CHONBURI, Thailand – Lexi Thompson shot an 8-under 64 Saturday in the third round of the LPGA Thailand to establish a four-stroke lead over Korean In Gee Chun at Siam Country Club.

The fourth-ranked American fired nine birdies – against a lone bogey on the 16th – for an overall 16-under 200.

“I missed a putt on the first hole which got me down a little bit, but I tried to stay positive going into the next hole and fire at pins like I did the first day,” said Thompson, who is chasing her seventh LPGA Tour career victory.

Thompson has won four out of the six times she has led after the third round.

Chun carded three birdies on both the front and back nine for a 6-under 66.

Overnight leader and defending champion Amy Yang (70) had five birdies and three bogeys. The South Korean is five shots off the lead.

HONBURI, Thailand – Defending champion Amy Yang carded a 3-under 69 to lead by one halfway through the LPGA Thailand on Friday.

Yang trailed first-round leader Lexi Thompson by two before teeing off at Siam Country Club, then had consecutive bogeys on Nos. 5 and 6, but rallied with four birdies, including on the par-3 12th.

At 9 under overall, the South Korean was one shot ahead of countrywoman Q Baek (71) and Americans Jessica Korda (66) and Thompson (72).

“I struggled a little bit on the front, two bogeys straight, but I stayed patient, got through it well,” Yang said. “Leading by one shot is not much, and two more rounds is still a lot of golf.”

Korda’s low round of the day, matched by Haru Nomura of Japan, was capped by a 12-foot eagle putt on her last hole.

Xi Yu Lin of China hit a hole in one on the 186-yard, par-3 16th, and earned a Honda Accord.

There are no Canadians in the field.

CHONBURI, Thailand – Lexi Thompson had two eagles in an 8-under 64 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over Q Baek at the LPGA Tour’s Thailand tournament.

Amy Yang, the defending champion, shot 66 and was two strokes behind after the first round. Two golfers were tied for fourth after opening 68s – Azahara Munoz and Jenny Shin.

“Two eagles definitely helps out the scorecard,” Thompson said. “We couldn’t have asked for better conditions, weather-wise and golf course, so just happy to be out here.”

The 20-year-old Baek won her first and only LPGA title on home soil in South Korea in 2014. She had an eagle and five birdies in her round of 65.

Currently ranked No. 4, Thompson could overtake No. 3 Stacy Lewis as the top-ranked American with a win this week in Thailand and become the first American to win the event in its 10-year history.

“I think I was just very confident out there,” Thompson said. “I committed to all my shots, just aiming at pins and focused on doing my routine, staying relaxed, and I think that’s what helped me out the most.”

She got off to a quick start with an eagle at the par-5 first hole, followed by two more birdies and another eagle on the par-5 seventh to make the turn in 30.

Thompson bettered her low round at Siam Country Club’s Old Course by two strokes and finished one stroke away from matching the course record of 63 after missing a birdie putt at the last.

Thompson is playing with a new driver this week, and said she used it on nearly every hole, hitting 11 of 14 fairways.

“I’ve been trying to work into it for probably the last few months, and just trying to find a shaft that works for me, and finally found something I’m very comfortable with,” Thompson said.

ADELAIDE, Australia – Honolulu-based Haru Nomura of Japan won her first LPGA tournament in her 72nd start, shooting a closing 7-under 65 on Sunday to win the Women’s Australian Open by three strokes.

Nomura, who was tied for the lead with two others going into the final round at The Grange’s West course, finished with a 16-under total of 272.

Top-ranked and defending champion Lydia Ko, who trailed by a stroke after three rounds, finished second after a 67.

Five-time champion Karrie Webb shot 71 to finish third, seven strokes behind Nomura. American Danielle Kang was tied for fourth after a 73, eight strokes behind.

Webb, who trailed by a stroke at the start of the final round, had three birdies in her first five holes to take a share of the lead, but those were her last under-par holes of the round.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson carded a final-round 67 to share 9th spot at 7-under for the tournament.

Nomura, whose previous best finishes were three top 10s, had birdies on 15, 16 and 17 and five overall on the back nine before a bogey on 18.

Born in Japan to a South Korean mother and Japanese father, Nomura said she wasn’t intimidated by Ko being so close late in the round.

“Golf is the fight of my own, it’s not against someone else,” she said. “Even though someone else plays well, if I hit my goals, then I win.”

Starting as third-round leader with Kang and South Korean Jenny Shin, Nomura had four birdies in six holes on the front nine. When Ko challenged on the back nine with three birdies in five holes to leave the New Zealander just one shot behind, Nomura responded with her three consecutive birdies.

Shin closed with a 74 to finish nine strokes behind.

Ko said she was not happy to finish the tournament with a bogey, but was overall pleased with her play.

“My goal was to shoot 67 today and I shot 67,” she said. “I played really well, but Haru played even better, and the roars I could hear she seemed like she was holing a lot of putts. So when another player does it, it’s really out of my hands.”

Webb said she was disappointed she couldn’t continue her early birdie run.

“I got off to a good start, I made a couple of putts and that was it,” she said. “I hit it really nicely again today, and it just gets really frustrating out there on the greens.”

The tournament was also sanctioned by the Australian Ladies and Ladies European Tour. Next week, the two tours will sanction the Australian Ladies Masters at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast south of Brisbane.

ADELAIDE, Australia – American Danielle Kang shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday to move into a share of the third-round lead with South Korea’s Jenny Shin and Haru Nomura of Japan at the Women’s Australian Open.

Leading contenders Lydia Ko and Karrie Webb were just one stroke off the lead at The Grange’s West course.

Kang, the 2010 and 2011 U.S. Amateur champion, is chasing her first win on the LPGA Tour. She was at 9-under 207 along with Shin and Nomura, who each had 70s.

Tied for fourth were defending champion and No. 1-ranked Ko with a 68 and five-time champion Webb after a 70.

Catriona Matthew, the 46-year-old Scot who was tied for the lead after two rounds, shot a 73 and was 7-under, two strokes off the lead.

Smiths Falls, Ont., product Brooke Henderson posted a 73 and sits T30. Fellow Ontarian Alena Sharp of Hamilton carded a 70 to reach even-par for a share of 40th.

ADELAIDE, Australia – England’s Holly Clyburn shot a 7-under 65 Friday to take a share of the second-round lead with 46-year-old Scottish golfer Catriona Matthew at the Women’s Australian Open.

Clyburn and 1996 champion Matthew (69) had 36-hole totals of 8-under 136 on The Grange’s West course.

They held a one-stroke lead over four players – Germany’s Caroline Masson, who shot 71, China’s Lin Xiyu (67), South Korea’s Jenny Shin (70) and Haru Nomura of Japan (68).

“I think that’s the beauty of golf, you know you can play, it doesn’t matter what your age is really as long as you can still hit the golf ball and get it in the hole,” Matthew said. “Age isn’t a barrier.”

Jack Nicklaus, who won his sixth Masters title at Augusta in 1986 at the age of 46 – the last of his record 18 majors – agreed. He took the time to send a tweet to Matthew following her round Friday.

“Hang in there and don’t give up, finish strong! Everyone wrote me off at 46!” Nicklaus said on Twitter.

Two strokes behind the leaders and in seventh place after a 71 was five-time champion Karrie Webb. She had a 67 Thursday.

“It was a bit scratchier today. I wasn’t as sharp with my iron play,” Webb said. “I still hit 14 greens but didn’t have a lot of decent looks at birdies. I just really hung in there.”

Canadian-based South Korean SooBin Kim, the first-round leader who shot a course-record 63 on Thursday, bogeyed five of her final seven holes Friday for a 77 and fell to 4-under, tied in a group four behind the leaders.

Top-ranked and defending champion Lydia Ko, who won last week’s New Zealand Women’s Open, had a second consecutive 70 and was also at 4-under.

“I feel like I’m in a good position. I reckon I could have cut a few more shots down but at the same time I think could have gone higher, so it all balances out,” Ko said. “But being a couple or a few shots behind isn’t a bad position.”

Canadian Brooke Henderson shot 71 Friday and was at 3-under, five strokes behind. There were 20 golfers within four shots of the lead.

Cheyenne Woods had a 78 and was at 4-over and missed the cut, as did former champion Laura Davies after a 76 to finish at 10-under.

Clyburn, winner of last year’s New South Wales Open, began her round with an eagle and three birdies in her first five holes.

“I was loving it, really,” Clyburn said. “I have been waiting for this round for a long time.”

In October 2014, Clyburn was well-placed in the second stage of LPGA qualifying but was disqualified when her playing partner failed to sign her scorecard.

“Probably what happened 14, 15 months ago was for the best, I don’t know,” Clyburn said. It’s her second start on the LPGA Tour.

Matthew won the Australian Open 20 years ago at Yarra Yarra in Melbourne and, among other wins, added two majors – the Women’s British Open title in 2009 and the LPGA Championship in 2013.

With her husband, Graeme on the bag – he’s been her caddie for 16 years – the Scottish player has hit 16 greens in each of her first two rounds, including a 67 Thursday in tougher afternoon conditions.

“It’s tricky if you start missing the greens out here, it’s not easy up and down,” Matthew said.

The tournament is also sanctioned by the Australian Women’s and Ladies European tours.

Alena Sharp of Hamilont, Ont., sits tied for 66th following a round of 75.

ADELAIDE, Australia – Canadian-based South Korean SooBin Kim shot a course-record 9-under 63 on Thursday to leave top-ranked Lydia Ko and Canadian sweetheart Brooke Henderson seven strokes behind at the Women’s Australian Open.

Kim’s bogey-free opening round came after starting on the 10th hole of The Grange’s West course. She had a three-stroke clubhouse lead over American Casey Grice with most of the afternoon groups, including five-time champion Karrie Webb, on the course.

P.K. Kongkraphan of Thailand, Jenny Shin and amateur Choi Hye-jin had 67s and were tied for third among the early finishers.

Ko, who won last year’s title at Royal Melbourne, bogeyed two holes on her first nine after starting on the 10th, but the New Zealander had three birdies on the back nine for her 70.

“I’ll take it,” Ko said. “I hit two really loose shots where it was hard to put myself in position the next time but overall I played pretty solid … not many putts dropped.”

Kim, who moved to Canada from South Korea with her family when she was 10 and is based in Langley, B.C., birdied seven of her first 12 holes.

Ranked 256th in the world, Kim was playing her first LPGA tournament round this year because her low ranking failed to gain her direct entry into the initial two LPGA events in the Bahamas and Florida.

Kim, who eclipsed the previous women’s course record of 66 shot by Australian Nadina Taylor at an amateur event in 2000, had 26 putts in what she described as “one of those days.”

“I was just picking my line and rolling them in, let the ball do the rest,” the 22-year-old Kim said. “I was pretty ready for it, so (I am) not surprised.”

Kim has not made up her mind whether to become a Canadian citizen. She has had the same coach, Brian Jung, for nine years and was part of British Columbia Golf’s player development program.

“I was definitely thinking about it but I still haven’t got the citizenship yet, still deciding,” Kim said. “Most of the Koreans they want their kids to learn English, so that was the reason I moved to Canada. And then golf followed after that …”

The tournament is also sanctioned by the Australian Ladies and Ladies European Tour.

Brooke Henderson will be making her Australian debut this week at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

“This is my first time here so I’m really looking forward to it,” Henderson said with a smile.

The trip Down Under will be the first of several international trips for the 18-year-old this season.

“I’m playing on the Gold Coast next week in the European tour event and then in Singapore in a few weeks in the LPGA and hopefully the Asian Swing in the Fall,” Henderson said of her 2016 travel schedule. “So being able to play all over I know a couple of months ago I was looking to get the sponsors invite into Dubai, so yeah I’m just kind of playing and being well known by people everywhere.”

What makes the travel easier on Henderson is having her sister Brittany as a travel companion and caddie.

“You know I love having her to travel with and see the world and experience all these things with her and then to also have her also on my bag with me every day is really cool,” Henderson said. “When I was a little girl I grew up watching her and wanting to be like her and now I have her support with me.  It really means a lot.”

Last year was Henderson’s breakout year.

“It’s been an amazing year, considering back a year ago I didn’t have a tour to play on, I didn’t know which events I would play in,” she said today. “I was just counting on Monday qualifiers and sponsors invitations to get into events, and I was able to play well and a lot of doors opened to me and I was able to win in Portland a couple of months ago and get full LPGA Tour status. I’m really just living the dream now, travelling around the world, first time to Australia is really exciting.”

Henderson’s win on the LPGA Tour in Portland last August came after she Monday-qualified, but it was emphatic. She won by eight shots, and soon petitioned the LPGA Tour for an exemption so that she could have a playing card although she had not reached the minimum age of 18. This was granted, and now she is a full member.

A former world No. 1 amateur, she says her improvement has been steady.

“I think over the last three or four years I’ve continued to improve just a little bit every year and that’s been key,” she said today after the Open pro-am. “Last year the main thing was realizing that I was good enough to compete on the LPGA Tour. Getting top 10 finishes was (a boost in) confidence for me. Over the last couple of months and in the off-season I’ve gained a bit of distance which has really helped. I was considered a longer hitter to begin with and gaining 10-15 yards has really helped. Moving forward I think short game is what I need to improve to compete on the LPGA.”

Henderson likes the look of The Grange – the venue for this weeks  ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

“It’s in amazing condition, they’ve really done a great job with it. It’s a little bit tricky, second shots are key here, just playing smarter on the course and knowing where to hit the ball is going to be very important.”

OCALA, Fla – Canadian Brooke Henderson had to settle for second Saturday at the LPGA Tour’s Coates Championship.

The 18-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., finished two shots back of Ha Na Jang, who captured her first career LPGA Tour title. Jang made a late birdie to take the lead en route to a final-round 72.

Henderson also shot a 72 but had two bogeys over the final five holes.

“Starting the day, if I would have finished second, I would have been very happy,” Henderson said.

“A couple putts on the back nine kind of cost me, but overall it was a good day, and I’m right in position where I want to be.”

Jang reclaimed the lead with a 5-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole.

“It’s amazing how I feel right now,” said the 23-year-old Korean, who was in tears after making one last birdie that only affected the margin.

She finished at 11-under 277 and earned $225,000.

Lydia Ko, the LPGA player of the year making her 2016 debut, was tied with Jang after they completed the third round Saturday morning at Golden Ocala.

Ko, however, fell apart in the middle of the final round. She made three straight bogeys to finish the back nine, then hit her tee shot into the water and made double bogey on the par-3 11th to fall five shots behind. She ran off three straight birdies late in her round to try to stay in it.

Ko closed with a 75 and tied for third, three shots behind.

“I just couldn’t get anything going today,” Ko said. “I wasn’t hitting the ball great, and the putts weren’t dropping, either. When those two combinations go, you know you’re not going to make a lot of great birdies. But I finished strong, so I’ll take that.”

Henderson had the lead until a pair of three-putt bogeys over the final five holes as the rain worsened, forming puddles on the edges of the green. The greens crew used leaf blowers on some of the puddles to help the water evaporate.

Henderson tried to lay up on the par-5 18th with a hybrid and came within an inch of the hazard. With an awkward stance and a tough lie, she chunked a wedge to the front of the green, some 75 feet away, and did well to two-putt for par.

She posted at 9-under 279, and then waited to see if it would be enough for a playoff.

Sei Young Kim was at 9 under and had a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole that misses on the right edge. Kim then missed the 3-foot par putt and finished at 8-under 280. Suzann Pettersen was in range until she fell back with consecutive bogeys.

Lexi Thompson also had a chance until a peculiar decision on the par-3 15th. Thompson was two shots out of the lead when she chose to putt through about 6 feet of wet, Bermuda rough because the green sloped away from her. The ball moved only about 4 feet, and then she used putter again and barely got it out of the thick grass and onto the green. Thompson made double bogey.

Jang was 2 over for the final round after a three-putt bogey on the 14th and one shot behind. Henderson was on the 17th and three-putted to slip into a tie, and Jang pumped her fist when she made a 5-foot birdie on the 16th to take the lead.

She made a par without stress on the 17th, and played the 18th to perfection. The only nervous moment was her third shot to the 18th, which featured a back pin with a puddle on the back edge and wet rough over the green. Jang’s wedge flew all the way to the pin and checked up on the soft surface. She needed only two putts from 6 feet to win, and rolled in the centre for birdie.

Jang was 15th on the LPGA money list last year as a rookie, when she was runner-up four times. The player of the year on the Korean LPGA in 2013, Jang is projected to move into the top 10 in the Rolex Women’s World Ranking. She was a runner-up at the Coates Golf Championship last year.

“I’m really comfortable at this golf course, and then very confident because of really good last year,” she said.

U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun had a 70 and joined Ko and Kim at 8-under 280.

OCALA, Fla. – Lydia Ko hit the ball only 22 times in a span of 11 hours Friday in the Coates Golf Championship and finished where she started – with a share of the lead, and still a long way from the finish line.

Ko three-putted from 15 feet for bogey in 39-degree weather to finish the rain-delayed second round in the morning. In the afternoon, she made one birdie in six holes to get back to 7-under par and share the lead with Ha Na Jang, who played 24 holes on Friday.

None of the 75 players who made the cut finished the third round, which was to resume Saturday morning.

Jang played her entire second round Friday morning, when temperatures eventually climbed into the 50s. She made 15 pars, two birdies and a double bogey for an even-par 72 and the 36-hole lead. Jang was even par through six holes of the third round when play was halted by darkness.

Lexi Thompson was among five players who were one shot out of the lead.

Rain that soaked Golden Ocala on Thursday gave way to a cold front that chilled central Florida. Ko had a 15-foot birdie putt on her last hole of the second round when she returned Friday morning, only to ram the putt about 4 feet by, miss the next one for par and have to make a 3 1/2-foot bogey putt to limit the damage. That gave her a 69.

“I did some 15-footer practice on the putting green before I went, but when I hit it on the course, the green was a touch faster than what I thought it would be,” Ko said. “Obviously, it’s not the best start of the day, but I had a nap and of got over it, and it definitely got much better. Who knows? It might have happened yesterday. But because it happened right first thing in the morning, it might feel worse.”

Ko, the No. 1 player in women’s golf who is making her 2016 debut, at least headed off to sleep confident about her game _ and her score. She summoned a rules official to discuss whether her ball moved on the sixth green.

“I wasn’t sure because it’s obviously getting a little dark and with the steepness of the greens, you never know if it does move or not,” she said. “I kind of was hovering over it, going back and forth, so I don’t know if that action was making it look like it moved or not.

“We cleared everything, so now I can just go to bed and have a good dinner and come out here early.”

Players had to wear extra layers of clothing to combat the cold weather, and Jang soldiered on beautifully with a steady diet of pars to offset her lone mistake in the morning. She started the third round with a birdie, only to drop a shot on the next hole with follow with four pars.

“Very confident right now,” Jang said.

The tournament is still hopeful of ending on Saturday.

Kim Kaufman made four birdies on the front nine before her lone bogey. She was 3 under for the third round and 6 under for the tournament through 12 holes, tied with Thompson, Sei Young Kim, Jessica Korda and Haru Nomura.

U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun and Candie Kung were two shots behind at 5 under. Michelle Wie was even through 12 holes and four shots back.

Canadian Brooke Henderson was even through nine holes before her third round came to an end. The Smiths Falls, Ont., native is 4 under for the tournament.

Jang played more golf. Players like Ko, Thompson and Suzann Pettersen (4 under) felt like the day was even longer. They played no more than two holes in the morning, and then didn’t play again for at least six hours.

“It was an early wake-up call to play two holes and then wait around until 3 to warm back up,” Thompson said. “You can’t control the weather. I went back and slept for an hour. I wasted some time. And then I went through my whole warm-up stretching routine in the hotel room to get ready and come out here mentally prepared.”