LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida: Brooke Henderson of Canada stayed bogey-free to take a two-shot lead over Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn in the second round of the LPGA season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.
Ariya, the top-ranked player in women’s golf who captured every major award last season, made two bogeys, including on the par-3 closing hole. She said she was lucky she didn’t make more, considering how erratically she hit the ball.
She also mixed in six birdies over an 11-hole stretch and it added up to a 67, leaving her tied for second place along with Lydia Ko (68) and Ji Eun-hee (67).
“I didn’t expect to finish 4 under today at all because I hit everywhere. I kept missing fairways and greens, and I’m at 4 under,” Ariya said. “I’m going to say my short game helped me a lot today because I kept missing the green — and I’m not missing by two yards, I’m missing by 10 or 15 yards.”
No matter. She was poised going into the weekend to get her encore season off to a big start.
This is the first year for the Tournament of Champions, which brings together an elite field consisting only of the 26 players who won tournaments last year. Ariya won three times on the Tour in 2018 and had 18 top-10 finishes to reclaim top spot in the world rankings.
Thidapa Suwannapura and Moriya Jutanagurn, who each won their first LPGA titles last season, are also in contention after two rounds, with Thidapa at 5 under and Moriya a stroke further back.
Henderson was at 10-under 132 as the seven-time tour winner tries to match Sandra Post for the most LPGA titles by a Canadian. Henderson has had at least a share of the 36-hole lead in five of her seven victories.
“It’s always fun to be in the final group and be in contention,” Henderson said. “It’s what we play for pretty much every single week. It’s nice to be here. It’s only the halfway point, but I still need to make a lot of birdies and keep hitting it to win.”
She didn’t make as many birdies as she wanted in the second round, but it was enough. Henderson began the back nine with two straight birdies, and closed with seven straight pars to stay in the lead.
Henderson won two times last year, including the Canadian Open. She won the KPMG Women’s PGA for her first major the year before.
Stacy Lewis, in her first tournament as a mother, followed her opening 66 with a 74. That dropped her to 17th place.
Mirim Lee had a 69 and was alone in fifth place, while Lexi Thompson (69) and Marina Alex (67) were another shot behind.
The field also has a strong celebrity component, with 49 athletes and entertainers competing in a modified Stableford format for a $500,000 purse. Former tennis player Mardy Fish posted 39 points for the second straight day, but with bogeys over his last two holes, his lead was down to one point over former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz.
Ariya played the second round with former NBA star Ray Allen, and even though she was hitting shots all over the course, she found plenty of time to talk.
“I asked him how to manage when you’re the best player, like how to manage everything,” she said. “We talked all 18 holes, and he helped me a lot with how to manage, be like a top player. … It means so much to me. Ray is so nice to me.”
Ko birdied the first and fourth holes before stumbling with a bogey at the fifth. She opened the back nine with a birdie and added another at 13 but bogeyed 15 before answering with a birdie at 17.
“I’ve just been embracing this format and enjoying playing with these celebrities,” said the young New Zealander who spend nearly two seasons at No.1 in the rankings.