Canada's Henderson leads Portland Classic

Brooke Henderson drained birdies on three of her final four holes to fire a 67 for a one-shot lead after the second round of the LPGA's Portland Classic.

Canada's Henderson, who finished in the top five in two major championships this season, rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt on her last hole of the round to pull one shot ahead of Germany's Caroline Masson.

"I had to stay patient," Henderson said of her five-under 67 at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club course.

"I knew I was hitting great shots. About the fourth hole on my back nine I said, 'Let's go make some birdies,' and I was able to do that.

"It is a great position to be in, but it is a long way from being over and I still have a lot of work to do."

The 17-year-old rising star on the LPGA Tour only made it into the field via a Monday qualifier.

Henderson was at 11-under 133 after two rounds. Masson climbed the leaderboard with an eight-under 64 to complete the first two rounds at 10 under.

Henderson, who started on the back nine, made her only bogey on her second hole of the day at No. 11 but rebounded with birdies at Nos. 12 and 14 and again at No. 3 before her dazzling finish.

She holds the outright second-round lead for the third time in the nine LPGA Tour events she has played this year. She cracked the top five at both the KPMG Women's PGA and the US Women's Open.

Candie Kung of Taiwan, Jenny Shin of South Korea and Julieta Granada of Paraguay were tied for third at nine under. Kung shot a 66, Shin a 68 and Granada a 69.

First-round leaders Amy Anderson and Sandra Changkija finished with par 72s and are in a tie for ninth.
Source: AFP