PORTLAND, Oregon: Canadian teen Brooke Henderson birdied three of her last four holes Friday for a 5-under 67 and the second-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s Cambia Portland Classic.
The 17-year-old Henderson had an 11-under 133 total at Columbia Edgewater for a one-shot lead over Caroline Masson, the German player who had the best round of the week a 64.
Playing in cool, breezy and sometimes wet conditions, Henderson grabbed the outright lead with an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-4 ninth, her 18th hole of the day. Henderson made her only bogey of the tournament at 11, but rebounded with birdies at 12, 14 and 3 before the late burst.
Henderson, who turns 18 in September, has made $466,818 in nine LPGA Tour tournaments and has the outright 36-hole lead for the third time. LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan denied Henderson’s age petition last year, preventing her from playing Q-school. She earned a spot in the field in Monday qualifying.
Masson had eight birdies, four on each nine, in her second straight bogey-free round after missing the cuts in five of her six previous tournaments. Masson is winless in her three-year LPGA Tour career. In the 2013 Portland tournament, she shot a second-round 64 on the way to a fifth-place finish.
Candie Kung, Julieta Granada and Jenny Shin were tied for third at 9 under. Kung, a four-time LPGA Tour winner, had a 66, Granada shot 69, and Shin 68.
Amy Anderson and Sandra Changkija, tied for the first-round lead at 65, each shot 72 to drop into a tie for ninth at 7 under.
Defending champion Austin Ernst was 6 under after a 66.
No. 3 Stacy Lewis was 4 under after a 69, and No. 2 Lydia Ko shot a 72 to remain 2 under.
The 36-hole cut was at even par. Among those failing to advance were two-time Portland champion Suzann Pettersen. She was 5 over after a 74.
The Portland Classic is the penultimate tournament before the US Solheim Cup team is set Aug. 24.
The top eight players in the Solheim Cup standings, the top two in the world ranking not among the top eight in the standings, and two captain’s picks will make up the 12-player team. Six players have clinched spots in the standings.
No. 7 Angela Stanford failed to make the cut after shooting 74, while No. 8 Gerina Piller was even par after a 72. Of those outside the top eight, No. 9 Lizette Salas (70) and No. 10 Brittany Lang (71) are in the best position to make a move, as both are 3 under through 36 holes.


