Lewis, 2015 champion Sei Young Kim and Anna Nordqvist.

Hyo Joo Kim shot a 7-under 66 at the breezy Ocean Club to finish at 18-under 274. The 20-year-old South Korean player has three LPGA Tour victories, also winning the 2014 Evian Championship and 2015 Founders Cup.

Needing an eagle to force a playoff, Lewis parred the par-5 18th for a 68. She has nine runner-up finishes in a 40-event victory drought that dates to June 2014. The 11-time tour winner has 22 career second-place finishes.

Sei Young Kim also shot a 68, and Nordqvist had a 69.

Hyo Joo Kim made three straight birdies – holing putts of 18 feet on the par-3 12th, 15 feet on the par-4 13th and 5 feet on the par-4 14th – to open a three-stroke lead. After the bogey on the difficult par-4 16th, she hit a slight draw with a 4-iron to set up the birdie putt on the 171-yard 17th.

She had four birdies on the front nine, making three in a row on Nos. 4-6 and adding another on No. 8. The nine-time Korean LPGA winner parred all three par 5s on the back nine.

The third-ranked Lewis parred the final three holes after birdieing Nos. 13-15. After missing long birdie tries on 16 and 17, she hit a 3-wood into the light rough near the right-side front bunkers on 18, flopped 8 feet past and two-putted for par.

Sei Young Kim had a double bogey on the par-4 ninth, then rallied with four back-nine birdies.

Nordqvist, tied with Charley Hull for the third-round lead, birdied the final two par 5s.

Pornanong Phatlum matched the tournament record with a 65 to tie for fifth with Paula Creamer (66) and 2013 winner Ilhee Lee (68) at 15 under. Brittany Lincicome also shot a 65 to join Hull (71) and Min Seo Kwak (67) at 14 under.

Megan Khang, playing her first event as an LPGA Tour member, bogeyed the final hole for a 60 to drop into a tie for 11th at 13 under.

Brooke Henderson carded a final-round 70 and to get to 9-under and tie for 21st. Maude-Aimee LeBlanc shot 72 Sunday and finished 7-under for a share of 31st. Alena Sharp tied for 38th a shot back at 6-under thanks to a 70.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Charley Hull and Anna Nordqvist shared the lead Saturday in the season-opening Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, and Ha Na Jang had the first hole-in-one on a par 4 in tour history.

Hull made a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th to match European Solheim Cup teammate Nordqvist at 12-under 207 in breezy but calmer conditions at the Ocean Club. The 19-year-old Hull, from England, had a 4-under 69. Nordqvist, from Sweden, also birdied the 18th for a 68.

“It’s a little different because, obviously, it’s been really windy, so I got used to playing in that wind.” Hull said. “And today the first couple holes I think I was allowing too much of the wind and there wasn’t that much up there.”

Jang made the albatross on the eighth hole, at a mere 218 yards playing at a distance normally considered a par 3. Her 3-wood shot into light wind landed a yard in front of the green and rolled in.

“I don’t see the ball finish, but my dad was, ‘Oh, you made it,'” Jang said. “It’s unbelievable. Amazing.”

She was disappointed that she didn’t win a car.

“A new car, please. A car, please,” Jang said. “I wanted a car. I need a car.”

The South Korean player was five strokes back after a 68.

Winless in 30 career starts on the LPGA Tour, Hull birdied four of her last eight holes. She had a bit of an adventure Friday night at dinner when a candle burned her napkin.

“I was like, ‘Oh, good thing we didn’t have the pizza because it smells a bit burny,'” Hull said. “I looked down and there’s this hole like growing bigger and bigger and bigger, and I’m like, ‘Sheez!'” So I patted it out.”

Nordqvist rebounded after hitting a wedge approach long into the water for a bogey on the par-5 11th. She won the ShopRite LPGA Classic last year in New Jersey for her fifth LPGA Tour title.

“I’m really excited,” Nordqvist said. “I really had zero expectations coming into this week. It’s the first tournament of the year. I’m just excited to be back playing. Put in a lot of work this winter.”

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis, defending champion Sei Young Kim and Hyo Joo Kim were a stroke back. Lewis birdied the 18th for a 67, and Sei Young Kim and Hyo Joo Kim shot 68.

Lewis won the last of her 11 LPGA Tour titles in June 2014, a 39-event drought that includes eight runner-up finishes.

“I think tomorrow is supposed to be even less wind, maybe a little more calm,” Lewis said. “So, you’re going to have to make some birdies. You’re going to have to shoot a good score, but you’re not trying to force things. That’s the biggest thing for me tomorrow is just to stay patient and trust my golf swing.”

Sei Young Kim birdied the 18th after losing the lead with a double bogey on the par-4 16th. On 16, she drove left in palm trees, chipped out through the fairway and into the rough, and hit her third over the green into bushes that line the water. She made a 12-foot putt to save double bogey.

“The tee shot was a bad choice,” Sei Young Kim said about her decision to use a driver. “I’m very disappointed there. I’m OK. I have a one day tomorrow.”

Hyo Joo Kim chipped in for eagle on 18.

Megan Khang, playing her first event as an LPGA Tour member, was two shots back along with 2013 winner Ilhee Lee. The 18-year-old Khang, from Rockland, Massachusetts, had a 71 after shooting a 68 on Friday for a share of the lead with Hull and Haru Nomura.

“Wind was definitely better today,” Khang said. “So much the driving and approach shots, so much the putting, I just couldn’t find a putt to drop. … I definitely am excited for tomorrow.”

Lee shot a 66.

Canadians Brooke Henderson and Maude-Aimee LeBlanc have a share of 16th at 6-under after matching 70s Saturday. Compatriot Alena Sharp is 3-under and has a share of 31st.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Charley Hull, Megan Khang and Haru Nomura all sit atop the leaderboard at 8-under par after two rounds of the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic. Players battled gusty conditions at the LPGA’s season opener with winds reaching gusts of 30 mph. The young trio is one shot in front of a group of four players including defending champion Sei Young Kim, Anna Nordqivst, Catriona Matthew and Min Seo Kwak.

The average age of the leaders is just 20 years old (Hull at 19, Khang at 18 and Nomura at 23) and it marks the first time in each of their careers to hold the lead at an LPGA event after 36 holes. This event has been kind to first time winners and crowned Rolex First-Time Winners twice in the first three editions (Ilhee Lee in 2013 and Sei Young Kim in 2015).

Hull followed her opening round of 68 with a 3-under 70 in the morning wave to get to 8-under par. The teen from England had a sunny disposition when it came to the challenging wind conditions.

“I’ve never played the wind, or the golf course with that wind before,” said Hull. “It was a completely opposite direction. So it was good fun to play in that direction, I like it in that direction actually. No, it was good, just got to keep patient out there. Obviously the same for everyone. No, I enjoyed it, I thought it was fun.”

Khang, who is making her rookie debut this week, said she didn’t have many expectations in the season opener but feels like she belongs out on Tour. Seeing her name at the top of the leaderboard might take some getting used to.

“It definitely will take some time to sink in but I think my game’s at a good place right now and I definitely think I can hold my own,” said Khang. “I’ve played in the Open a few times and they’re all there, all the pros are there, even like the best amateurs make it there. So I think I can hold my own and it’s going to take a while for it to sink in after two days.”

Cristie Kerr tied the tournament record in impressive fashion in such high winds with the low round of the week, 8-under 65. She shot a 77 on Thursday and jumped from T95 to T13 and agreed the round of 65 was a solid day.

“Yeah, I would say,” said Kerr. “Yeah, after yesterday, it wasn’t looking good and very difficult day and I just came out and just did it.”

Top-ranked American Stacy Lewis followed up her opening round of 73 with a 5-under 68 on Friday to move into a tie for 10th and sits just three shots back.

Canadians Maude-Aimee LeBlanc and Brooke Henderson both have a share of 20th at 3-under, five-shots off the lead.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Michelle Wie was stung by a bee Thursday in the season-opening Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, and second-ranked Inbee Park withdrew because of back pain after the second-worst round of her LPGA Tour career.

Wie was stung on the palm of her right hand on the 16th hole, her seventh of the day at the windy Ocean Club. She finished with a 3-over 76 to fall eight strokes behind first-round leaders Paula Creamer, Charley Hull, Alison Lee, Ashlan Ramsey, Catriona Matthew, Mika Miyazato and Haru Nomura.

“I was waiting to hit my tee shot and I felt something sting and it hurt really, really bad and I knew it was a bee,” Wie said. “I brushed it away and the stinger was still in there. We were trying to find a tweezer and out of all the people, our security guy had tweezers on him, so I got it out.”

She bogeyed three of the first five holes on her back nine.

“It just kind of felt so swollen it was kind of hard to grip the club. I was hitting the ball so well on the front nine and just definitely had a couple loose ones coming in making the turn. You can kind of feel the venom kind of spread. But the last couple holes, it’s feeling better.”

She struggled with her putting.

“I only missed two greens,” Wie said. “I just putted horribly.”

Park shot an 80, playing her final four holes in 5 over with a double bogey on the par-5 15th and three bogeys. She will sit out the Coates Golf Championship next week in Florida, and hopes to return late next month in the Honda LPGA Thailand.

“I’ve always had a little lower back problem and some weeks it just gets bit worse and today happened to be one of those days,” Park said. “Hopefully, in Thailand I’ll be in really good shape.”

Creamer played a late three-hole stretch in 4 under, making an eagle on the par-4 eighth.

“I’ll definitely take it,” Creamer said. “This golf course, it’s a great track. It really does play well. The wind makes it very difficult, but these greens, they’re challenging. The biggest thing is get it as close as you can from the fairways and see what you can do.”

Lee finished with a bogey on the par-4 ninth after playing the previous three holes in 4 under with an eagle on the par-5 seventh. She is still a student at UCLA.

“I’m taking four classes right now,” Lee said. “Each week, I think, I counted to about 13 hours of class, so it’s not too bad. I have friends in each class that can give me notes.”

The 46-year-old Matthew also eagled No. 7.

“You would much rather get off to a good start than a bad start,” Matthew said. “I think this course is tough because there’s a lot of crosswinds, which makes it difficult.”

Miyazato had only 10 putts in a first-nine 6-under 31.

“Very excited because if green in regulation, I make it, make it, make it,” Miyazato said.

The Japanese player had an interesting answer when asked if she did anything exciting in the offseason.

“Too much drink,” Miyazato said.

Her drink of choice?

“Whiskey,” Miyazato said. “Only in the offseason.”

Hull had a bogey-free round.

“It’s quite quiet this week,” Hull said. “You can really focus and get your head down and just get back out on tour.”

Jennifer Johnson and Min Seo Kwak were a stroke back at 69.

Defending champion Sei Young Kim opened with a 71, and 2014 winner Jessica Korda had a 72. Third-ranked Stacy Lewis shot 73, No. 4 Lexi Thompson 74, and No. 11 Christie Kerr 77.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson carded a 2-under 71 in her opening-round of 2016. The 18-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont., native had three birdies and a single bogey on the day.

“It was a good round today,” said Henderson. “I missed a lot of opportunities which I wish I would have capitalized on, but at the same time I missed a couple greens and was able to get up and down. It was just kind of up and down. And I would have like to have finished a little further under par. But it’s a good start and get another good round in tomorrow and see what happens.”

Canadian golfer Brooke Henderson is coming off a breakthrough rookie season. She’s hoping to build off it as she aims for bigger things in 2016 and beyond.

“I’m looking to get a few more wins on the LPGA Tour and hopefully a major championship within the next couple of years,” Henderson said. “I know that requires a lot of hard work and improvement on my behalf and a solid week (at each event). But I know it’s possible and I’m just looking forward to getting the chance to do it.”

Henderson will begin her season this week at the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic. The US$1.4-million tournament begins Thursday at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island.

As a 17-year-old without full-time status, Henderson had an unpredictable first half of the season last year. She often had to rely on sponsor exemptions and qualification rounds to enter tournaments.

Things changed last August when she blew away the field at the Cambia Portland Classic to win her first LPGA Tour event by eight strokes. Henderson was immediately given full Tour membership and can now play a full schedule without the hassle of chaotic travel plans and the grind of qualifiers.

“I want to go out and make a good name for myself and see if I can make a long career out of it,” Henderson said in a recent interview.

After spending the holiday season in her hometown of Smiths Falls, Ont., Henderson has spent the last few weeks preparing for the season at the Indigo Lakes Golf Club in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Henderson rocketed over 200 spots in the world rankings last year before settling at the No. 18 position. She’s hoping improvements to her short game will help get her into the top 10.

“I want to make sure that around the green I’m very consistent,” she said. “Especially against the top (players) in the world. They’re so good. Over the last couple of years, I’ve noticed that if I could improve a little bit, it’s definitely around the green. So I’ve been working hard on that and just getting my mental game up to where it should be.”

Canadian women’s national team coach Tristan Mullally has worked with Henderson over the last four years. He thinks one of her strongest assets is that she’s not limited to one particular style – she can remain consistent regardless of the course.

“More variety of shots. She is powerful. She’s not one of the longest hitters in the game but she’s consistently in the right place in the fairways,” he said. “Her overall length compared to the others is probably very close to the top 25 or 30 in terms of length. But she’s higher (with her) accuracy.”

Henderson is also a virtual lock to represent Canada when golf makes its return to the Olympic program at the Summer Games in August.

“Rio is definitely one that really stands out,” Henderson said of the tournaments this season. “Being able to play in the Olympics and represent your country is an unbelievable experience that I’m really excited for. Along with that, there are five other majors on the LPGA Tour, which definitely stand out and are weeks when I want a peak performance.”

Some of Henderson’s best results have come at major events. She finished tied for fifth at both the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open last year.

“After the season I had last year, I know anything is possible,” she said. “Like I said there’s a lot of hard work that still needs to be done and little improvements. But it’s exciting to be in the position that I am … I’ve been given a gift and I want to make the most of it.”

Depending on how things work out, she could play in over 30 events this season.

“I think it’s a pretty remarkable story,” Mullally said. “And this year because she’s going to be able to plan her schedule, because there is a more consistent way to go about things, her preparation will just be better.”

Sei Young Kim of South Korea is the defending champion at this week’s Tour stop. Henderson finished in a tie for 33rd place last year.

TORONTO – Red-eye flights, pre-tournament qualifiers and last-minute travel plans were often the norm for golfer Brooke Henderson in her first season as a professional.

At the start of the year, she hoped to post some decent results and use her rookie campaign as a learning experience. Henderson did much more than that in 2015 – she became the first Canadian to win on the LPGA Tour in more than a decade and rocketed into the top 20 in the world rankings.

Not bad for someone who just celebrated her 18th birthday a few months ago.

Henderson capped her impressive season Monday by winning the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as The Canadian Press female athlete of the year. She picked up 21 votes (37 per cent) in the annual survey of editors and broadcasters from across the country.

“I’m hoping this is just the start of a pretty long career, and one where I can chase after some bigger dreams and goals that I’ve set for myself,” Henderson said. “Really I think that there are no limits and I think anything is possible. My 2015 year proves that it’s true _ that anything is possible.”

Soccer player Kadeisha Buchanan was well back in second place in the voting with 10 votes (17 per cent). Tennis player Eugenie Bouchard won the award the last two years.

Henderson is the first golfer to capture the honour since Lorie Kane in 2000. Kane was also the last Canadian to win on the Tour until Henderson blew away the field at the Cambia Portland Classic in August to end Canada’s 14-year victory drought.

The youngster from Smiths Falls, Ont., needed to play in a qualifier just to enter the tournament field that week. She showed she belonged by finishing with a whopping eight-shot victory.

“A couple days I was playing there and I was thinking back to when I would just kind of daydream when I was little,” she said. “I was looking at my putt on the green and I could see the hole and the ball and I could see the fans around the green. They were kind of blurred and it was just exactly how I pictured it when I was little. I was like, ‘Wow, you know what, this is my dream.”’

Henderson, who also posted fifth-place ties at two major events last season, was granted immediate LPGA Tour membership by commissioner Mike Whan after the win.

“The LPGA Tour win – that was really the pinnacle of the season,” she said. “It was when I was playing my best and I was able to secure my LPGA Tour card and get my first LPGA Tour victory. (The year) as a whole was a result of a lot of hard work and it was just something where everything came together and I thank God for that.

“It was just a miracle year really.”

Henderson will be able to play a full Tour schedule next year and make her plans well ahead of time. Gone are the days of needing sponsor invitations or travelling overnight to make it to the course in time for morning qualification rounds.

“I wanted to play against the best in the world,” she said. “Most of the times when I was doing that, I wasn’t a member and I didn’t really have anywhere else to play. I was trying to make my way onto the Tour and trying to make my mark. It was something that I knew I had to do and it was exciting to know that I could have a chance to do something amazing.”

Henderson finished the season ranked 18th in the world – a jump of over 200 positions from a year ago – with over US$100,000 in official LPGA earnings and more than $700,000 in combined earnings as a pro.

“Already a top-flight golfer at such a young age,” said Red Deer Advocate sports editor Greg Meachem. “Proved she can compete – and be successful – against the best of the best in a global sport.”

Canadian women’s team coach Tristan Mullally, who has worked with Henderson since she was 14, said she’s a remarkably steady ball striker with the accuracy to be consistent on different types of golf courses.

“When you combine those two, that makes for a pretty potent recipe,” Mullally said.

Henderson hopes to start strong early in the 2016 season with a goal of cracking the top 10 in the world rankings. She’s also a virtual lock to play for Canada when golf makes it return to the Olympic program at the Rio Games in August.

“I still have many years ahead of me and I’m working hard for 2016 and the years after that,” she said. “But this award for 2015 is definitely something I’m proud of and I’ll be very honoured to accept.”

TORONTO – Brooke Henderson had two dreams come true this year: she became a member of the LPGA Tour and won her first tournament at that level.

She’s setting her sights even higher in 2016.

Henderson hopes to continue her ascent on the top women’s professional golf circuit and also lead Canada to the podium when the sport makes its return to the Olympic program next summer in Rio.

She got a chance to learn more about the Olympic experience at this week’s Canadian Olympic Committee symposium at a downtown Toronto hotel. Watching promotional videos of fellow Canadians winning medals and hearing the national anthem has her counting down the days until the 2016 Games.

“Every time I watch those videos, I get goose bumps. My blood runs crazy,” Henderson said Thursday. “It’s an amazing opportunity that I have just to play in the Olympics and to play on the LPGA Tour.

“They’re both dreams that I’ve had since I was young and now this year is the first year that I can achieve both of those.”

Henderson, a former top-ranked amateur, showed this past season that she was the real deal. She finished third at the Swinging Skirts LPGA stop last April before picking up fifth-place ties at the Women’s PGA Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open.

Her statement performance came in August at the Cambia Portland Classic, when she blew away the field with a whopping eight-stroke victory.

Henderson was about three weeks shy of her 18th birthday at the time. She was granted immediate LPGA Tour membership by commissioner Mike Whan after the win.

The teenager from Smiths Falls, Ont., has since climbed to No. 18 on the Tour’s ranking list. Henderson is planning a full schedule in 2016 and plans to treat the Games like the sixth major of the season.

“The Olympics is a dream that I had as a little girl,” she said. “I didn’t know what sport or what I was going to do or how I was going to get there. But I wanted to be in the Olympics and I wanted to share the same passion as all these other athletes that I watched on TV in the Winter and Summer Games.

“So Rio is in August, it’s going to be a long summer and it’s going to be a long season. But it’s definitely something that I want to peak for and I want to represent Canada as best as I can.”

Sixty golfers will compete in the four-round women’s stroke play competition at the Aug. 5-21 Games. Golf was last played at the Olympics in 1904.

“I’ve won on the LPGA Tour, I’ve competed against the best in the world, I know (Olympic success) is possible,” Henderson said. “Hopefully if I can move my ranking up a little bit more, I’ll be seen as a contender in Rio.”

Official player nominations aren’t expected to be made until July, but Henderson is a virtual lock for the Canadian team. She’s looking forward to the pressure and the high expectations.

“It’s fun to have because you’re expected to do great things,” she said. “I’m really excited to go and represent my country and be the best that I can be.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Quebec’s Maude-Aimée LeBlanc finished with panache, earning her LPGA Tour card for 2016 at the end of the five qualifying rounds in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The Sherbrooke, Que., native recorded a 1-under 71 in the final round Sunday. Her cumulative record of 350 (-10) saw her finish tied for fourth, a single-stroke behind second. She will head into her second year with full status on the LPGA Tour, having previously qualified in 2011.

LeBlanc wasn’t the only Canadian to earn LPGA status for 2016. Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec finished tied for 36th at even-par 360, while Samantha Richdale finished a shot back at 361 (T41) to earn conditional status.

Jessica Wallace earned Symetra Tour status for 2016 by virtue of tying for 64th at 6-over 366.