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.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Lexi Thompson birdied the final hole for a 4-under 68 and a share of the ANA Inspiration lead with Ai Miyazato on Friday.

The 21-year-old American holed a 30-foot putt on the par-5 18th to reach 7 under at Mission Hills in the LPGA Tour’s first major championship of the year. She won the event in 2014.

Miyazato, also tied for the first-round lead, followed her opening 67 with a 70. The 30-year-old Japanese player also finished with a birdie, hitting to 2 feet on the par-5 ninth.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko was a stroke back along with Suzann Pettersen, In Gee Chun, Lizette Salas, Sung Hyun Park and Lee-Anne Pace. Ko had a 68, Pettersen, Salas and Park shot 67, Chun had a 69, and Pace a 70.

Canadian Brooke Henderson had a 3-under 69 Friday to climb from a share of 60th into a tie for 25th. The Smiths Falls, Ont., native is 2-under.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp had a 74 to drop into a tie for 40th at even par.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Brooke Henderson had by far the most fans following her around for the first round of the ANA Inspiration on Thursday.

The 18-year-old Canadian is still getting used to the support.

“It’s super cool,” Henderson said. “Every round it seems there are more fans and not only just from Canada. Though there is a huge Canadian crowd out here this week.”

Henderson opened with a 1-over 73 and was six shots off co-leaders Azahara Munoz and Ai Miyazato. The former hockey goalie from Smiths Falls, Ont., is making her second start at Mission Hills after tying for 26th in the major championship as an amateur in 2014.

“Some holes, I played awesome and just didn’t take advantage,” Henderson said. “I had a lot of birdie putts that I missed. Then holes that I kind of messed up on, I kind of messed up big time. It was just one of those rounds. Hopefully, clean up a few things tonight and have a better day tomorrow.”

She bogeyed Nos. 6 and 7, and rebounded with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 – with a boost from the fans.

“On 11, walking up to the green before I hit my third shot out of the bunker, they yelled, ‘Go Canada!'” Henderson said. “I kind of felt a little better about myself and I was able to make two birdies in a row. So, I definitely think it helps.”

She bogeyed 13 and parred the final five holes, chipping in on the par-5 18th after her drive struck a palm tree and went into the water.

“It was kind of an interesting par,” Henderson said. “I think it’s the best one I’ve ever made in my life. I was happy to see it go in – and the crowd seemed to enjoy it too.”

Henderson won the Portland Classic last year to become the third-youngest champion in LPGA Tour history at 17 years, 11 months, 6 days. She was second in the Coates Golf Championship in Florida in early February and has had five straight top-10 finishes to jump to No. 7 in world.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton fired a 2-under 70 to grab a share of 14th thru 18 holes.

OTTAWA – The Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club board of directors has given honorary full memberships for Smiths Falls golfing sensations, sisters Brittany Henderson and Brooke Henderson.

Eighteen-year-old Brooke is a full-time member of the LPGA Tour and currently ranks 7th in women`s world golf. Brittany, her accomplished older sister, has full-time status on the Symetra Ladies Tour and plays several LPGA events annually. She is also currently acting as Brooke’s caddie on tour.

Recently, Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club President Allan Bulloch caught up with Brooke and Brittany to personally welcome them to The Hunt.

Brooke and Brittany are excited to play the Hunt Club course and use the Club`s world class practice facility in preparation for the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, scheduled at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club for August 2017.

“I am so grateful to the Hunt Club Board of Directors for welcoming us as members,” said Brooke Henderson. “I look forward to showcasing the impressive golf course and facilities to everyone on Tour at next year’s Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.”

The Henderson sisters will continue to be great golf ambassadors for years to come as the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club intends to partner with both Brooke and Brittany to further develop junior golf in Ottawa.

When in town, we expect to see both of them around the club working on their game.

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Lydia Ko won the Kia Classic on Sunday at Aviara, reaffirming her position as the top player in the world heading into the first major championship of the season.

Ko birdied the final three holes for her third straight 5-under 67 and a four-stroke victory over second-ranked Inbee Park.

“I just kind of peeked at the leaderboard and saw Inbee was making a lot of birdies – Inbee doing her Inbee things,” Ko said. “I knew that I needed to focus up until the last moment and fortunately I made some birdies down the stretch.”

A week after finishing second in Phoenix in the Founders Cup, Ko headed to Rancho Mirage for the ANA Inspiration with her first LPGA Tour victory of the year and 11th overall. The 18-year-old New Zealander also won the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open in February.

“All the work we’ve put in as a team kind of paid off,” Ko said. “A really happy moment, but I have to focus for next week. I’m really excited to go back to ANA.”

Ko finished at 19-under 269.

Park closed with a 67. The 2013 winner at Rancho Mirage, the South Korean player appears to be over the back problem that forced her to withdraw from the first event of the season.

“We have a really important tournament coming up next week, so I really needed to push myself a little faster to get ready,” Park said. “This is a great finish for me and it’s going to be a good confidence week for me.”

She tied for 30th in Thailand and Singapore in her first events back and missed the cut in Phoenix.

“I have been struggling with ball-striking to putting and everything until probably last week,” Park said. “This week, everything started clicking together. Started to hit the ball a lot straighter and started to get a lot of confidence and, obviously, dropping a few putts gave me a lot of confidence.”

Playing two groups ahead of Ko, Park pulled within two shots with birdies on the par-4 16th and par-5 17th. Ko pushed the lead back to two with a birdie on the short par-4 16th, holing a 10-foot putt after driving the green and racing her first putt past the hole.

Ko made an 8-foot birdie putt on 17, and finished with a 15-footer on 18.

She bogeyed the par-5 10th after double-hitting a putt from the fringe. The ball popped out of a divot and caught her club in the follow-through, costing her a one-stroke penalty.

Japan’s Ai Miyazato was third at 12 under after a 66. The nine-time LPGA Tour winner had her first top-10 finish since 2013.

“I’ve been struggling with my putting since a couple years ago,” Miyazato said. “That’s why my game wasn’t really there. But I had really good patience and I know I can get through it. Right now, I’m in the process, but just the difference is it’s just I’m having fun more with my game.”

South Koreans Sung Hyun Park and Jenny Shin each shot 72 to tie for fourth at 11 under. Sung Hyun Park received a sponsor exemption.

Brittany Lang closed with a bogey on 17 and a double bogey on 18 – hitting into the water twice – for a 74 that dropped her into a tie for 10th at 9 under.

Brooke Henderson tallied six birdies and an eagle en route to a 6-under 66. The Smiths Falls, Ont., native finished in a tie for 10th at a combined 9-under par.

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Top-ranked Lydia Ko made three straight birdies early on the back nine Saturday in the Kia Classic and finished with a 5-under 67 to take a three-stroke lead.

Ko birdied Nos. 11-13 and closed with five straight pars to reach 14-under 202 at Aviara in the final event before the major ANA Inspiration next week in Rancho Mirage.

“I’d rather be a couple shots ahead than a couple shots behind,” Ko said. “But the girls are playing great golf. The course is tough, but still, the scores are out there. So I’ve just got to focus on my game. Anything can happen.”

The 18-year-old New Zealander saved par with a 10-foot putt on the par-4 18th, and has played bogey-free since her second hole in the first round. She won five times last season and is coming off second-place finish last week in Phoenix in the Founders Cup.

“I struck the ball really well,” Ko said. “I think almost the harder part was that because I was giving myself a lot of opportunities, it almost felt like I wasn’t putting good, but I was stroking good and holing a few putts here and there. I’m really proud with the way I played today. Obviously, I’ve got to take the positives and the confidence going into tomorrow.”

Sung Hyun Park, Brittany Lang and second-round leader Jenny Shin were tied for second.

Park had five straight birdies on Nos. 12-16, made a double bogey on par-5 17th, and closed with a birdie for a 68. Lang had a 70, making three birdies and four bogeys on the back nine. Shin shot 71.

“A lot of up-and-downs on the back nine, which I don’t like doing that,” Lang said. “I wasn’t quite as sharp on the back nine. I don’t know if I got a little tired or a little out of what I was doing. … But to come out with 2 under and still be right there, I’m very happy and excited for tomorrow.”

Second-ranked Inbee Park was 10-under after a 70.

Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson also carded a 70 and sits tied for 30th at 3-under.

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Jenny Shin took the lead Friday in the LPGA Tour’s Kia Classic, a stroke ahead of top-ranked Lydia Ko and Brittany Lang.

Shin birdied five of her first eight holes and had a 7-under 65 to reach 10-under 134 at Aviara in the final event before the major ANA Inspiration next week in Rancho Mirage. The 23-year-old South Korean player is winless on the LPGA Tour.

Ko shot a 67, and Lang had a 68. The 18-year-old Ko was second Sunday in Phoenix in the Founders Cup.

Second-ranked Inbee Park and fellow South Korean player Hyo Joo Kim were 8 under. Park had a 69, and Kim shot a 66.

Canadian Brooke Henderson shot up the leaderboard and is tied for 29th after shooting a 70. The Smiths Falls, Ont., native is 1 under for the tournament.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp and Maude-Aimee Leblanc, of Sherbrooke, Que., missed the cut.