Brooke Henderson Leads at North Texas Shootout (Video)
Brooke Henderson may be feeling a bit of Friday night deja vu. She’s been in this situation before, just last week in San Francisco. After carding a flawless 6-under par 65 Henderson’s at the top of the Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout Presented by JTBC leaderboard and going into the weekend with a one stroke lead over two of the Tour’s legendary powerhouses, Inbee Park and Juli Inkster.
If the Canadian teenager is having any doubts about her ability to sustain her championship-level performance they certainly aren’t apparent in her post-round interview.
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Henderson clearly got her game under control. She shaved 5 putts off her 2nd round score, sharpened up her short game, gave herself lots of birdie opportunities, and stayed out of trouble. Henderson’s job now is to repeat that performance on Saturday and try to stay out in front of Inbee Park and Juli Inkster.
Park had a 2nd round that mirrored Henderson’s, improving on her first round and playing her way up from a starting T23rd position to a T2nd finish. It was a typical Park round, well played, precisely executed shots followed by putts that took her where she wanted to go.
Inkster seems to have come alive in Texas. Perhaps it was that Monday night dinner with W and Laura, or perhaps it’s the image of the Solheim Cup or perhaps it’s knowing she has a dozen American players watching her every move right now, but she’s playing with a renewed energy and she’d like to notch a win.
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There’s no doubt in my mind that both Park and Inkster will keep up the pace and the pressure on Saturday. They’re seasoned competitors who know how to filter out the emotional distractions play out the weekend for the win or a high finish. We’ll know soon enough whether or not Henderson learned enough of that lesson at Lake Merced to stay in the mix in Texas.
With 19 players — a mob that includes both American and European Solheim Cup team members Lexi Thompson, Cristie Kerr, Sandra Gal, Brittany Lang, Michelle Wie and Azahara Munoz — going into the weekend within five shots of Henderson’s lead, there will always be somebody lurking and waiting for an opening during the final 36 holes of play. I’m expecting a fairly volatile leaderboard on Saturday and wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a tight finish Sunday afternoon.
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Further down the board, pre-tournament favorite Morgan Pressel is going into the weekend at one-under par and defending champion Stacy Lewis is at even par after carding a two-over par 73 today. Lewis is struggling with an uncharacteristicly stone-cold putter.
Lydia Ko has saved herself from the first cut with a 2nd round 68 but, like Lewis, Ko’s not playing her A game this week. Ko will need a better-than-average 3rd round in order to dodge the bullet a second time.
Golf Channel will provide 3rd/4th round coverage beginning Saturday at 1pm and Sunday at 2pm. Golf Channel’s Golf Life Extra will extend Saturday coverage through live streaming beginning at 3pm, when televised coverage concludes. All times at ET.
You can also follow the action live through the LPGA electronic leaderboard and Ladies Dream Golf will host a live YouTube Hangout Sunday afternoon about 30 minutes after play is concluded.