SINGAPORE _ Michelle Wie rolled in several clutch putts on Thursday and had six birdies in a 10-hole stretch to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the HSBC Women’s Champions.

The 27-year-old Wie, who has struggled with injuries and form since winning the U.S. Open in 2014, shot a 6-under 66 at the new Tanjong course.

Brooke Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., was in a five-way tie for second place. Henderson, Inbee Park, Mo Martin, Anna Nordqvist and Ariya Jutanugarn each shot a 5-under 67.

“We love Singapore,” Henderson said of her and her sister Brittany. “It’s our favourite place that we travel to. We love it. Just being in a hotel room and looking out over the city is cool. Maybe a night safari or something like that.”

Among other scores in the 63-player field, Stacy Lewis and Paula Creamer had 68s, top-ranked Lydia Ko shot 69, Shanshan Feng and Lexi Thompson 70, Karrie Webb 75 and Cristie Kerr 77.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton opened with a 3-over 75.

Wie, who had eight birdies and a pair of bogeys on Thursday, has managed just one top-10 finish since 2014 and only got into the $1.5 million LPGA tournament on a sponsor’s invitation after her ranking slumped to No. 179.

But she was in vintage touch Thursday despite playing in tricky winds and light rain.

After making a bogey-5 at the third, Wie’s putter suddenly got hot as she made three birdies in a row to go out in 34.

She made another three birdies at the start of the back nine, draining a 12-foot putt on the 11th and then sinking another long putt from below the hole on the 501-yard, par-5 13th to take the early lead at a tournament featuring nine of the world’s top 10 players.

Wie slipped a shot behind Nordqvist when she bogeyed the 15th after an errant tee shot and the Swede picked up her sixth birdie, but Wie regained the lead with back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17.

“It feels good to play without much pain, to go out there and just play some golf and focus on my game rather than trying to finish out rounds,” Wie said. “It’s always exciting to be on the top of the leaderboard.”

CHONBURI, Thailand – Amy Yang rarely wavered with a big lead during the final round of the Thailand LPGA tournament, shooting a 4-under 68 to win by five strokes Sunday.

Due to rain delays, Yang was forced to play her final five holes of the third round on Sunday morning, and she led by five strokes after 54 holes.

Later in the day, the 2015 Thailand champion saw her lead reduced to three shots on several occasions, but the South Korean held on to post a record 22-under 266 on the Siam Country Club’s Pattaya Old Course.

The previous tournament record of 21 under was held by Suzann Pettersen in 2007 and Ai Miyazato in 2010.

Yang, who won for the third time on the LPGA Tour, made a 15-foot putt on the 14th for par, then drove the green on the par-4 15th.

“I knew I had to make it, and I did,” Yang said of her par putt on 14.

She missed her eagle attempt at 15, but made a three-foot putt for birdie to increase her lead to four shots with three to play. From there, her lead was safe and she birdied the 18th for good measure.

So Yeon Ryu, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open champion, matched Yang with a 68 to finish second.

Lexi Thompson had the best round of the day, a 67, to finish tied for fourth, nine strokes behind, and level with fellow American Danielle Kang, who shot 68.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot 69 to finish in a tied for 45th at even for the torunament. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., also finished even after a final round of 72.

The tournament featured 18 of the top 20 players in the world, including top-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand, who shot a closing 68 and was tied for eighth, 11 strokes behind.

“I am beyond happy, I had so many early wakeup calls this week,” said Yang, who had to play 31 holes on Saturday and 23 on Sunday. “I had to stay patient out there.”

Yang carded 10 birdies, one eagle and only one bogey over her second and partial third rounds on Saturday.

CHONBURI, Thailand – Amy Yang of South Korea had 10 birdies and an eagle in 31 holes on Saturday after round three of LPGA Thailand was suspended due to bad light.

With five holes left, 17-under Yang had a four-shot advantage over 2011 US Women’s Open champion Ryu So Yeon, whose completed third-round 68 gave her the clubhouse lead of 13-under 203.

The tournament was already behind schedule after rain and unplayable course conditions saw the unfinished second round postponed to Saturday at the Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course.

The 2015 champion and 11th-ranked Yang was among five players to start their second round in the morning, including second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn.

Yang shot six birdies and a bogey for a second-round 67 and overall 11-under 133, heading into the third round with a one-shot lead over Jutanugarn (68) and Chinese Shanshan Feng (67).

In less than an hour, Yang went back for the third round and had two birdies _ and an eagle on the seventh _ for 15 under after eight holes. Play was stopped again due to lightning for more than an hour and Yang sank more birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 on resumption before bad light forced suspension.

Jutanugarn is 10 under overall with five holes to complete. Feng is also 10 under with four holes left from the third round.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., was tied for 44th place at even par. She was 1 under on her day with three holes left to play when play was suspended.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., was in the clubhouse at 2-over 219 after a 74.

Play resumes at 7 a.m. local time on Sunday.

Play at the Honda LPGA Thailand was called at due to unplayable course conditions brought on by severe weather at the Pattaya Old Course.

“We were hoping we could get out and play some more golf. All four of us (LPGA Rules Officials) went out and looked, and there is just too much of a mess out there to be able to go and play today,” said LPGA Vice President of Rules and Competition Sue Witters. “It’ll take them a long time to restore the bunkers and pump the water out. We’re not going to play anymore today, and we’ll resume play at 7:00 tomorrow to finish round two.” 

The second round got underway at 9:38 a.m. but was delayed at 11:24 a.m. local time due to inclement weather in the area. Players returned to the course at 12:19 p.m. after a 55 minute delay but were quickly pulled off the course again at 12:39 p.m. when the storms returned. 

The final group of Ariya Jutanugarn, Amy Yang and Sei Young Kim did not tee off while the penultimate group of Minjee Lee, Ryann O’Toole and Shanshan Feng only hit their tee shots on the first hole before being called in.

Jutanugarn and Yang continue to lead at 6-under with Lee, O’Toole and Feng a shot back. Also a shot back are Danielle Kang and Cristie Kerr who both birided the par-5 first hole.

Ha Na Jang had the low round on the course at 3-under through eight holes to move into a tie for ninth at 4-under par.

Second round competition will resume at 7 a.m. tomorrow. Projected round three starting times will be 10:30 a.m. – 12:42 p.m.. Players will remain in their round two pairing for round three.

PATTAYA, Thailand – Ariya Jutanugarn and Amy Yang both shot 6-under 66 in the first round Thursday to take a share of the lead at the LPGA Thailand.

Jutanugarn, a Thai ranked second in the world, had six birdies while Yang, the 2015 champion, had seven birdies and a bogey at the Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course.

“In the middle, during the round, I had some time I couldn’t control the ball, but I still had a lot of good shots,” said Yang, who is from Taiwan. “Gave myself a lot of good opportunities out there.”

Ryann O’Toole, Sei Young Kim, Minjee Lee and Shanshan Feng were a stroke behind the leaders.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko (70) had five birdies and three bogeys, while former No. 1 Inbee Park shot a 72 in her first action since winning the Olympic gold medal last year.

“I don’t feel much of the injury anymore,” said Park, the winner in Pattaya in 2013. “Ball-striking was really good today. Just around the greens wasn’t as sharp as I wanted. Obviously that’s just going to happen. Just got to be patient.”

ADELAIDE, Australia – Ha Na Jang boldly predicted she’d finish at 10-under on Saturday evening; little did she realise it would be enough to lift the Patricia Bridges Bowl in the most dramatic circumstances.

In a rollercoaster final round during which no fewer than five players held or shared the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open lead, Jang unleased a closing salvo that will long be remembered by all in a huge gallery at Royal Adelaide.

The Korean hadn’t made a birdie in almost three hours on a day of trying, gusty winds as the overnight leaders imploded and left 17 people within three shots of the lead as birdies became a rare commodity.

But in a truly incredible final hour from the 13^th hole, the effervescent 24-year-old from Seoul went birdie-birdie-par-par-eagle-birdie to close out a remarkable back-nine 31 that simply left the field in her wake.

Jang’s explosive finish left her a three-shot winner for her fourth career LPGA Tour title – all in the past 13 months.

Maude-Aimée Leblanc finished at 5-under par (71-68-73-75) to close with a share a seventh place – a career best for the Sherbrooke, Que., product. Fellow Canadian Alena Sharp also had a strong performance Down Under, finishing T16 at 3-under for the tournament.

Brooke Henderson had an electric front nine with five birdies to shoot 32, but would play the back nine at 3-over par to finish at 2-under for the tournament in a tie for 21st.

Unheralded Dane Nanna Madsen was one of few among the third-round leader to hold her ground and her even-par 73 was eventually good enough for seven under and second in a blanket finish for the minor placings.

World No.2 Ariya Jutanugarn came from the clouds to momentarily lead, but a three-putt bogey on the 15^th consigned her to a share of third at six under alongside defending champion Haru Nomura (73) and Australian pair Minjee Lee (70) and Sarah Jane Smith (75).

Third-round leader Lizette Salas had recovered from an early lapse and led by three shots as she strolled the 11^th fairway until four bogeys in five holes reduced her to a 78 and a share seventh.

Her playing partner, Melbourne’s Su Oh, was also flattened by three back-nine bogeys and finished T14 after carding a 77.

Hannah Green was the other Australian in the mix and briefly shared the clubhouse lead after her 71 left her at five under and her most impressive finish in her three-month professional career.

But the day belonged to Jang, whose magnetic demeanour has won a horde of Australian fans in her third visit to the national championship, including five singing fans who supported loudly throughout her 69 strokes, most notably after her breathtaking eagle on the penultimate hole.

“I’m just looking for the score board (early on the back nine) and it’s not really good scores for the other players,” Jang said.

“I said, ‘OK, you can do it, just you try simple’.

“Then on hole number 13 and 14 (I made) birdie.  I’m starting more, like my mind is more exciting and I can do it more,” she bubbled.

“I try like consultation and conversation, too, and then hole number 17, I try to think about the speed and it (was) very, very exciting.

“(The putt is) feeling good, touching (my blade) solid, looks good, `Oh my God, that one is (to) make eagle — eagle, yeah!

“So my mind is more nervous, (the) pressure is gone. Hole number 18 is easy.  It’s very exciting today.”

If that sounds excitable, it was probably only half as pumped as the crowd who’d taken her theatrics to heart, most notably the five chanting men.

“I remember fan guy (as we were) starting hole No.1, saying, `Ha Na, let’s go. Ha Na Jang, you can do it”, like that.

“I play with Haru and she said, `You know that guy, right?’ and I said, `No, I think it’s an Australian guy’. She say, `Why is he a big fan for you … I think he likes you.”

“So that’s why big fans every hole and every hole is a good shot (with shouts), `Good shot Ha Na, you can do it.  Let’s go do it’, like that.

“Thank you so much … they’re good sport.”

Jang immediately promised to return to defend her title at Kooyonga next year.

“I love Australia because food is good, people (are) really kind, I love the golf course and the weather is so good, because it’s not really hot.  Strong windy and a little dry, I like dry arid conditions, so, really good,” she beamed before leaving with one final gem about her love of Aussie golf courses.

“I like the golf course because (they’re) firm.  I like fast green and firm green. Korea’s (courses are) really soft and (have) long grass, (with) little, soft green.

“But in Australia … every hole is happy, you know why? I hit driver 300 yard, because it’s long on the fairway.  Always I’m looking, and it’s oh, 300 yards, it looks like little girl’s Bubba Watson. That’s funny.”

World No.1 Lydia Ko fired a closing 75 to finish two over, playing alongside world No.8 Brooke Henderson who threatened early in reaching five under, but fell away late to shoot 71 and finish two under, just outside the top 20.

ADELAIDE, Australia – American Lizette Salas shot a 2-under 71 Saturday to take a two-stroke lead over two Australians and a Thai golfer heading into the final round of the Women’s Australian Open at Royal Adelaide.

Salas, who had a 10-under total of 209, was 1 over after the front nine, but rescued her round with back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th holes and another on the par-5 17th.

Despite her poor start, she joked about her round later.

“I started to think whether or not I tied my hair up too tight, or whether I should take off my sweater,” Salas said. “I didn’t get a start that I wanted to but today I felt like even par literally felt like under par. I rolled in a few putts when I needed to.”

Canadian Maude-Aimée LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que., carded an even-par round for a two-way share of fifth at 7-under par heading into to Sunday’s final round. Countrywoman Alena Sharp recorded a 74 (+1) and sits tied for tenth at 5-under for the event.

South Korean-born Australian Su Oh had the round of the day, a 68, and was tied for second with fellow Australian and 36-hole leader Sarah Jane Smith (74) and Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand (73).

“It’s a little disappointing, I feel like I played pretty well,” Smith said. “I made a lot of soft bogeys today, where I feel like today’s the day where if you made some bogeys you’d be OK. Hopefully, we can get on top of that for tomorrow.”

Defending champion Haru Nomura of Japan had a second consecutive 69 and was in a group tied for seventh, four strokes behind.

No. 2-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, the LPGA’s Player of the Year and a five-time winner in 2016, shot a 71 and was at 4-under. Michelle Wie shot 76 and was at 2-under, eight strokes behind.

No. 1-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand was at even par after a 73 on Saturday, as was Canada’s Brooke Henderson.

Brooke and Brittany Henderson took to the course early on Saturday as the first “group” out in Round 3. Because of the odd number of players to make the cut (75) Henderson played on her own for the first time in her career and brisked through 18 holes in just over three hours, shooting even par with one birdie and one bogey.

“It took a little while to get the rhythm right because you’re normally waiting for other players and you have a little bit more time to process things, but at the end of the day it worked out really well and now I have the rest of the day to go experience Glenelg and Adelaide,” said Henderson.

Ko has a new coach, caddie and equipment.

“It takes time to get used to, but with the clubs actually, it hasn’t really taken a long time,” Ko said “Straight away I had a rough idea how far it was going and the flight itself. It’s something that I can trust, even though it’s only my first tournament with them.”

ADELAIDE, Australia – Sarah Jane Smith shot a 6-under 67 in tough, windy afternoon conditions Friday at Royal Adelaide to take a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the Women’s Australian Open.

The Australian had a 36-hole total of 9-under 137.

American Lizette Salas shot 70 to move into a four-way tie for second. She was joined by Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand, who also shot 70, Marissa Steen of the United States, who had a 71, and Sweden’s Caroline Hewwall, who birdied her final three holes for a 69.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it,” Smith said of her chance to win her national championship. “Obviously, it would be a dream come true and something that every young Australian thinks about at some point. So to even be in this position right now is pretty exciting. I just need to control my nerves.”

First-round leader Katherine Kirk was in a late share of the lead until she double-bogeyed the eighth hole, her second-last of the day. She was two strokes off the lead in a tie for sixth after a 74.

Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., had one of the best rounds of the day, a 68 that left her tied with Kirk at 7-under. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., shot 77 and was at even par, as was No. 1-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand after a 75.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton fired a 69 and was tied for ninth while Jennifer Ha of Calgary carded a 78 and failed to make the cut for the third round.

Salas said she recovered well during her round.

“I would be in trouble or miss an up-and-down, on the next hole I’d come right back with birdie,” she said. “I gave myself a lot of opportunities for birdie and I’d miss them on the high side, so that’s something that I could work on on the putting green.”

Salas says she’s “in a good place right now” as she looks forward to possibly representing the U.S. at the Solheim Cup.

“The past two years I’ve been kind of hoping to get better as the year went on,” Salas said. “This year I really wanted to get a good start. Knowing it is a Solheim Cup year, so every tournament does count and I literally took no time off during the off season. It is a huge goal.”

Michelle Wie shot 71 and was at 5-under, four behind Smith. Wie had to overcome back spasms for most of her round, which started with a double-bogey.

“It was pretty bad out there, but hopefully to the physio and get it better for this weekend,” Wie said.

No. 2-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, the LPGA’s player of the year and a five-time winner in 2016, shot a second consecutive 72, and defending champion Haru Nomura of Japan rebounded from an opening 75 with a 69 to make the cut.

Five-time champion Karrie Webb shot 73 after an opening 76 and missed qualifying for the weekend.

ADELAIDE, Australia – Katherine Kirk set the early pace at the Women’s Australian Open on Thursday, shooting an 8-under 65 at Royal Adelaide to take a two-stroke clubhouse lead.

The Australian, playing her fourth week in a row, birdied four of her first five holes and three of four in the middle of the back nine.

“There are low numbers to be had out there,” said Kirk. “A lot of birdie opportunities, and I was just fortunate I got off to a good start and kept the momentum going.”

Tied for second were Marissa Steen and Jane Park of the United States and South Korean Chella Choi.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson was four strokes behind after carding 69, while No. 1-ranked Lydia Ko shot 71. Five-time champion Karrie Webb shot 76 ahead of the afternoon starters who included No. 2-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn, a five-time winner last year.

“Four birdies, no bogeys, I’m pretty happy and hopefully will shoot another similar round tomorrow,” said Henderson, from Smiths Fall, Ont., who played with Ko. “The crowds were awesome. I hardly ever see that many people on the Thursday round, especially when we tee off (early) in the morning.”

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp and Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., were tied at 2-under 71. Calgary’s Jennifer Ha was 2-over 75.

Ko was frustrated on the greens, but ended the day on a good note when she birdied the ninth, her last.

“I hit my drives good, which is really important around a course like this, but just the putts did not drop,” Ko said. “It was good to see a putt drop on the final hole and hopefully that will give me good momentum going into tomorrow.”

Webb had an up-and-down second nine after starting on the 10th. She was 3-over after bogeying the first – her 10th hole – but then went double-bogey, bogey, birdie, birdie, par to complete her round.

“A couple of late birdies at least made lunch taste better, but it wasn’t real good out there today,” said Webb.

Steen was in the first group out, and took advantage of it during her round which included an eagle on the third.

“The wind was low, the greens were rolling really pure. I was joking that I didn’t see a blade of grass out of place out there the whole day,” Steen said. “I didn’t trip once. I either hit every green or was right on the fringe where I was still able to putt, so I gave myself a lot of chances and took advantage when I had wedges in my hands.”

Steen, 27, didn’t start playing golf until she was 14.

“I played a bunch of other sports growing up, so focusing on golf I was a little late to it,” said Steen, who played at the University of Memphis in Tennessee for four years and then played Symetra Tour for three seasons.

CALGARY– Three-time LPGA Tour winner and eighth-ranked player in the world, Brooke Henderson is joining Canadian Pacific (CP) as its newest ambassador for the CP Women’s Open.

Henderson will join longtime ambassador Lorie Kane in representing CP and the CP Women’s Open over the course of the railway’s partnership with Golf Canada as title sponsor of Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship.

“It is an honour to welcome Brooke to the CP team,” said Keith Creel, CP President and CEO. “Brooke is the perfect ambassador for CP as we continue to grow the game of golf, advocate for healthy living through CP Has Heart, and build on the iconic Canadian brand that is CP.”

The 19-year old Canadian prodigy, born in Smiths Falls, Ontario, won the 2015 Cambia Portland Classic as a Monday qualifier, becoming the first Canadian to win on tour since CP ambassador Lorie Kane in 2001. After that win, and just prior to the start of the 2015 CP Women’s Open, LPGA commissioner Mike Whan granted Henderson membership on the tour, a unique allowance as nearly all members must be over the age of 18. Since then, Henderson has taken the LPGA by storm, consistently finishing at, or near, the top of the leaderboard.

“Smiths Falls is a CP town and a few of my family members proudly work at the railway,” Henderson said. “Being able to wear the CP logo is truly special, and I look forward to celebrating many more victories with CP and my rail family, which now includes thousands of CP’s hard working employees.”

Henderson is also a graduate of Golf Canada’s National Amateur Squad and Young Pro Squad supported by CP, which marked the beginning of her relationship with the railway.

With her win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2016, Henderson became the first Canadian to capture an LPGA major championship. She also represented Canada at the Rio Olympic Summer Games.

Henderson joins Kane – who blazed the trail for her younger competitors on her way to four LPGA Tour wins, the most by a Canadian – as a CP golf ambassador.

“I am excited to welcome Brooke to the CP family,” said Kane. “I look forward to teaming up with her to continue to grow the game and make significant contributions in the communities that CP has helped to build across our nation; especially as we celebrate Canada’s 150^th birthday this year.”

To coincide with Canada 150 celebrations, the 2017 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open will return to the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club from August 21 to 27. Through its CP Has Heart campaign, CP will once again make a significant donation to cardiac care in the host community, with funds benefiting improvements in diagnoses and treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. For tickets, corporate hospitality and volunteer information visit www.cpwomensopen.com or call 1-866-571-5742.