CAMBRIDGE, Ont. — The wind picked up at the Manulife LPGA Classic on Saturday. So did the chances of a strong Canadian finish at the LPGA Tour event.
Second-round co-leader Alena Sharp was three shots behind leader Lexi Thompson after a 70, Symetra Tour player Brittany Marchand was five shots back after a 67, and Brooke Henderson was seven strokes behind after a 68.
With 10 players within five shots of the lead, it could be a wild Sunday finish at Whistle Bear Golf Club.
Thompson closed with a birdie for a 67 and a one-shot lead at 17-under-par 199. Fellow American Lindy Duncan was one stroke behind and South Korea’s In Gee Chun was two shots back.
Sharp said she had to play a more defensive style due to the firmer greens and breezy conditions.
"It was good to get through this round," Sharp said. "I didn’t hit it as great as I would have liked to but my putter saved me. I had a lot of up and downs."
It was the first time in her 12-year LPGA Tour career that she was the leader or co-leader after 36 holes — a span of 246 starts. Sharp, from nearby Hamilton, birdied No. 9 and No. 12 on her bogey-free round.
She’ll have plenty of friends and family members on hand to watch her go for her first career LPGA Tour title.
"I feel like if I can get out there and get hot early and post the round, you never know what happens," she said. "All the wins I’ve ever had when I was a kid I was always coming from behind. I like the position."
Sharp, the world No. 68, has one top-five finish this season. She posted a career-best fourth-place result at last year’s CP Women’s Open.
Marchand, who made the cut at an LPGA Tour event for the first time, wasn’t intimidated despite playing with world No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, who was tied with Sharp at 14-under 202 after a 65.
"I felt like I would probably be nervous today and I actually felt a lot more comfortable than I expected," Marchand said. "I think that’s a good sign for tomorrow."
Five early birdies helped Marchand to a blistering 31 on the front nine. On the back, she bogeyed No. 10 but got the stroke back with a birdie on the 13th hole.
The performance left Jutanugarn more than impressed.
"She hit it great and her putting is like — perfect," she said.
Marchand, who’s playing on a sponsor exemption, earned just US$1,749 for a season-best 15th-place result at last week’s Fuccillo Kia Classic of New York.
In order to save a buck on the lower-level Symetra Tour, she’ll often use volunteer caddies and eat meals with host families. She keeps a push cart in her car trunk just in case.
A significant and welcome payday could be ahead for the 24-year-old from Orangeville, Ont.
"You’re not just grinding to break even out here," she said. "So yeah, that makes a huge difference."
If she managed to pull out a victory, it would give her Category 7 status on the LPGA Tour and a likely spot in the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship later this month.
Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., kept herself in the mix despite opening with a bogey. She followed that hiccup with two straight birdies and played bogey-free golf from there.
"I started out a little bit shaky and got a little bit shaky in the middle," she said. "I made a lot of birdies to compensate."
The winner of the $1.7-million tournament will earn $255,000. The last Canadian player to win on home soil was Jocelyne Bourassa at the 1973 La Canadienne Golf Championship.
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