Staff WriterBy the time the dust settled on Saturday at the CPKC Women’s Open, the leaderboard looked less like a golf tournament and more like a cold-blooded shootout.
Two major champions, Brooke Henderson and Minjee Lee, sit tied at the top at 11-under-par, having matched each other shot-for-shot like it was written in the stars—or at least in the pairing sheet.
Sunday promises fireworks, and maybe a tear or two, if the crowd at Mississaugua Country Club has anything to say about it.
Henderson, Canada’s favourite daughter and the pride of Smiths Falls, carded the round of the day with a blistering 6-under 66. She dunked a bunker shot for eagle on 17 like it was just another Saturday, hit 15 of 18 greens, and made 27 putts en route to tying her lowest 54-hole total since the 2023 CME Group Tour Championship. In a word? Surgical. Or in Canadian terms? Maple-syrup-smooth.
“Winning in 2018 was a huge career highlight. It meant so much to me,” Henderson said. “To be in a position to possibly have that opportunity again is really, really cool… I’m just hoping to go out there and get a fast start and try to make the birdies and get the crowd on my side again.”
And they will be. Henderson has won eight of the last 11 times she’s held a lead or co-lead heading into the final round. This is her 12th time doing so. History might not repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes.
Right alongside her is Minjee Lee, who made Mississaugua’s par-5 12th and 17th look like drive-throughs on her way to two eagles and a 5-under 66. It was her third consecutive round in the 60s—the only player to do so this week—and she saved par on 18 with a chip-in that could’ve been mistaken for sorcery.
“I think the long putter has given me just that much more confidence now,” Lee said. “I can just putt with just freedom and some confidence.”
If she wins Sunday, she’ll be the first Aussie to capture the CPKC Women’s Open since Katherine Kirk in 2008 and the LPGA Tour’s first multiple-time winner of the 2025 season—breaking a streak of 22 different champions through 22 events.
A further three shots back at 8-under are Atthaya “Jeeno” Thitikul and Japan’s Akie Iwai. Thitikul’s 69 was steady, peppered with five birdies, while Iwai had a rollercoaster 72 that started with three bogeys but still sees her tied third in birdies made (14) and on the edge of contention. Worth noting: Iwai won last week in Portland. Momentum isn’t just real—it’s dangerous.
Aphrodite Deng, the 17-year-old Canadian amateur with a name plucked from mythology and a wedge game to match, is tied for seventh after a tidy 68. She’s hit just half the fairways this week but still finds herself among the tournament’s most prolific birdie-makers, with 14 through 54 holes. The highest-ever finish by a Canadian amateur at the CPKC Women’s Open? T12. Deng has history in her sights.
“I just have to get out in the fairway,” she said plainly, proving once again that genius often comes disguised as understatement.
Behind her, Alexa Pano (-5), Grace Kim (-6), and Yu Liu (-7) are still in the hunt, but they’ll need Sunday to be less a final round and more a biblical resurrection. Liu, who fired a 67 on Saturday, was candid about her chances: “I didn’t expect myself to be in contention, to be honest… So just got to – I got maybe six hours before bedtime to kind of think about it.”
As for the Audi Precision Award, Pajaree Anannarukarn is leading the charge with 43 greens in regulation. A $25,000 cheque and a matching donation to First Tee–Ontario is on the line. Nice work if you can get it.
What a Win Would Mean
For Henderson:
- 14th LPGA Tour win
- First victory since early 2023
- First Canadian to win her national open twice since 1914
- Would surpass $14M in career earnings
- Would join an elite club of six players to win the CPKC Women’s Open more than once
For Lee:
- 12th career win, second this season
- First to win twice in 2025, breaking the “everyone gets a trophy” pattern
- Would vault past $3.5M in season earnings
- First Aussie to win this event in 17 years
The Numbers Game
| Category | Brooke Henderson | Minjee Lee |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Race to CME Rank | 5 | 32 |
| 2025 LPGA Wins | 0 | 1 |
| Career Wins | 13 | 11 |
| Career Earnings | $13.9M | $18.0M |
| 2025 Top 10s | 1 | 5 |
| Best CPKC Finish | 1st (2018) | T4 (2018) |
Mississaugua Country Club isn’t giving up birdies for free, but it’s not Fort Knox either. With softer greens and favourable pins on Saturday, the field made a move—but now it’s down to two thoroughbreds.
And if Sunday’s final act lives up to the build-up, the 2025 CPKC Women’s Open may deliver the duel we all deserve.
Will Brooke bring it home? Will Minjee stay silky with the broomstick? Or will a dark horse come galloping out of the shadows?
Hold your poutine. This one’s going to the wire.
