DALY CITY, Calif. – Haru Nomura held on in strong wind to win the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic on Sunday for her second LPGA Tour victory of the year.

The 23-year-old Japanese player closed with a 1-over 73 in wind gusting to 35 mph at Lake Merced to finish at 9-under 279 and beat South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace by four strokes.

Nomura won the Australian Women’s Open in February, pulling away to beat top-ranked Lydia Ko by three strokes for her first LPGA Tour title.

Nomura had a rules scare Saturday. After her third-round 71, she met with rules officials to examine her play from an awkward stance on a slope in a bunker on the par-5 sixth hole. The officials decided no penalty was warranted for building a stance, leaving her with a par instead of a double bogey.

Pace finished with a 74.

Ko shot a 75 on her 19th birthday to tie for sixth at 1 under with Canada’s Brooke Henderson. Ko won the tournament the previous two years.

Henderson carded a final round 76 to pick up her 8th straight LPGA top 10 finish.

Third-ranked Lexi Thompson (71) also was 1 under along with Jenny Shin (72) and Mi Jung Hur (74).

Michelle Wie withdrew because of neck spasms after playing the first 15 holes in 11 over. Wie was 16 over after opening with rounds of 73, 73 and 75.

She’s winless since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and hasn’t had a top-10 finish in 33 events. Last year, she struggled with left hip and ankle injuries. In 2014, she fought a stress fracture in her right hand.

DALY CITY, Calif. – Haru Nomura shot a 1-under 71 in cool and breezy conditions Saturday at Lake Merced and escaped a two-shot penalty to maintain a three-stroke lead in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.

The 23-year-old Japanese player met with rules officials after the round to discuss her play from an awkward stance in the left greenside bunker on the par-5 sixth hole.

“It was slopey, so I was trying to take a stance, but I kept slipping downhill, and in order to get a firm stance, I had to – even when I had to do a practice swing – I had to swing real hard, and when I did, I kept moving forward again and again,” Nomura said. “There was no option, but to move like that, but they were saying that I was moving excessively, but what I was trying to tell them was, ‘OK, then what is the guideline. There should be some sort of a standard, a regulation that explains what an infraction is and not.'”

The officials decided no penalty was warranted, leaving her with a par on the hole and a 10-under 206 total.

“For me the two-stroke penalty, it wouldn’t really have made a big difference,” Nomura said. “If I did something wrong, I have to accept it. But there was really no clear rule about what the guidelines were, so I would just focus on my game and just leave it at that.”

She won the Australian Women’s Open in February, pulling away to beat top-ranked Lydia Ko by three strokes for her first LPGA Tour title.

“You could say it’s confidence and you can call it what it is, but what I feel right now is I feel very comfortable about golf,” Nomura said. “I just want to have fun. I’m not thinking about trying to beat someone. It’s really about having fun.”

Ko was six strokes back at 4 under after a 73. The two-time defending champion will be 19 on Sunday.

“My game wasn’t really up to it today,” Ko said. “It was pretty average. But I felt like chipping, short game-wise it was good, but I wasn’t making the putts that needed to go in for birdie or those crucial par saves. … I’ve just got to stay positive.”

South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace and South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi were tied for second.

Pace had a 69. She won a 2014 event in China for her lone LPGA Tour title.

“Obviously, the conditions are going to be the same tomorrow probably, a little cooler, I think,” Pace said. “But just the same thing. On a course like this you have to play on the right side. You have to stay below the hole keep it in the fairway and on the greens.”

Choi shot 71. She won twice last year and has nine LPGA Tour victories.

“It was tough,” Choi said. “I think especially the greens were so firm and a lot of holes have front pins, so it’s hard to stop the ball around the pin. … I like chasing, so I feel great about this tournament and this week and about my game. I have confidence, so just keep playing aggressive.”

So Yeon Ryu was 5 under along with Brooke Henderson, Catriona Matthew and Gerina Piller. Ryu, the first-round leader after a tournament-record 63, followed a second-round 75 with a 73.

Henderson has seven straight top-10 finishes. The 18-year-old Canadian chipped in for birdie on the par-5 18th for a 69.

“I kind of mis-hit my approach shot there, but was able to come back with a nice chip-in and make the day feel a little bit better than it was,” Henderson said. “I’m really close and my game is close to being really good. I just have to stay patient and keep doing what I’m doing.”

The 46-year-old Matthew shot a 71, and Piller had a 72.

“It was really hard,” Piller said. “The pins were a lot tougher today. They put a lot of them on the front, and the course is firming up again. Yesterday it was pretty soft with the rains. But front pins make it pretty difficult to get it close. And the wind, you’ve got to accommodate for the wind, accommodate for the cold, so it just makes it a tough day.”

Minjee Lee also was 4 under after a 74. The 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion at Lake Merced, the Australian won last week in Hawaii for her second LPGA Tour title.

DALY CITY, Calif. – Haru Nomura shot a 2-under 70 in windy conditions Friday at Lake Merced to take the second-round lead in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.

The 23-year-old Japanese player had a 9-under 135 total for a three-stroke lead over South Koreans So Yeon Ryu and Na Yeon Choi and Australia’s Minjee Lee.

“Today very windy, so I thought today’s best score even par,” Nomura said. “So, I keep my patience, so I’m so relaxed, and a couple putts go in.”

She opened with 11 straight pars, then made 15-foot birdie putts on the par-3 12th and par-4 13th. She dropped a stroke on the par-4 16th after driving into the right rough and short-siding herself in the left greenside bunker, and rebounded with a birdie on the par-4 17th.

“I will try and keep the patience this weekend,” Nomura said.

Nomura won the Australian Women’s Open in February, pulling away to beat top-ranked Lydia Ko by three strokes for her first LPGA Tour title.

Ko was four strokes back at 5 under after a 71. The two-time defending champion birdied three of the first three holes, but bogeyed two of the last four.

“I knew with the wind getting up, I knew it would be tough,” Ko said. “Just seeing yesterday afternoon’s scores, I saw that the back nine played quite tough yesterday, and it kind of played the same. I don’t think it was because the holes are particularly more difficult. I think the fairways are a little tighter, so if you miss them, you’re having a tough time trying to scramble for par.”

Set to turn 19 on Sunday, the New Zealander already has two victories in California this year, winning the Kia Classic and ANA Inspiration – the first major of the year – in consecutive weeks.

Ryu, the first-round leader after a tournament-record 63, bogeyed four of her first five holes in rain and wind and finished with a 75.

“The weather was pretty bad until the sixth hole,” Ryu said. “It was like really strong wind and rain. Also the wind direction just keep changing, so it was really hard to judge where is the wind coming from.”

The 19-year-old Lee followed her opening 73 with a bogey-free 65 in calmer morning conditions.

“I just took advantage of the opportunities I had,” Lee said. “I just stayed patient. If I made a mistake, I tried to make up-and-downs, and I did today. Just chipped and putted well today.”

Lee won the Lotte Championship last week in Hawaii for her second LPGA Tour title. She took the 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior at Lake Merced.

Choi had a 70.

“A lot of bogeys out there, but I tried to hang in there until the last hole,” Choi said. “I didn’t give up.”

American Gerina Piller also was 5 under after a 71.

Brooke Henderson was tied for 16th at 2 under after her second straight 71. The 18-year-old Canadian has seven straight top-10 finishes.

Third-ranked Lexi Thompson (74) and former Stanford student Michelle Wie (73) were 2 over.

No. 4 Stacy Lewis had a 76 to make the cut by a stroke at 4 under.

Fifty-five-year-old Juli Inkster also was 4 under in home event, shooting her second 74. Fellow area star Paula Creamer dropped out, following an opening 72 with a 78.

DALY CITY, Calif. – So Yeon Ryu shot a tournament-record 9-under 63 on Thursday to take the early first-round lead in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.

Playing in the first group of the day off the 10th tee, the South Korean player had seven birdies in an eight-hole stretch on the back nine and added two more on the front nine at Lake Merced.

“I was kind of lucky to tee it off really early,” Ryu said. “I had a really fresh green, no wind. Also San Francisco is really cold in the morning, but this morning it was just perfect temperature.

“I think today just everything was just great. My tee shot was great. I only missed one green today. I shot 17 greens. Putting was really good.”

Japan’s Haru Nomura was second after a 65. China’s Xi Yu Lin and the Netherlands’ Christel Boeljon shot 67, and two-time defending champion Lydia Ko topped the group at 68. Ko already has two victories in California this year, winning the Kia Classic and ANA Inspiration in consecutive weeks.

“Course is easy, whatever course she’s playing on,” the top-ranked Ko joked about Ryu. “Obviously, everything was going right today. For her to shoot a score like that, that’s really impressive.”

Ryu is winless since the 2014 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. She also won the 2011 U.S. Women Open and 2012 Jamie Farr Toledo Classic.

“Every tournament, I really want to win” Ryu said. “I think it’s a bit too early to discuss about the result. We still have three more days.”

U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun braided Ko’s hair on the opening hole.

“I had my two bracelets and my hair tie and I was planning on braiding my hair before I played,” Ko said. “She was like, ‘Oh, doesn’t it bother you having stuff on your wrist? I said, ‘No, no.’ Well, the hair tie was for me to braid it. She was like, ‘Do you want me to braid it for you?’ I was like, ‘Sure. It’s going to end up way nicer than how I braid it.’ She did good. I told her, ‘It’s hairstylist In Gee.”’

Chun opened with a 71

Canadian Brooke Henderson also shot a 71. The 18-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., has seven straight top-10 LPGA finishes.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp had a 1-over 73, while Quebec’s Maude-Aimee LeBlanc struggled to a 6-over 78.

KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Minjee Lee won the Lotte Championship on Saturday for her second LPGA Tour title, closing with an 8-under 64 for a one-stroke victory.

The 19-year-old Australian played a seven-hole stretch in 6 under with a chip-in eagle on the par-5 13th and four birdies. She rebounded from a third-round 74 to finish at 16-under 272 at Ko Olina.

“Yesterday I spoke to my coach and he was like, ‘You’re only five back. Just shoot 8 under and you’ll be fine,'” Lee said. “And I shot 8 under, so that was good.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., tied for 10th at 10 under to extend her top-10 streak to seven events. The 18-year-old closed with a 68.

Third-round leader Katie Burnett and U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun tied for second.

Lee made an 11-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th and got up-and-down for par from short of the green on the par-4 18th, holing a 6-foot putt.

“I think after I went eagle-birdie-birdie, I think the second birdie I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to be really close,” said Lee, projected to move up 17th to 12th in the world ranking. “I just did all I could do, and here I am.”

She won the Kingsmill Championship last year in Virginia.

“Definitely a big confidence boost,” Lee said. “Last couple of weeks I was there, but not quite there. Now my game seems to be coming together really well.”

Burnett shot a 70. She lost the lead with a three-putt bogey on the par-3 16th, then missed a 6-foot birdie try on 17 and a long birdie putt on 18. The 26-year-old Georgia player, winless on the tour, led most of the day, going bogey-free for 40 holes before dropping a shot at No. 7.

“I don’t think I gave it away by any means,” Burnett said. “That’s something, last year I struggled in the final rounds, especially when I had been playing well. So, to have played well today was really good for me. … I don’t necessarily feel like I lost the tournament. I feel like Minjee just won it. Eight under, I mean, that’s pretty solid.”

Chun finished with a 67, missing a 16-foot birdie try on 18.

“Very tricky on the green,” Chun said. “I try enjoy my game, so I’m still happy.”

She tied for second for the second straight event after sitting out a month because of a back injury. She was hurt when she was struck by a hard-case suitcase that rival South Korean player Ha Na Jang’s father dropped down an escalator at the Singapore airport.

Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn was fourth at 14 under after a 68.

Su-Yeon Jang was another stroke back after a 71. Playing on a sponsor exemption, the 21-year-old South Korean player was coming off a victory last week in the Korean LPGA event sponsored by Lotte.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko shot a 69 to tie for 23rd, her worst finish of the year, at 5 under. Ko won her last two starts in California and also has two seconds, a third and a tie for 15th this season. She will try to defend her title at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic next week in California.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton equaled her fellow Canadian’s final-round 68 to finish T39 at 3-under-par. Kelowna, B.C., native Samantha Richdale closed with a 77 to finish in 72nd place.

KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Katie Burnett chipped in for birdie from 75 feet on the par-4 18th Friday for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke lead in the Lotte Championship.

Winless in 59 career starts on the LPGA Tour, the 26-year-old Georgia player had her second straight bogey-free round to take a 13-under 203 total into the final round at Ko Olina.

“I’m from the coast so I’m used to the wind,” Burnett said. “I’ve been home for two weeks and it was really windy at home, so I have pretty much been working on a pinch shot or three-quarter shot so it doesn’t get so affected by the wind. Been doing that with my driver.”

Burnett’s only top-10 finish on the LPGA Tour came in 2014 at Ko Olina when she tied for ninth.

“I’ve had some success here,” said Burnett, ranked 195th in the world. “I really like the golf course. I think it sets up really well for my game. … To me, if you’re not hitting like a really good three-quarter shot or really in command of your ball flight, the wind can wreak havoc on the ball.”

Burnett began the day two strokes behind second-round leader Minjee Lee. The former University of South Carolina player birdied the par-5 fifth, added another on the par-4 11th and hit wedges close to set up consecutive birdies on the par-5 14th and par-4 15th.

“It was a solid round,” Burnett said. “I just tried to stay patient. I had a few opportunities early that I kind of like let slip by. … I just really focused on the back nine, just staying with my process and being patient and knowing that eventually I would make a few birdies.”

Su-Yeon Jang was second after a 67 in calmer conditions after the brisk tradewinds dropped dramatically. Playing on a sponsor exemption, the 21-year-old South Korean player is coming off a victory last week in the Korean LPGA event sponsored by Lotte – a win that earned her a spot next year at Ko Olina.

“Just trying to take every moment to enjoy and think of it as a learning opportunity,” Jang said. “I have not put too much pressure. It’s been a great learning experience for me.”

U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun and Moriya Jutanugarn were 10 under. Chun had a 65, and Jutanugarn shot 68. Defending champion Sei Young Kim was another shot back after her third straight 69.

Lee shot a 74 to drop into a tie for sixth at 8 under. She and Lizette Salas (73) were the players among the top 44 to shoot over-par rounds.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko, coming off consecutive victories in California, was 11 strokes back at 2 under after a 71.

Jang, an eight-time winner on the Korean LPGA who is making her first start in the United States, birdied the final four holes on the front nine. She dropped a stroke on the par-3 12th, birdied the next three and made another bogey on the par-3 16th.

Chun eagled the par-5 13th, hitting a 3-wood from 230 yards to 20 feet. She’s making her second start after sitting out a month because of a back injury. She was hurt when she was struck by a hard-case suitcase that rival South Korean player Ha Na Jang’s father dropped down an escalator at the Singapore airport.

“I am about 90 percent of where I should be,” said Chun, coming off a second-place tie in the two weeks ago in the ANA Inspiration. “Doesn’t necessarily impact my swing. Doesn’t hurt when I’m swinging. Just if I’m sitting for a long time it does hurt a little bit. I think the last couple days I did feel a little bit of pain, so hopefully I’ll look into that today and get ready for tomorrow.”

Chun will play in the final group Saturday with Burnett and Jang, her high school classmate.

Kim bogeyed the 16th and 17th holes to drop back.

“Without that I play well today,” Kim said.

Last year at Ko Olina, she won by holing out from 154 yards for eagle on the first hole of a playoff with Inbee Park. Kim forced the playoff by chipping in for par on the final hole.

“I keep the like aggressive play,” Kim said about the final round. “Even if the wind strong, I try to.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., shot 1-under 71 and is tied for 12th at 6-under-par. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp sits T51 at 1-over 217. Kelowna, B.C., native Samantha Richdale shot 74 on the day.

KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Minjee Lee made five birdies in a six-hole stretch and finished with a 6-under 66 on Thursday to take the second-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s Lotte Championship.

Playing in calmer afternoon conditions at wind-swept Ko Olina, the 19-year-old Australian birdied the final two holes on the front nine and added three in a row on Nos. 11-13. She parred the final five holes to finish at 10-under 134, two strokes ahead of American Katie Burnett.

“I holed a couple of nice putts and just got my momentum going on the front nine,” Lee said. “I birdied 8 and 9, so I think the momentum carried on through the back nine.”

She hit every green in regulation in her bogey-free round.

“I’ve been striking it pretty good yesterday and today as well,” said Lee, the Kingsmill Championship winner last year for her first LPGA Tour title.

With constant wind gusting to 30 mph Wednesday, there were only seven rounds in the 60s and the average score was 74.6. It calmed Thursday and eight players shot 67 or better.

The 26-year-old Burnett matched Lee with a 66. Also playing in the afternoon, she birdied four of the first six holes and made two more on the consecutive par-5 13th and 14th holes.

“I putted really well and we’ve been really decisive on like targets and I’ve hit a ton of knock-downs,” Burnett said. “Maybe hit a handful of actually full shots. Pretty much everything has been a knock-down just to keep the ball a little straighter in the wind.”

Canadian Brooke Henderson was 5 under after a 70 in the afternoon. The 18-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., has finished in the top 10 in six straight events. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp was in a tie for 18th place.

“It was a lot calmer today, especially on my back nine, which was kind of nice, really,” Henderson said. “Walking down, I guess, No. 15 felt like there wasn’t wind at all, which was kind of crazy compared to the last 27 holes.”

B.C. native Samantha Richdale had a share of 48th, while Quebecors Anne-Catherine Tanguay and Maude-Aimee LeBlanc missed the cut.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko, going for her third straight victory, was 1 under after a morning 72.

Su-Yeon Jang was 7 under after a 66 in the morning when gusts were as high as 25 mph. The 21-year-old South Korean player, in the field on a sponsor exemption, is coming off a victory last week in a Korean LPGA event also sponsored by Lotte.

“I felt confident after winning the tournament last week,” said Jang, making her second LPGA Tour start and first in the United States. “So, that helped me a lot.”

Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn and defending champion Sei Young Kim were 6 under. Jutanugarn, tied for the first-round lead with Lee, had a 71. Kim had her second straight 69. The fifth-ranked South Korean player won last month in Phoenix for her fourth LPGA Tour title in two seasons.

Megan Khang made a big move up the leaderboard, following her opening 76 with a 64 – the best round of the week – to reach 4 under. The 18-year-old American birdied six of the last seven holes after some encouragement from her father-teacher-caddie Lee.

“Back-to-back bogeys on 9 and 10, and my dad was like, ‘C’mon, Megan. We got to turn it around here.’ ‘OK, OK, OK. Like, I know dad. I know.”’ Khang said. “So went on a pretty hot run, and thankfully had a good finish. I’m excited for the weekend, or Friday, Saturday.

Third-ranked Lexi Thompson and Lizette Salas also rallied, each following a 75 with a 66 to get to 3 under.

“Yesterday was just a struggle on the greens,” Thompson said. “I don’t really know what was going on.”

Salas shot a tournament-record 62 three years ago before losing a playoff to Suzann Pettersen.

“I just erased the round from yesterday,” Salas said. “We knew the problem was I wasn’t getting close, so I really wanted to be aggressive whenever I had a short iron.”

U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun also was 3 under, shooting a 67 after opening with a 74.

Second-ranked Inbee Park was 1 over after a 71.

Michelle Wie missed the cut in her home event, following her opening 80 with a 73. She won the 2014 tournament.

“Disappointing for sure,” Wie said. “I wanted to play well this week. Just coming out here and not having a good performance, just definitely is disappointing. Take the weekend to practice and get ready for the next event.”

Two other players from Punahou School played this week, but only former UCLA All-American Stephanie Kono made the cut – shooting a 71 to reach 1 under. Amateur Allisen Corpuz, a high school senior who qualified, was 5 over after a 72.

KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Australia’s Minjee Lee birdied her final hole Wednesday for a 4-under 68 and a share of the first-round lead with Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn at the LPGA Tour’s Lotte Championship.

In wind gusting to 30 mph at Ko Olina Golf Club, only nine players broke par in the morning wave, while 11 shot in the 80s. That included 2014 Lotte winner Michelle Wie with an 80 in her home event.

“It was just trying to hit it and go find it today,” said Jutanugarn, the 2013 rookie of the year, “because it’s really windy.”

Canada’s Brooke Henderson, the 18-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., who has finished in the top 10 in six straight events, was a stroke back along with defending champion Sei Young Kim, Kim Kaufman, fellow Canadian Alena Sharp from Hamilton and Caroline Masson.

It is Henderson’s first start at Ko Olina. She failed to qualify last year, when Kim holed out from the fairway for an eagle to beat Inbee Park in a playoff.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko is coming off consecutive victories in the Kia Classic and ANA Inspiration – the year’s first major. She had a double bogey on the second hole Wednesday, but rallied to shoot 71.

Jutanugarn’s younger sister, Ariya, led the ANA Inspiration by two with three holes remaining, only to finish fourth. Moriya, who has never finished higher than fourth on the LPGA Tour, managed seven birdies in the breeze at Ko Olina.

“I think the wind made me have more patience,” she said, “because sometimes you hit the bad shot and it’s like, ‘It’s OK. It’s windy today.’ You kind of accept it.”

The 19-year-old Lee is one 14 players ranked in the top 20 at the Lotte. The 2012 U.S. Junior Girls champion finished 13th here last year as a rookie, when she won once and had six other top 10s.

She also had seven birdies in the opening round, to go with a bogey and double bogey. Lee admitted luck had a little to do with her score in the gusts.

“You got to have some luck with it, too,” she said. “It’s not just all your skill. You never know. Mother Nature can throw anything at you. I think I judged it really well today so I’m happy.”

Canadian Rd. 1 scores:

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Lydia Ko took advantage of Ariya Jutanugarn’s late collapse to win the ANA Inspiration on Sunday for her second straight major victory and second LPGA Tour win a row.

The top-ranked Ko hit an 88-yard wedge shot to a foot on the par-5 18th to set up her winning birdie – and an unlikely victory leap into Poppie’s Pond. She closed with a 3-under 69 to finish at 12 under.

“This is an unbelievable moment,” Ko said before jumping into the pond.

Jutanugarn had a two-stroke lead at 13 under with three holes to play. The 20-year-old Thai player bogeyed all three holes, three-putting the par-4 16th, failing to get up-and-down from a bunker on the par-3 17th and hooking her drive into the water on 18.

“I really get nervous, especially being my first time leading,” Jutanugarn said. “Next time, it’s going to be so much fun to be there.”

Charley Hull and In Gee Chun finished a stroke behind Ko, and Jutanugarn ended up fourth at 10 under.

Ko won the final major last season, the Evian Championship in September in France, and took the LPGA Tour event last week in Carlsbad. The 18-year-old New Zealander has 12 LPGA Tour victories, five last year when she was the tour’s player of the year.

“It has always been my dream to play on the LPGA Tour,” Ko said. “For these amazing things to be happening it is unbelievable, but it also motivates me to work harder.”

Ko had a bogey-free round, also holing a 22-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fifth and a 40-footer on the par-3 eighth. She made three key par saves on the back nine, the first with a 15-foot putt after crisscrossing the par-5 11th. She ran in an 18-footer on the par-4 13th, and a 10-footer on 17.

“Obviously, making those putts on 11 and 13 was crucial, too, but just not knowing anything, I wanted to focus on my game and just what I could control,” Ko said. “But on 17, I knew what I needed to do. Something like a miracle needed to happen, so I think 17 was probably the most crucial putt.”

Until Sunday, best known for blowing a two-stroke lead with a closing triple bogey at age 17 in the 2013 LPGA Thailand, Jutanugarn made four birdies in a five-hole stretch in the middle of the round to move into position for a breakthrough victory that slipped away. She finished with a 71.

“I got a lot of experience from this week,” Jutanugarn said.

Hull birdied the 18th for a 69 and her best finish in a major.

“I know I can play well under pressure now when I have to get it going,” the 20-year-old English player said. “I’m happy I holed that putt on the last, and I’m proud of myself. It feels great. Lydia hit a great shot into the last, and she should be proud of herself.”

Chun also closed with a birdie in a 70. The U.S. Women’s Open champion was making her first start after sitting out a month because of a back injury. She was hurt when she was struck by a hard-case suitcase that rival South Korean player Ha Na Jang’s father dropped down an escalator at the Singapore airport.

Lexi Thompson, the third-round leader, eagled the last hole for a 73 to finish fifth at 9 under. The 2014 winner had three front-nine bogeys and failed to make a birdie.

“Just overall tough day,” Thompson said. “I struggled today, ball-striking, and the bad ball-striking didn’t give me many birdie chances, so I struggled a bit with the putter as well.”

Michelle Wie, tied for seventh entering the round, shot a 77 to drop into a tie for 36th at 5 over. She’s winless since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and hasn’t had a top-10 finish in 31 events.

Brooke Henderson shot a 67 for the best round of the day. The 18-year-old Canadian tied for 10th at 7 under and to run her LPGA top-10 streak to six events.

ANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Lexi Thompson made a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole Saturday to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the ANA Inspiration.

Trying to win the major championship for the second time in three years, Thompson shot a 3-under 69 to reach 10 under at Mission Hills.

After struggling with her putting most of the day, Thompson hit to 2 feet on the par-4 15th and 16th holes to set up birdies. She missed a 6-foot birdie try on the par-3 17th, then hit a 207-yard, 5-iron approach pin-high to the left on 18 to set up the eagle putt.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko, In Gee Chun and Ariya Jutanugarn were tied for second, and 15 players were within four strokes of the lead.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp is the top Canadian after shooting a 69 in her third round. Sharp is 3 under and tied for 27th. Brooke Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., is tied for 33rd at 2 under.