Brooke Henderson 5 shots back after opening round of Olympic women's golf
18-year-old Canadian sinks eagle in 1st round
By Jonathan Rumley, CBC Sports
Canada's Brooke Henderson sits five shots behind the leader and is tied for 19th following the first round of Olympic women's golf.
- VIDEO: Henderson tees off in first round
- VIDEO: Henderson drains eagle
- LEADERBOARD: Women's golf at Rio 2016
The 18-year-old athlete from Smiths Falls, Ont., shot a 1-under-par 70 Thursday at the Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro.
Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn, 20, is leading the pack after shooting 6-under (65) in the Olympic debut of women's golf. Two South Korean golfers are tied for second at 5-under (66).
"It wasn't my best day and I'm still a couple of shots back of the lead," Henderson said after her round. "It was a good learning experience today."
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAN?src=hash">#CAN</a> Brooke Henderson sinks a birdie to move to 1-under. Now tied for 18th. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Golf?src=hash">#Golf</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ul9tiw2EfW">https://t.co/Ul9tiw2EfW</a> <a href="https://t.co/XMlPVx2vpt">https://t.co/XMlPVx2vpt</a>
—@CBCOlympics"I don't see double bogeys on my card very often, which is a good thing," she said. "But unfortunately, I had two today."
Henderson birdied the 15th hole and closed her round with three straight pars.
Missed any <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Golf?src=hash">#Golf</a>? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CBCOlympics?src=hash">#CBCOlympics</a> has your highlights! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAN?src=hash">#CAN</a> Henderson at -2, Sharp at E. <a href="https://t.co/Ul9tiw2EfW">https://t.co/Ul9tiw2EfW</a> <a href="https://t.co/JNZcnoNAP8">https://t.co/JNZcnoNAP8</a>
—@CBCOlympicsAlena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., shot 1-over (72) and sits tied for 37th place among the 60 athletes competing. The 35-year-old was the No. 81-ranked competitor in women's golf heading into the Summer Games.
She double-bogeyed the fifth hole and added a couple bogeys on the back nine before closing with a birdie.
"You saw some of the guys shoot seven under last week [in the men's tournament]," Sharp said. "I think it's doable if you hit the right ridges. The way I'm hitting it right now, I can't sit here and tell you that it's out of the question for me.
"If I just get my putter hot, I'll be good."
The second round of golf tees off Thursday at 6:30 a.m. ET (watch live on cbc.ca/olympics and the CBC Rio 2016 app). Play continues in Brazil through Saturday.
With files from The Canadian Press