Brooke Henderson back on track after firing course record at CP Women's Open
Nicole Broch Larsen, Mo Martin in tie atop leaderboard
It's going to be Mighty Mouse versus the Danish Dynamo, finesse against power, in the final pairing in the fourth round of the CP Women's Open.
Denmark's Nicole Broch Larsen and American Mo Martin finished the third round at 10 under for a tie atop the leaderboard on Saturday at the CP Women's Open. The two players have very different styles of play, with the five-foot-10 Broch Larsen known for her long drives and the five-foot-one Martin relying on shorter, more accurate shots.
"I love this game. It's the greatest game on the planet. And one of the reasons is you can play it so many ways and it's all inclusive," said Martin, whose late father Allen used to call her Mighty Mouse. "So different ages, obviously, genders and sizes, and you can play this game any way. You just play to your own strength."
Broch Larsen has relied on strong ball striking from the tee to shorten longer holes at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club. That strategy earned her five birdies for a five-under 66 on Saturday. As an example, she used a driver and then a wedge on the 394-yard, par-4 No. 14 hole.
"I'll just try to do what I've done the first three days, especially like today, trying to keep those bogeys off my card," said Broch Larsen. "Because I know I can make enough birdies to win. It's just a matter if I can keep the bogeys off the cards. So hopefully I can do that [on Sunday]."
Fast greens suit Martin
Martin shot a four-under 67 in the third round to climb up from a tie for second. She knew that her style of play would do well at the Canadian national championship after a rainstorm pelted the course on Tuesday.
"It's thick grass, and it's got a big soaking from the rain. So that made it even thicker," said Martin. "There are still some puddles out there, but it's just in great shape. The greens are super fast, and some very tricky pin placements out there. So they're tricking it up like an Open too."
South Korea's In Gee Chun, who led after two rounds, was alone in third at 9 under. Mirim Lee, also from South Korea, and American Cristie Kerr were tied for fourth at eight under.
Henderson 'in the zone'
However, no one had a better day than Brooke Henderson from nearby Smiths Falls, Ont. She fired a course-record eight-under 63 to rocket up the leaderboard and enter into a tie for sixth at seven under after she barely made the cut on Friday.
"It was just like the perfect day. I hit the ball extremely well," said Henderson. "Mentally I was right on. I felt in the zone as a lot of athletes call it. I felt like I was in the best place of mind for me to play my best. That's always a great feeling.
"Shots, I was hitting them close and making putts and making a lot of birdies. I guess, eight birdies today. On 18 holes of golf, that's pretty good."
Brittany Marchand (72) of Orangeville, Ont., finished the day tied for 45th at one under.
Martin, Brittany Lincicome and a handful of other golfers and caddies had a pizza party Friday night. Lincicome's caddy Missy Pederson makes the homemade pizzas as often as possible on the LPGA Tour. Both Martin and Linciome, who is tied for 12th at six under, said the get-together helped keep them loose.
"It definitely helped," said Martin. "I felt good when I woke up. Felt good going to bed. I don't eat a lot of pizza, but I'll take Missy's any day when I do eat it."