INCHEON, Korea – Se Ri Pak ended her Hall of Fame career Thursday in front of her adoring home fans in the LPGA KEB HanaBank Championship.

In tears on the final green at the end of the sunny afternoon at Sky 72, Pak cried nearly throughout a retirement ceremony on the 18th hole. The Little Angels children’s choir sang, players wore “SE RI” hats and farewell messages were played in a video montage.

It mattered little to the fans and players – many drawn to golf by Pak – that she shot an 8-over 80 and was tied for last in the 78-player field before withdrawing as planned.

Hampered by left shoulder problems, the 39-year-old Pak said in Phoenix in March that this season would be her last and she stepped away after the first round of the tour’s lone South Korean event.

Pak won 25 LPGA Tour titles – the last in 2010 – and five majors, two of them during a rookie season in 1998 that gave women’s golf its biggest boost since Nancy Lopez. The youngest player to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame when she was enshrined in 2007 at age 30, Pak won 14 times on the Korean LPGA and captained South Korea’s Olympic team – with Inbee Park winning the gold medal – in Rio.

At the top of the leaderboard, Alison Lee shot a 65 to take a three-stroke lead. The 21-year-old American birdied the final two holes and four of the last six on the Jack Nicklaus-designed Ocean Course.

In-Kyung Kim, the winner two weeks ago in China, was second along with fellow South Korean player Jeong Min Cho, Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, American Lizette Salas and France’s Karine Icher.

Pak last played on the tour in July, also shooting an 80 in July to miss the cut in the U.S. Women’s Open.

Playing alongside defending champion Lexi Thompson and Chinese star Shanshan Feng in the final group, Pak bogeyed the first hole and four of the next six. She bogeyed the first five holes on the back nine, birdied the par-4 15th and closed with three straight pars.

After a good drive and layup on the par-5 18th, Pak hit a wedge that stopped 15 feet short. She watched Feng’s putt stay to the right, and had a better line, but still missed on the right edge. Thompson then missed – also to the right – from 3 feet, setting off a flurry of camera clicks as the attention turned back to Pak – 18 years after she sparked the rise in South Korean and Asian women’s golf.

“Pak-mania” ruled in the summer of ’98, especially after she won the U.S. Women’s Open in a 20-hole playoff against amateur Jenny Chuasiriporn. When Pak returned to South Korea that fall, she had to be hospitalized for exhaustion. Television cameras even came into her hospital room to give the latest news.

Pak was a catalyst for more young players to believe they could compete on the strongest circuit in women’s golf. Today, six of the top 10 players in the world and 22 of the top 45 are South Korean.

Lee matched her best round of the season marred by a torn labrum in her left shoulder.

“I actually injured knew shoulder back in February and I didn’t know what was wrong,” Lee said. “My swing was changing and all that and I definitely wasn’t performing the same way I used to. It hurt a lot, a huge portion of my mental game. I was struggling a lot on the golf course not only because of my injury, but because I was scared. I was scared of the ball. I didn’t know where it was going to go.”

After a birdie try on 16 horseshoed out, the UCLA student made a 12-footer on the par-3 17th and got up-and-down for birdie on 18 after nearly reaching the green in two.

“I think I only missed one or two putts inside 15 feet,” Lee said.

Evian winner In Gee Chun and U.S. Women’s Open champion Brittany Lang shot 69. Thompson was at 70 with Brooke Henderson, the Canadian teen playing the third of six straight weeks in Asia.

South Korea’s Ha Na Jang, the winner last week in Taiwan for her third victory of the year, had a 71. Feng and Ariya Jutanugarn, a five-time winner this year, shot 73. Top-ranked Lydia Ko was tied for 63rd at 75.

(ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., USA) – World Golf Foundation (WGF) – the non-profit organization developing and supporting initiatives that positively impact lives through the game of golf and its traditional values – has announced the launch of the Golf & Health Project, academically researching and highlighting how the game can benefit peoples’ lives.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, led by Dr. Andrew Murray and under the supervision of leading international academics, Professor Nanette Mutrie and Professor Liz Grant, have conducted the largest, most comprehensive study of golf and health, with the results shown in a Scoping Review published in the world’s leading sports medicine and science journal, The British Journal of Sports Medicine.  In total, 5,000 papers were reviewed to provide a comprehensive view on the impact of the game on health, illness prevention (and management) and associated injuries (infographic).

Key benefits include improvements in life expectancy and quality of life, as well as physical and mental health benefits.  Golf is expected to decrease the risk of more than 40 major chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart attacks, colon and breast cancer.  Current research shows that golf has positive impacts on cholesterol, body composition, metabolism, and longevity.

The Project launches with support from all of golf’s major organisations, along with an initial eight ambassadors from around the world with more than 30 majors and 350 wins between them – Aaron Baddeley (Australia), Annika Sorenstam(Sweden), Brooke Henderson (Canada), Gary Player (South Africa), Padraig Harrington (Ireland), Ryann O’Toole (USA), So Yeon Ryu (South Korea), and Zach Johnson (USA).

Current information from the Scoping Review and future research findings will continue to be available through the Golf & Health website – www.golfandhealth.org. This information is designed to be practical and usable by golf’s stakeholders to help develop the sport around the world.

The project also aims to show existing and future benefits that are identified are applicable to individuals of all ages throughout society, not just a specific sub-section of the population.

The WGF and the major golf organizations represented on its Board of Directors, along with partners such as the PGAs of Europe and the University of Edinburgh, academic collaborators and supporters from the University of California at San Francisco, and various other organizations, are working together on the Project with a view to sharing its work around the globe.

“The importance of the Golf & Health Project in the development of the sport is vital, not just for the WGF’s partners, but everyone involved with golf around the world,” said Steve Mona, CEO of the World Golf Foundation.  “This Project is something we can all get behind, as it is universally agreed that golf is good for you. It is going to provide real, tangible resources that can be used by governments and politicians, professional tours, governing bodies, golf businesses, PGA Professionals and more – all to the sport’s benefit.”

The Project is planning various research-led activities to further prove areas of interest and also expand into currently under-researched areas such as the mental health benefits of golf, physical benefits in older players and the positive effects of spectating.

“For a number of years we’ve felt we’ve underplayed the likely benefits of golf on peoples’ health,” added Golf & Health Project Executive Director and European Tour Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Roger Hawkes.  “Over the last two or three years, there seems to be an interest from various bodies and we’ve been able to bring together that interest to actually study this area.”

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Ha Na Jang held off Shanshan Feng by a stroke in wind and rain Sunday in the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship for her third victory of the year.

Eight strokes ahead of Feng after a birdie on the sixth hole, the 24-year-old South Korean player bogeyed two of the next three holes and scrambled to par the final nine for a 1-under 71.

Feng finished with a 66. The Chinese star chipped in for birdie from 35 feet on the par-4 15th to pull within two strokes, and nearly holed a bunker shot for eagle on the par-5 18th.

Jang then lagged her 15-foot birdie putt to inches, and danced on the green after tapping in.

Brooke Henderson, a 19-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., birdied the last two holes for a 70 to tie for third with South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim (69) at 10 under. Taiwan’s Candie Kung (69), South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace (71) and South Korea’s Hee Young Park (72) were another stroke back.

“I was like nervous every hole,” Jang said. “Shanshan really good play today. That’s why I got very nervous. And then I’m just simple every hole because weather is just so bad. And then just keep going the fairway and the green.”

She kept the celebration short after drawing criticism in South Korea for her flamboyant victory celebrations – a “Samurai Lasso” routine in Florida in February and a “Beyonce Single Ladies” dance in Singapore in March. Also, before the Singapore event, Jang’s father dropped a hard-case suitcase that tumbled down an airport escalator and injured rival player In Gee Chun.

“After Singapore’s not really good happening. That’s why little, small dancing,” Jang said. “Yesterday my agent and all the people text me say just try small celebration. Please just you try it. That’s why I got try a little more small one. But I think it’s really good. Celebration is a little small, but looks like a little bigger. It’s like dancing like, ‘I like it. I like it.’ Like that. So happy.”

Jang finished at 17-under 271. She set up some key par saves with sharp play around the greens, hitting to inches on 14 after striking the pin, to a foot on 15 after Feng holed out, and to 2 feet on 16 and 17.

“Really solid chipping,” Jang said. “My chipping is pretty good first time my life. That’s why every par is good score, because raining so bad. So that’s these why every hole is par. … My first win weather is rainy, exactly same. I like it raining on the golf course.”

Jang shot a 62 on Saturday to take a six-stroke lead over Feng into the final round. The 62 was the lowest score in her LPGA Tour career and matched the best round in the three years at Miramar.

The South Korean player earned $300,000 to jump from 12th to seventh in the money list with $1,199,719. She’s projected to go from 12th to eighth in the world ranking.

Feng had her third straight top-four finish. The Olympic bronze medallist was fourth in the Evian Championship and tied for fourth last week in China in the Asian Swing opener.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko shot a 70 to tie for 20th at 3 under. She won by nine strokes last year at Miramar.

The tour will be in South Korea next week, then visit China, Malaysia and Japan.

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Ha Na Jang shot a 10-under 62 in calmer conditions Saturday at rainy Miramar to take a six-stroke lead in the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship.

Chasing her third victory of the year, the 24-year-old South Korean player hit a 30-yard flop shot to a foot in steady rain on the par-5 18th for her 10th birdie of the day.

“Really surprised my play because weather so bad on the back nine,” Jang said. “But just be patient every hole. Just simple my thinking. Just thinking hitting the flag and hitting the fairway.”

Brooke Henderson, a 19-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., shot 69 and goes into the final round tied for fourth at 8 under.

After shooting a 69 in high wind and early rain Friday for a share of the lead with fellow South Korean player Hee Young Park, Jang had her lowest score in her two-year LPGA Tour career and matched the best round in the three years the event has been played at Miramar.

“I want keep this, my scorecard,” Jang said. “Always I want inside my pocket.”

South Korea’s Inbee Park set the Miramar mark in 2014 and England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff tied it earlier Saturday.

Jang birdied three of the last four holes to reach 16-under 200. She hit a wedge to four feet on 15, made a 30-foot putt on 16 and closed the bogey-free round with the tap-in on 18 after the flop that landed on a ridge and trickled down.

China’s Shanshan Feng was second after a 67, and Hee Young Park was another shot back after a 69.

“I don’t really look at leaderboards,” Feng said. “But somebody else told me Ha Na shot like 62 today. … Somebody shot 62 today. Maybe I’ll shoot 62 tomorrow. Who knows?”

Shadoff was tied for eighth at 6 under. After opening with rounds of 78 and 70, she birdied 10 of the first 15 holes and closed with three pars.

“It was getting the ball in the fairway,” Shadoff said. “The rough out here is so thick that it’s really hard to get spin from the rough. It’s tough even chipping from around the greens. So, I was just in the fairway.”

American Alison Lee also rebounded to get to 6 under, shooting 65.

Defending champion Lydia Ko was tied for 16th at 4 under after a 69. The top-ranked New Zealander won by nine strokes last year at 20 under.

Jang started fast with a wedge to three feet on No. 1 and hit another to five feet on the fifth, then holed putts of 10 feet on the sixth, eight feet from the fringe on the seventh, and 15 feet on the ninth. She chipped in for birdie from 15 feet on 11, and made a 12-footer on 12.

Jang won her first tour title in February in Florida and added her second victory three events later in Singapore.

She also drew strong criticism in South Korea for her flamboyant victory celebrations _ a “Samurai Lasso” routine in Ocala and a “Beyonce Single Ladies” dance in Singapore _ and a freak accident that sidelined rival In Gee Chun with a back injury. Before the Singapore tournament, Jang’s father dropped a hard-case suitcase that tumbled down an airport escalator and struck Chun.

She was asked about a possible victory celebration.

“I don’t want to tell nobody. Just top secret,” Jang said. “I think not much like dance or something, just little quiet celebration.”

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Hee Young Park and Ha Na Jang fought through gusty wind and early rain Friday to share the second-round lead in the LPGA Taiwan Championship, while Canada’s Brooke Henderson was a stroke back.

The South Korean players each shot their second straight 3-under 69 at Miramar.

They also each had only one bogey, Jang on the par-4 15th when she got a chip only halfway to the hole and missed a 20-footer, and Park on the par-4 16th when she drove into a bunker and came up well short of the green in two.

“This week is more like just be patient is very important, because weather is so bad and the golf condition so bad, too,” the 24-year-old Jang said. “That’s why I’m just hitting fairway, the green. Very important this week. Yep, this weather, this score.”

Smiths Falls, Ont., native Henderson (71) was a stroke back along with China’s Shanshan Feng (69), South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu (68) and South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace (70). Defending champion Lydia Ko was tied for 18th at 1 under after a 73. The top-ranked New Zealander won by nine strokes last year, and has four LPGA Tour victories this year.

Park prepared for the conditions heading into the Asian Swing.

“I expect a lot of rain, so I had practice,” the 29-year-old Park said, “It’s about just one week, but I had a lot of practice with the trajectory. Different kind of shot from the range, which is a lot of help this week also. So, that’s why I hit it a lot close today even with the wind and the rain.”

Ryu also came prepared.

“I’ve been working on having a low ball shape” Ryu said. “I’ve been practicing like low ball and high ball, so I had no problem to control the low one. Luckily, all shots worked pretty well, so I didn’t have any like major miss shots. … Only one bogey with this weather is pretty positive.”

Park and Jang each have two LPGA Tour victories. Jang won early this season Florida and Singapore, and Park won events in 2011 and 2013.

Park played the first seven holes in 4 under in the worst conditions of the round. She set up birdies with irons to 4 feet on No. 1, a foot on No. 4, and 4 feet on No. 6, ran in an 18-footer on No. 7, and saved par on No. 8 with a 20-foot putt.

“Always difficult with wind,” Park said. “I have to play every single shot really careful and more think about. Makes more tired. So hard to focusing end of the hole. That’s why I tried to.”

Jang also played well in the bad early conditions, hitting to 3 feet on the par-3 third and making another birdie on the par-5 sixth. She made an 18-footer on 10, and chipped to a foot on the par-5 12th.

“Just say, ‘Trust yourself. You great player. Just be patient. Middle of the green is fine. Two-putt is pretty good. Par score is pretty good,”’ Jang said.

The 19-year-old Henderson has two victories this year, winning the major KPMG Women’s PGA in June. She plans to play all six week on the Asian Swing, a journey that started in China with a fourth-place tie, and will take her to South Korea, back to China, and then to Malaysia and Japan.

Japan’s Sakura Yokomine , the first-round leader after a 67, had a 75 to drop into a tie for 10th at 2 under. American Paula Creamer, a stroke back entering the day, also was 2 under after a 75.

Home favourite Yani Tseng was tied for 65th at 8 over, following an opening 79 with a 73. She won the inaugural event in 2011 at Sunrise, and took the last of her 15 LPGA Tour titles in March 2012.

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Sakura Yokomine bogeyed the final hole for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke lead over Brooke Henderson, Paula Creamer and Amy Yang on Thursday in the LPGA Taiwan Championship.

Yokomine eagled the par-5 12th – hitting a 5-wood to 15 feet – and had three back-nine birdies at windy Miramar before dropping the stroke on the par-5 18th. The 30-year-old Japanese player is winless in two seasons on the LPGA Tour after winning 23 times on the Japan LPGA Tour.

“My shots were good,” Yokomine said. “It was strong, a strong wind today. Each shot I had to concentrate.”

Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., birdied three of the final four holes, playing in the last group of the day. The 19-year-old Canadian has two victories this year, winning the major KPMG Women’s PGA in June.

“It’s very windy out here so you really got to pay attention,” said Henderson, who chipped on the par-4 15th , with the ball racing downhill and hitting the flagstick.

“I kind of had a tough lie in the rough there on the left side of 15, and so I just kind of tried to hit it out to the right,” Henderson said. “I was thinking in my head, ‘Try and get up-and-down and save par and then try and make some birdies on the last three holes.’ I was able to chip that one in, birdie 16, had a good chance on 17, birdied 18. It was really the ideal ending.”

The fourth-ranked Henderson has two victories this year, winning the major KPMG Women’s PGA in June and successfully defending her Cambia Portland Classic title in July.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton shot a 6-over 78 and was tied for 68th.

Yokomine and Henderson are making their 26th starts of the year, tied with Kim Kaufman for the tour lead. Henderson plans to play all six weeks on the Asian Swing, a journey that started last week in China with a fourth-place tie, and will take her to South Korea, back to China, and then to Malaysia and Japan.

Creamer had a bogey-free round, working with caddie Colin Cann in the windy conditions.

“I’ve always played really well when it’s windy and just kind of tough,” Creamer said. “You have to think a lot out there. Colin and I worked really well as a team today. It’s pretty windy in certain spots out on this golf course, and he did a good job of figuring that out for us.”

She won the last of her 10 LPGA Tour titles in February 2014 in Singapore.

Yang was 6 under through 13 holes, then bogeyed the next two.

Ai Miyazato, Ha Na Jang, Lee-Anne Pace, Beatriz Recari and Hee Young Park shot 69.

“I’m playing this tournament since five years ago and I know how to play in the wind, especially on this golf course, so that experience helped for sure,” Miyazato said. “I grew up in Okinawa and Okinawa is really windy place, too. So, I kind of grew up playing in the wind.”

Defending champion Lydia Ko had a double bogey on the par-4 fifth in a 70. The top-ranked New Zealander won by nine strokes last year at Miramar. She has four LPGA Tour victories this season.

Home favourite Yani Tseng closed with a quadruple-bogey 9 on 18 for a 79. Playing on a sponsor exemption, she also had a double bogey on the 12th. Tseng won the inaugural event in 2011 at Sunrise, and took the last of her 15 LPGA Tour titles in March 2012.

BEIJING – In-Kyung Kim won the Reignwood LPGA Classic on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour victory in six years, making an eagle and a birdie on the two late par 5s to lead a South Korean sweep of the top three places.

The 28-year-old Kim shot a 7-under 66 at Reignwood Pine Valley, holing a 25-foot eagle putt on the 16th and a 12-footer for birdie on the 18th for her fourth tour title and first since the 2010 Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico. She also won a Ladies European Tour event last month in Germany.

Kim finished at 24-under 268, a stroke ahead of third-round leader Mi Jung Hur and 2014 winner Mirim Lee in the Asian Swing opener. Playing a group behind Kim in the final threesome, Hur missed a chance to force a playoff when her eagle chip from the back fringe went a foot right.

China’s Shanshan Feng, the 2013 winner in the event that wasn’t played last year, shot a 69 to tie for fourth with Canada’s Brooke Henderson (71) at 21 under.

The 19-year-old Henderson, from Smith Falls, Ont., a two-time winner this year, plans to play all six weeks in Asia, a journey that will take her to Taiwan and South Korea the next two weeks, back to China for the Blue Bay LPGA at Hainan Island, and then to Malaysia and Japan.

Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., was even-par in the final round to finish tied for 42nd at 5-under. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp’s final round of 3-under left her 2-under for the tournament and tied for 51st.

Kim made up for a bogey on par-5 ninth – she went for the green in two and ended up short in the water – by playing the other four par 5s in 5 under. She made the eagle on 16 and birdied Nos. 6, 12 and 18. She also birdied the par-4 15th in her late run.

“Fifteen was really big, too,” Kim noted when asked about the eagle on 16.

The 5-foot-3 player was aggressive on 16 after considering laying up.

“I wasn’t sure go for it or not go for it,” Kim said. “I felt like today I really played with everything I got. I didn’t really pull back. Even No. 9, I felt was the right club. I think I managed. I played aggressively, which I had to on this golf course. And especially back nine, I knew that everybody was going to score, so I wanted to do the same thing.”

Hur birdied five of the last six for a 70 in the round delayed 1 1/2 hours at the start because of rain and lightning. She opened bogey-bogey-birdie-bogey and parred the next eight.

Lee had a 68. She had a double bogey on No. 9, then played the back nine in 6-under 31 with an eagle on the 12th and five birdies.

Second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn shot a 65 to tie for sixth at 18 under and take the lead from the idle Lydia Ko in the player of the year points race. The tour leader with five victories, Jutanugarn had a double bogey on the par-5 sixth, then birdied eight of the last 12 holes – with birdies on the final four par 5s. The Thai player also had a double bogey on a par 5 in a second-round 75 that took her out of contention.

Kim is the sixth South Korean winner this season and the third-oldest winner behind Anna Nordqvist (29) and Brittany Lang (30). Kim earned $310,000 to push her season total to $573,534 and is projected to jump from 42nd to 29th in the world ranking.

BEIJING – Mi Jung Hur birdied the par-5 18th hole for a 6-under 67 and a one-stroke lead over Canadian Brooke Henderson on Saturday in the Reignwood LPGA Classic.

Hur was 5 under on the back nine at Reignwood Pine Valley to take a 20-under 199 total into the final round of the Asian Swing opener. The 26-year-old South Korean player had a bogey-free round after shooting a tournament-record 63 on Friday for a share of the second-round lead with Henderson.

“On the back nine, just everything works really well,” said Hur, a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour. “Front nine, I think it’s all about the putter. Didn’t work on the front nine, but works on the back nine.”

The fourth-ranked Henderson shot a 68, saving par on 18 for a bogey-free day.

“I think the winner tomorrow is going to shoot a really low score,” the 19-year-old from Smith Falls, Ont., said. “I don’t think anybody is going to run away with it, necessarily. I think it’ll be really tight right down until the end. So making lots of birdies and playing smart all the way around.”

Planning to play all six weeks in Asia, she has two victories this year, winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June for her first major and successfully defending her Cambia Portland Classic title in July.

“Five under is a solid round for me and I’m happy with that,” Henderson said. “I would’ve liked to have finished with a few more birdies. Left one on 17 and kind of gave 18 away.”

She lipped out a birdie try on 17 and hit into a bunker on 18.

“Definitely not the finish I was looking for,” Henderson said. “Kind of let them both slip away. I guess that’s what tomorrow is for. Hopefully, get a couple quick birdies and get back in.”

China’s Shanshan Feng, the bronze medallist in the Rio Olympics, had a 69 to drop three strokes back along with South Koreans Mirim Lee and In-Kyung Kim. Feng won the inaugural Reignwood LPGA in 2013 at 26 under for the second of her four tour titles. In 2012, she won the LPGA Championship to become China’s first major champion.

Lee got the spot with Hur and Henderson in the final group Sunday, shooting a 66 to match the best score of the day. Lee is the defending champion after winning the 2014 edition of the event that was not played last year.

Kim had a 68 with seven birdies and three bogeys.

“I think I manage the round pretty well,” Kim said. “It was a little bit troubling getting the target with the tee shot. Maybe they moved the tee box a little bit here and there.”

It was another five strokes back to China’s Simin Feng (67) and South Korea’s Amy Yang (70) at 12 under.

Second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn was tied for ninth at 10 under after a 69. The 20-year-old Thai player has a tour-high five victories and would take the player of the year points lead from idle Lydia Ko with a ninth-place finish or better.

Older sister Moriya Jutanugarn, winless on the tour, also was 10 under after a 69.

Taiwan’s Yani Tseng had her best round of the year, birdieing the final three holes for a 66 to get to 9 under. She won the last of her 15 tour titles in 2012.

Hur won LPGA Tour events in 2009 in Oregon and 2014 in Alabama, finishing at a personal-best 21 under in the second victory.

“I just want to break that record,” Hur said. “If I set my goal and focus more about that it will help me to focus. … I just want to focus on my every shot. That’s the most important thing. Like crowd here is a little bit noisy, but they’re really fine.”

Noisy?

“Like they take a photo,” Hur said. “No. No. It’s fine. You get used to it, so I don’t care.”

BEIJING – Mi Jung Hur eagled two of the last three holes Friday for a 10-under 63 and a share of the second-round lead with Canada’s Brooke Henderson in the Reignwood LPGA Classic.

Hur chipped in from 45 feet for eagle on the par-5 16th, lipped out a birdie try on the par-3 17th, and hit a 3-wood to set up a tap-in eagle on the par-5 18th. The 26-year-old South Korean player broke the tournament record of 64 in the event being played for the third time. She has two career LPGA Tour victories.

Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., shot a second straight 66, saving par on 18 with a 6-footer to match Hur at 14-under 132 at Reignwood Pine Valley in the Asian Swing opener. The 19-year-old Canadian star, planning to play all six weeks in Asia, birdied five of the first six holes after birdieing three of the final four Thursday.

“It was an awesome day today. I felt like my start was awesome. Birdied the first 5 through 6 and felt like things were going to be a good day,” Henderson said following her round.

She made her lone bogey in two days on the par-3 seventh, and added birdies on 12, 15 and 16.

“One bogey, which kind of set me back a little bit, but then some more birdies on the back nine to get to 7-under, and 14-under par, which is really nice, especially only two days into the championship and I know I have two more days left,” added Henderson.

“I felt like today could be a good day, which is always a good feeling to have.”

Ranked fourth in the world, Henderson has two victories this year, winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June for her first major and successfully defending her Portland, Oregon, title in July.

Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., was 8-under par after a round of 66 and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp fired even-par 73 to sit at 1-over for the tournament.

China’s Shanshan Feng was a stroke back after a 65. The bronze medallist in the Rio Olympics, Feng won the inaugural Reignwood LPGA in 2013 for the second of her four tour titles. In 2012, she won the LPGA Championship to become China’s first major champion.

In-Kyung Kim was 12 under after a 64, followed by fellow South Korean players Mirim Lee (67) at 10 under and Amy Yang (67) at 9 under.

Second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn, the first-round leader after a 65, had a 75 to drop into a tie for 10th at 6 under. The 20-year-old Thai player, in position to take the player of the year lead from Lydia Ko with a ninth-place finish or better, played the five par 5s in 3 over with a double bogey on No. 9 and a bogey on 12.

Jutanugarn leads the LPGA Tour with five victories. Winless entering the season, she won three straight events in May, took the major Women’s British Open in July and the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open in August.

Fifteen-year-old amateur Yifan Ji (68) and fellow Chinese player Simin Feng (70) also were 6 under.

After stops in Taiwan and South Korea, the tour will return to China for the Blue Bay LPGA at Hainan Island, then visit Malaysia and Japan.

BEIJING – Ariya Jutanugarn birdied the final four holes for an 8-under 65 and a one-stroke lead over Canada’s Brooke Henderson on Thursday in the Reignwood LPGA Classic.

In position to take player of the year lead from idle Lydia Ko with a ninth-place finish or better, Jutanugarn had 10 birdies and two bogeys at Reignwood Pine Valley in the first of six events in the Asian Swing.

“All the players really want to win the award like player of the year,” Jutanugarn said. “I really want to, but right now I think I’m not really worry I’m going to win. I think I just have to be like, ‘Just keep play like this and have fun on the course.”’

The 20-year-old Thai player is No. 2 in the world and leads the LPGA Tour with five victories. Winless entering the season, she won three straight events in May, took the major Women’s British Open in July and the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open in August.

“Feel good, because like this year the only goal I want to do is I want to win my first tournament, so I did,” Jutanugarn said. “So, after I won my first tournament on tour, I really want to win a major, and I did. So, right now just have fun and enjoy on the course.”

She’s making her first appearance in the event that was cancelled last year.

“I really enjoy it,” Jutanugarn said. “I like everything here.”

The fourth-ranked Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., birdied three of the final four holes in a bogey-free round. The 19-year-old won the major KPMG Women’s PGA in June for the first of her two victories this season. She plans to play all six events in Asia.

“I’m looking forward to being really in Asia for the first time,” Henderson said. “I’ve visited a few other times, but this will really be the true taste of a bunch of different countries and language and culture. I am really looking forward to it.”

She travels with sister/caddie Brittany Henderson.

“It’s been an awesome year so far,” Brooke said. “And to have her there caddying for me, travelling together, you know, she’s my best friend and my sister, and I really enjoy it a lot.”

Two other Canadians are in the tournament. Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., opened with a 1-under 72 and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp fired a 1-over 74.

Americans Lizette Salas and Jennifer Song shot 68.

“I’m very proud of myself,” Salas said. “Even after the bogey on 16, I fought back with back-to-back birdies, I didn’t panic.”

Song worked recently with instructor Robin Symes on her ball flight.

“I felt pretty good about my shot,” Song said. “The last couple weeks I wasn’t happy with my ball trajectory, so before coming here I met my coach and worked on my swing and tried to get the normal trajectory that I want. I think that really helped me out this week.”

Australia’s Sarah Jane Smith and South Koreans Amy Yang, Mi Jung Hur and Ilhee Lee shot 69.

Chinese star Shanshan Feng topped the group at 70, holing out from the fairway with a wedge for eagle on the par-5 16th. The bronze medallist in the Rio Olympics, she won the inaugural Reignwood LPGA in 2013 at 26 under.

South Korea’s Mirim Lee, the 2014 winner, had a 72.