GRAND RAPIDS (Michigan) • Canadian golfer Brooke Henderson rolled in four straight birdies in the middle of her round en route to a 67 and a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Meijer Classic.

She could have had a bigger lead but ended Friday's round with back-to-back bogeys to reach a 12-under 130 total, setting the Ladies Professional Golf Association tournament's 36-hole record.

Despite the weak finish, she was able to look at the positives and sounded full of confidence going into the weekend at the Blythefield Country Club.

"Two bogeys to finish, but that just gives me a little more motivation going into tomorrow," said the 19-year-old Henderson, who remained two strokes ahead of South Korean Hur Mi Jung (66), Spaniard Carlota Ciganda (64) and American Lexi Thompson (68) in the US$2 million (S$2.7 million) event.

New Zealand's Lydia Ko (71), who recently lost her world No. 1 crown after 85 weeks on top, was six shots back. Her successor, Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn (69), was eight off the pace.

However, Ariya's sister Moriya showed there is more than one champion in the family by scoring a 66 that left her three shots behind Henderson.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

MEIJER CLASSIC
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