Brooke Henderson takes the lead, Aditi Ashok moves up

April 13, 2018: Brooke Henderson wasted no time moving into the lead in round two on Thursday at the LOTTE Championship. After a 68 in round one on Wednesday, she had a 7:55 a.m. local tee time Thursday and made birdie on her first, the tenth hole, to move into a share of the lead. Aditi Ashok was two under for the day and one under overall, climbing to T18 at the halfway stage.

Aditi fired four birdies in the first seven holes to surge up the leaderboard. But she conceded three bogeys during the day, including two on the back nine to settle for a 70.

“Today was a lot of fun, I got off to a really fast start,” said Henderson, who said she played more aggressively in round two after the fast start. “I made a lot of clutch par saves to keep the momentum and keep it bogey-free. I feel like I’m in a great spot and I’m hitting the ball really well and I can depend on my putting right now.”

In fact, she made four birdies in her first six holes to grab sole possession of the top spot in Oahu, Hawaii.

“The wind wasn’t as strong early today and there were softer conditions,” said Henderson about the early tee time. “Fortunately it didn’t rain too hard and it helped with the softness of the course.”

Henderson proceeded to make pars on her next nine holes before back-to-back birdies on holes seven and eight towards the end of her round to get to 10-under. She closed with a par on nine to turn in a 6-under, 66, her second lowest round of 2018 (65 in the third round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship).

Through 36 holes, Henderson has yet to make a bogey.

The five-time LPGA winner has been red-hot with the putter. She needed just 26 putts on Wednesday and only 24 on Thursday. The longest putt Henderson made on Thursday was a 21-foot birdie on hole eight.

“I’ve struggled early in the year with the putting so I’m thankful for my putter this week,” explained Henderson, who finished T11 in Hawaii last year. “I’m seeing the lines and I’m really confident with my putter right now.”

Henderson has picked up at least one win in each of her first three years on the LPGA dating back to her first win in 2015 at the Cambia Portland Classic as a non-member. She won twice in 2017.

Henderson, who started playing hockey when she was eight, is wearing a yellow and green ribbon to honor the 16 killed in the Humboldt Broncos bus accident. The junior hockey league team in Saskatchewan was en route to a playoff game.

“To be able to honor them and to remember those that have passed away and all the survivors that are fighting for their life and overcoming the injuries that they had there,” remarked Henderson about the ribbons. “It was pretty terrible what happened. They’re in my thoughts and prayers.”

LPGA Release