LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida — Canada’s Brooke Henderson fired a four-under par 67 Friday to grab a two-stroke lead after the second round of the LPGA’s season-opening Tournament of Champions.

Ninth-ranked Henderson closed a bogey-free round with seven pars in a row to stand on 10-under 132 after 36 holes at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

“I felt like I gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities,” Henderson said. “My ball striking has been really good this week and I’m happy about that. The holes where I did run into a little bit of trouble I was able to get up and down.

“Overall, I’m just happy to be in the position I’m in and just hope I can keep it going over the weekend.”

World No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn was hot on Henderson’s heels after firing a second consecutive 67 to share second on 134 alongside New Zealand’s 14th-ranked Lydia Ko and South Korea’s 32nd-ranked Ji Eun-hee.

Henderson, a 21-year-old who has now gone 34 holes without a bogey, began the day level for the lead with Ji but jumped ahead with birdies at the fourth and par-5 seventh holes, then began the inward nine with back-to-back birdies.

“It’s always fun to be in the final groups and be in contention. That’s what we play for,” Henderson said. “It’s only the halfway point. Hopefully I can keep playing the way I have been.”

Ariya, who had a bogey-free opening round, took bogeys at the par-3 fifth and 18th holes but sandwiched six birdies in between. She birdied all four par-5 holes — the seventh, 10th, 13th and 17th — as well as the par-4 eighth and 16th.

“It was great,” Ariya said. “I didn’t expect to hit 4-under today, because I was everywhere.”

Ko birdied the first and fourth holes before stumbling with a bogey at the fifth. She opened the back nine with a birdie and added another at 13 but bogeyed 15 before answering with a birdie at 17 in the new event, which matches LPGA winners and celebrities from other fields.

“I’ve just been embracing this format and enjoying playing with these celebrities,” Ko said.

Ji shook off a birdie-bogey start and answered a bogey at six with a birdie two holes later, then birdied 13 and 16 and closed with two pars to stay in the second-place pack.

Henderson won last year’s LPGA Lotte Championship and Canadian Women’s Open to qualify for the Tournament of Champions while Ariya won three times, including her second career major title at the US Women’s Open. — AFP