Henderson contending at Portland Classic in bid to end victory drought
Article content
Henderson won the first of her 13 LPGA Tour titles in 2015 by eight strokes at Columbia Edgewater at age 17, and successfully defended the following year. Now 27, she's winless since January 2023 and has dipped to 52nd in the world.
Article content
Article content
Article content
'I love coming back to this place,' Henderson said. 'I do have a lot of the great memories. A lot of good things happened to me here.'
Article content
She opened her morning round with four straight birdies, two on par 5s. On her second nine, she birdied the par-5 fifth and seventh and the par-4 ninth.
Article content
'It's really important to hit a bunch of fairways this week,' Henderson said. 'You want to be hitting it really straight. I think I only missed two fairways today, so that was good. Hopefully, hit them all tomorrow.'
Article content
Next week, Henderson will be back home in Canada for the CPKC Women's Open in Mississauga. She won the national championship in 2018.
Article content
Cernousek shot a 65 in the final group of the day off the 10th tee. The 22-year-old Frenchwoman played her final nine holes in 7-under 29 — highlighted by an eagle on No. 7.
Article content
'I was hitting the ball very well,' Cernousek said.
Article content
Sung Hyun Park was a stroke back with Henderson, Jeongeun Lee5, Gurleen Kaur and Miranda Wang. Park had eight birdies and a bogey in her afternoon round on the tree-lined course. The 31-year-old South Korean player won the last of her seven tour titles in 2019.
Article content
Article content
'As of late, my ball-striking and putting are starting to feel quite comfortable and that's exactly what happened today,' Park said. 'I was able to make confident swings and also feel great about the strokes I made on the greens.'
Article content
Article content
Haeran Ryu was two strokes back at 66 with Perrine Delacour, Arpichaya Yubol, Ashleigh Buhai and Linn Grant. Ryu, at No. 9 in the world, and No. 7 Angel Yin — who shot a 72 — are the only players from the top 10 in the world ranking in the field.
Article content
Amateur Kiara Romero had a 67. The University of Oregon star won the 2023 U.S. Girls' Junior and 2025 Big Ten title.
Article content
'Everything was rolling pretty smoothly,' Romero said. 'I was a little bit nervous on the first tee, but still played pretty good.'
Article content
Juli Inkster, the 65-year-old Hall of Famer who won the 1999 event, birdied three of the par 5s in a 69.
Article content
'I actually thought I putted really well today,' Inkster said. 'Hit a lot of good irons and I drove the ball well. I was happy with that.'
Article content
She played alongside 2017 champion Stacy Lewis and 2019 winner Hannah Green, who each shot 73. Defending champion Moriya Jutanugarn also had a 73.
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
15 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Juli Inkster wanted a tune-up for Senior Open. She nearly set an LPGA record
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Juli Inkster went to The Standard Portland Classic to face some competition ahead of the U.S. Senior Women's Open. The 65-year-old Hall of Famer nearly wound up setting an LPGA record. Inkster opened with a 69 and was poised to become the oldest player in LPGA history to make a 36-hole cut until consecutive bogeys on her back nine led to a 74. She was at 1-under 143, and it was looking unlikely for her to be among the top 65 and ties to make the weekend.
Winnipeg Free Press
15 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Juli Inkster wanted a tune-up for Senior Open. She nearly set an LPGA record
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Juli Inkster went to The Standard Portland Classic to face some competition ahead of the U.S. Senior Women's Open. The 65-year-old Hall of Famer nearly wound up setting an LPGA record. Inkster opened with a 69 and was poised to become the oldest player in LPGA history to make a 36-hole cut until consecutive bogeys on her back nine led to a 74. She was at 1-under 143, and it was looking unlikely for her to be among the top 65 and ties to make the weekend. JoAnne Carner was 64 when she made the cut in the 2004 Chick Fil-A Charity Championship. 'I frigging love JoAnne Carner,' Inkster said. 'Yeah, just kind of means that I have a passion for the game. I love the game. You know, I'm really happy I played this week. Kind of when I signed up was kind of like, `What are you doing?' 'I was free, I was out there with Hannah Green and Stacy (Lewis) and had a great time,' she said. 'Just love watching the young kids swing. It's so impressive. I think the game is in a really good shape and happy to be here.' Inkster was competing at an LPGA event for the first time since 2022. She was asked what it was like when players recognized her. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'Most of them think I am Joanne Carner,' Inkster said. She was disappointed at her finish, especially the way she struggled off the tee toward the end. Along with the two bogeys, she said she played the final two par 5s sloppily. Still, there were few regrets. The U.S. Senior Women's Open is next week at San Diego Country Club. 'I think it was really good for me to play, whether I win or lose next week, whatever,' Inkster said. 'I'm glad I put myself out there.' ___ AP golf:
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Sabalenka stunned by Rybakina in Cincinnati, Alcaraz into semis
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka was dismantled 6-1 6-4 on Friday by Elena Rybakina who powered into her first Cincinnati Open semi-final with a display of clinical serving. The Kazakh ninth seed delivered a brilliant performance to secure her seventh career win over a top-ranked player and set up a blockbuster clash with Poland's Iga Swiatek in a showdown of Wimbledon champions. Rybakina fired 11 aces throughout the match, earning an impressive 81 per cent of points on her first serve, while saving all five break points she faced as she secured her fifth win over Sabalenka in 12 meetings. 'I'm happy with the serve. It was the key,' former world number three Rybakina said. 'We're both big hitters. Today I served really well. If Aryna serves well, it's completely different. Hopefully I continue like this.' Earlier, third seed Swiatek advanced to her first WTA 1000 semi-final in 15 months, beating Russia's Anna Kalinskaya 6-3 6-4. Kalinskaya, who had defeated Swiatek in their only previous meeting, put up a spirited fight by saving four match points, before the six-times Grand Slam winner converted her fifth opportunity on serve to seal the victory. 'I just played my game,' Swiatek said. 'For sure, it wasn't easy. Just happy I was solid and had the intensity to apply pressure.' Veronika Kudermetova breezed past Varvara Gracheva 6-1 6-2 to reach her first Cincinnati semi-final. The Russian seems to be back to the form that once carried her into the Top 10, earning her first WTA 1000 last-four spot since 2023. She will next face either second seed Coco Gauff or seventh-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini in the semis. In the men's draw, second seed Carlos Alcaraz survived a three-set battle against Russian ninth seed Andrey Rublev, claiming a 6-3 4-6 7-5 win to reach the last four. The Spaniard was far from his best, committing 15 unforced errors and three double faults in the decider, but capitalizing on his lone match point, courtesy of a Rublev double fault, to secure his 15th consecutive Masters 1000 win. 'Playing someone like Andrey, when you lose focus on two or three points, it can cost you the set or the match. I just stayed strong mentally and that's what I'm most proud of,' Alcaraz said. 'It's just accepting the moment, accepting that I am playing a third set, that it's going to be a really tough battle, and I love that,' he added after setting up a showdown with either third seed Alex Zverev or American fifth seed Ben Shelton. Five-times Grand Slam champion Alcaraz, winner of 37 of his last 39 matches, advanced to his 12th Masters 1000 semi, equalling the mark of Italian top seed Jannik Sinner, who faces Frenchman Terence Atmane in the other last-four clash. Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Ken Ferris.
