EDMONTON — Brooke Henderson was climbing Friday at the CPKC Women’s Open and was just one shot back of the lead as she made the turn. A couple of late bogeys spoiled the party, and she’ll need to make up plenty of ground on the weekend if she wants to successfully defend her national open title.
Miyu Yamashita of Japan set the 36-hole tournament scoring record, and her two-day total of 126 has not been seen on the LPGA Tour since 2014. The Japanese star has ridden a hot putter through two rounds at Royal Mayfair, and her effort so far in Canada shouldn’t come as a surprise — she’s had three top-five finishes in her last five tournaments, including a win in mid-June.
The lowest 36-hole total on the LPGA Tour came in 2001, set by Annika Sorenstam when she shot a 59 in the second round of the 2001 Standard Register Ping in Arizona. Yamashita had an outside shot at matching that before making a late bogey on No. 15 Friday.
Despite Yamashita being off to a hearty advantage at Royal Mayfair, Henderson is no stranger to a late-tournament chase. At the Amundi Evian Championship in July, the Canadian was seven shots back of the lead heading into the final round but ended up in a playoff.
“That was really fun a few weeks ago in France. Yeah, definitely, it gives me some confidence knowing that I can come back from behind,” Henderson said.
Just play, we’ll handle the rest
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“It's only half over. They played really well the first two rounds, so I just need to play well the next two.”
The two-time CPKC Women’s Open winner shot a 2-under 68 on Friday.
Henderson, who started on the back nine on Friday, made an early birdie on the par-3 13th and added another on No. 15. She had a great chance for birdie on both Nos. 17 and 18 before finally rolling in another on the par-4 1st after hitting her approach to just a few feet.
The native of Smiths Falls, Ont., added one more circle on her card on No. 4 before giving two shots back on Nos. 6 and 8. Ironically, she said she had been playing well while she was playing aggressively — and on those two holes she had played more conservatively.
She rolled in a testy par-saver on her final hole of the day to keep some momentum going for a weekend charge.
“Through about 14 holes, I was feeling really nice. Unfortunate to drop a couple shots coming in. Happy to save par on nine. I feel like that was really clutch, kind of saving some momentum and things going into tomorrow,” Henderson said. “Playing the weekend, I feel like my game is in a pretty good spot, so maybe try to be a little bit more aggressive and see if we can climb.”
Henderson has put together a very solid resume at the CPKC Women’s Open over the last decade or so — perhaps more impressive considering the tournament changes venues every year. She has finished outside the top 15 just once since 2016 and is trending towards another top finish in 2026.
That will be much to the delight of the Canadian crowds, who were out in force Friday morning to cheer on their home country’s biggest golf star. It remains something that doesn’t get old for Henderson year after year.
“Just really trying to embrace the opportunity because (it) only really happens once a year, and it's just such a unique thing that not a lot of players get to experience. I'm definitely trying to make the most of it,” Henderson said.
Soo Bin Joo, Yuri Yoshida, and Kiara Romero — who is making her professional debut this week — all sit at 9 under through 36 holes, with Joo’s 7-under 63 the round of the day on Friday.
