CARLSBAD, Calif. – Inbee Park shot a 5-under 67 on Thursday afternoon for a share of the lead in the LPGA Tour’s Kia Classic, the final event before the major ANA Inspiration next week in Rancho Mirage.

“I just want to have all the game physically and mentally,” Park said. “You want your game to be ready for next week. It’s just the last test before the majors, just trying to test out some shots and try to get some confidence.”

The second-ranked South Korean player withdrew because of a back pain after a first-round 80 in the opener in the Bahamas and has struggled to regain that form that carried her to two major titles and five victories last year. She tied for 30th in Thailand and Singapore and missed the cut last week in the Founders Cup in Phoenix.

“Everything went really well out there, Park said. “Especially, I dropped some good putts today. I was able to shoot a low round and it’s always good to have a good round like this before going into a major.”

Morning starters Brittany Lang, Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Ai Miyazato matched Park at 67, and top-ranked Lydia Ko was another stroke back.

Park played the back nine at Aviara in 4 under, making her final birdie on the par-5 17th. She hit 11 of 14 fairways in regulation, 14 of 18 greens, and had 27 putts.

“The greens weren’t as bumpy as what I thought it would be,” Park said. “The greens are actually in much better shape than in previous years. So, I was quite comfortable on the greens today. Obviously, getting some confidence on the greens was huge.”

Lang holed out from the fairway for eagle on the par-4 first hole and had five birdies and two bogeys.

“I saw it hit, I’m like, ‘OK, it’s going to hit soft, good,” Lang said about the eagle. “And then I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, that looks good. … That always makes you pretty comfortable.”

Lang opened with a 63 last week in Phoenix and ended up tying for ninth.

“I played great last week,” Lang said. “I’ve been hitting it really well. These greens can definitely be tough, the speed. They are really slow, really quick. They can be difficult. So you’ve got to be a little cautious.”

Miyazato eagled the par-5 10th in her bogey-free round. Shadoff had seven birdies and two bogeys.

Ko birdied five of her final nine holes in her morning round. The 18-year-old New Zealander was second in Phoenix.

“I was striking the ball really well, even in my front nine, which was the back nine,” Ko said. “But I just couldn’t get any putts rolling. It was good to see a couple drop on my back nine.

“The weather, it’s perfect. Obviously, in the morning, it’s a little cooler, so you’ve got a couple layers on, but this is as perfect as it gets. Carlsbad is so beautiful.”

Jane Park and Mi Jung Hur joined Ko at 68.

Michelle Wie shot a 70 after missing the cut in Phoenix. She had six birdies and four bogeys.

Ha Na Jang opened with a 71. She won this year in Florida and Singapore.

Phoenix winner Sei Young Kim parred the final 13 holes in a 72. On Sunday, she matched Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour scoring record of 27 under, closing with a 10-under 62 for a five-stroke victory.

Fourth-ranked Stacy Lewis also shot 72. She has a 44-event victory drought that dates to June 2014.

Canadian Brooke Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., is tied for 56th after an opening round 73. Fellow Canadian Maude-Aimee Leblanc, of Sherbrooke, Que., was 3 over while Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot a 77.

Defending champion Cristie Kerr had a 73, and Lexi Thompson struggled to a 77. The third-ranked Thompson won last month in Thailand.

PHOENIX – Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., finished in a tie for fourth place at the JTBC Founders Cup in Scottsdale, Ariz., shooting 67 in the final round on Sunday.

PHOENIX – Sei Young Kim stumbled late Saturday afternoon in the JTBC Founders Cup, handing the lead to Eun-Hee Ji and putting Stacy Lewis, Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson and many others in far better position than they expected.

Three strokes ahead after an eagle on the par-4 13th, Kim failed to birdie the par-5 15th and bogeyed the par-4 16th and par-3 17th. Her 2-under 70 dropped her into a tie for second with Lewis, a stroke behind Ji.

“It’s OK. I have one day, tomorrow,” said Kim, the 23-year-old South Korean player who won three times last season and was the LPGA Tour’s rookie of the year.

Ji made a 12-foot birdie putt on 17 and finished with a 65 to reach 18-under 198 on another perfect day at Desert Ridge’s Wildfire Golf Club. She is winless since the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.

“My putting was really good,” Ji said. “My iron shot was really good, too. I was really struggling with my irons the last couple of weeks, but it’s getting better this week.”

Lewis had a 64, closing with a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th.

“These scores are just ridiculous,” Lewis said. “You just can’t look at a leaderboard. You just go out there and make as many birdies as you can.”

The Texan won the event in 2013 and finished second the last two years. She has nine runner-up finishes in a 43-event victory drought that dates to June 2014.

“I’m just really happy to see some good scores going up,” Lewis said.

Jacqui Concolino was two strokes back after a 68. The top-ranked Ko, Carlota Ciganda and Paula Creamer were another shot behind. Ko and Ciganda shot 64, and Paula Creamer had a 67.

Another shot back is Brooke Henderson. The Smiths Falls, Ont., native carded a 65 Saturday to climb into a tie for 8th at 14-under 202.

PHOENIX – Mi Hyang Lee shot a tournament-record 10-under 62 on Thursday in the JTBC Founders Cup after playing her first nine holes in 9 under.

On a day when fellow South Korean player Se Ri Pak announced she will retire at the end of the season, Lee threatened to shoot the second 59 in LPGA Tour history after opening with an eagle and seven birdies on the back nine.

Needing to play the front nine in 4 under to break 60, Lee made only one more birdie – on the par-5 fifth.

Annika Sorenstam is the only player to shoot 59 in an LPGA Tour event, accomplishing the feat in 2001 at nearby Moon Valley.

Lee matched the nine-hole record of 9 under set by Amy Yang last year in South Korea.

Sei Young Kim and Brittany Lang shot 63.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson shot an opening-round 68. Fell Canadians Alena Sharp and Maude-Aimee LeBlanc had mating 1-over 73s.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Symetra Tour, the Road to the LPGA, in conjunction with The Evian Championship announced today that the top two finishers at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship will earn spots into The Evian Championship, the fifth and final major on the LPGA schedule. This is the first time in history players will earn spots in an LPGA major based off a finish at a Symetra Tour event.

The FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship will take place at Battle Creek Country Club in Battle Creek, Michigan the week of July 18-24. The top 156 players will be competing for the winner’s check and the top two finishers will receive entry into The Evian Championship and financial support from Société Générale, one of The Evian Championship’s Major partners, to help them through their season.

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime for a rising star in women’s golf to experience an LPGA major in a setting like Evian-les-Bains, France,” said Chief Business Officer of the Symetra Tour, Mike Nichols. “The vision of the Symetra Tour is to prepare the next generation of LPGA stars and we are grateful to Evian for giving two players this unique chance to experience the LPGA first hand before they are full-time LPGA players.”

In the case of a tie for second at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship, there will be a sudden death playoff for the final exemption into the Evian Championship.

The Evian Championship, which became the fifth LPGA major in 2013, will be contested the week of September 15-18 at Evian Resort Golf Club. The total purse for the event is $3.25 million and the winner will earn $487,500. Last year, Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Lydia Ko won the Evian Championship, becoming the youngest player ever to win an LPGA major championship.  Canada’s Brooke Henderson tied for 25th.

The FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship is a third year event on the Symetra Tour. Past winners include Min Seo Kwak (2014) and Madeleine Sheils (2015).

Despite no LPGA Tour event this past week, Brooke Henderson has achieved another milestone in her young career.

The 18-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont. cracked the top ten in the Rolex Rankings – the weekly tabulation for female professional golfers – for the first time, sitting 10th.

Henderson, who started her year with four top-10 finishes in five events, three on the LPGA Tour and one on the Ladies European Tour, is in Phoenix this week for the JTBC Founders Cup.

The teenage sensation has had a meteoric rise up the Rolex Rankings since her victory last August. She has admitted in past interviews that her goal is to reach no. 1 in the world, but she’ll have to overtake fellow 18-year-old Lydia Ko to do so.

It’ll take Henderson a few more victories before she can eclipse Ko, but recently announced Canadian Golf Hall of Fame inductee Lorie Kane doesn’t feel like it’ll be too long before she finds the winner’s circle again.

“I just spent some time with her in Australia, and there will be another win coming soon, I don’t doubt it,” Kane told reporters during her Hall-of-Fame announcement conference call.

Henderson’s whirlwind world tour has taken her to both Australia and Singapore – “much different than Smiths Falls,” she admits – in early 2016, but she has also been able to take in the perks of a touring professional (and not something every Canadian teenager gets to do).

The Henderson sisters enjoyed the architecture of downtown Singapore, and both held a baby kangaroo and koala bear while down under.

Two special guests at the Welcome Gala tonight…baby kangaroo and koala!!! pic.twitter.com/rpop0zDRfb

— Brooke Henderson (@BrookeHenderson) February 16, 2016

She also managed to play some pretty good golf – finishing tied for ninth and eighth respectively in the two countries. She also visited Ping’s headquarters early last week to receive a solid-gold putter – a token that each Ping-sponsored player gets after a victory – and spent some time in nearby Phoenix with fellow Canadian Alena Sharp, playing some golf together with sister Brittany.

Today @BrookeHenderson received her gold putter from her victory at the 2015 @PortlandClassic. Congrats, Brooke! pic.twitter.com/8yhKPwP6ez — PING GOLF (@PingTour) March 10, 2016

The reigning Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year is also set to represent Canada at the Olympics this summer, in all likelihood with Sharp as a teammate.

Sharp and Henderson are expected to participate in the closing ceremonies before flying directly to the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, the first of two back-to-back LPGA events on Canadian soil this summer.

Henderson sits 8th on the LPGA’s money list so far through 2016, earning just over US$207,000.

She spent two months as the world’s no.1-ranked amateur before turning professional at the end of 2014.

Here are the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings as of March 14, 2016.

There’s an old saying in golf, attributed to Bobby Jones, that the game is mainly played on a five-and-a-half inch course: “the distance between your ears.”

And few people know that better than Canadian Alena Sharp.

Now in her 11th year on the LPGA Tour, she began working with Tony Robbins mental coach Mimi Peak last year, and it was her best as a professional. She played in 26 events and only missed five cuts. She also recorded her first top 10 since 2010, and her first-ever top five finish, earning more than $270,000 in the process.

So what was different?

“I had a few rough years. The older you get the more you think, and the more bad crap is in your head,” says Sharp, laughing. “I’m just getting rid of all that stuff and believe that I’m good enough to be out here.”

Sharp had a strong debut on the LPGA Tour, but had a blip in the middle of her career where she bounced around on some mini-tours. Although she wishes she didn’t have that happen, she says she learned a lot during that time.

She also bounced back with a Symetra Tour victory in 2014.

“Obviously I’d love to be further along (in my career) than I am, but I know that this is my path. As long as I keep getting better, that’s the one thing I want to keep doing,” explains Sharp.

Sharp states that she used to put a lot of pressure on herself and focused too much on end results, getting her in trouble. Her work with Peak and Golf Canada’s National Women’s Team Coach Tristan Mullally – which began in 2015 – have inspired her to take things one shot at a time.

“I do put a lot of pressure on myself, and I do try too hard sometimes,” admits Sharp. “I’m setting process goals now and watching the results come from them, instead of always thinking about results.”

She has also found some inspiration in a fellow Canadian.

On the final hole of the LPGA’s Portland Classic in August, it was Sharp who was one of the first people to reach Brooke Henderson and spray the then 17-year-old with non-alcoholic champagne.

Watching Henderson grow as a person and a player has been exciting and motivating for Sharp.

“I think I read something last week that she doesn’t think she’s a feel player, and that’s something I used to do. Then I started thinking too much,” says Sharp. “Being around her has brought that back in me a little bit. It’s helped me. We’ve played practice rounds together and talk a lot, so it’s been a nice relationship.”

That relationship is probably going to extend into the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, where Sharp and Henderson are the likely pair who will represent Canada in the golf competition.

But Sharp’s revitalized mental attitude hasn’t let her get ahead of herself.

“I don’t want to get too high hopes, but it’s a big goal in the back ground. I would love to represent Canada and I know it would be an amazing experience,” she says. “I think it’s going to be something every athlete obviously wants to go through, and to be down there with other Canadian athletes – not just golfers – would be amazing.”

Before that, though, Sharp has to continue building off 2015. She’s in the field of two majors without having to qualify and is looking forward to playing the tougher courses.

“I made the cut (at the majors) but I was near the bottom. I want to challenge, I want to be one of the contenders out there,” she says. “I like the courses that are longer, they play more into my game. I really think I can excel more at those tournaments.”

Sharp has had a fair-to-midland start to 2016, making one cut and missing another. She’s back in the LPGA Tour field when it comes to Arizona in a few weeks and she says she may play in a couple of Cactus Tour events before then.

“I had a decent start this year,” she explains. “But I feel like it’s going to be a good year.”

SINGAPORE – South Korea’s Ha Na Jang enhanced her growing reputation as one of the hottest players on the LPGA Tour by winning the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament by four strokes on Sunday.

Playing like a seasoned veteran, the 23-year-old South Korean fired six birdies and an eagle in a brilliant final round of 7-under 65 to finish at 19-under at Singapore’s Sentosa Golf Club.

Her playing partner, Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum, closed with a bogey-free 68 to take outright second at 15-under while South Korea’s Amy Yang birdied the last hole for a 71 to take third place with 11-under, one shot clear of a group of five players.

Jang captured her maiden LPGA title at the Coates Golf Championship in Florida last month and has quickly made it two.

“I was very comfortable this week,” Jang said. “My target in 2016 was two wins but right now I’m there so I’m going to change my target.”

Not only is the South Korean emerging as one of the hottest players on the LPGA Tour but she’s also developing a cult following with her elaborate celebrations.

When she won in Florida, she impersonated a samurai swordsman, and on Sunday, she provided her own rendition of Beyonce by dancing on the 18th green.

We just can’t get over this epic celebration by Ha Na Jang! #HSBCWomensChamps pic.twitter.com/p68aMNZr2o

— LPGA (@LPGA) March 6, 2016

Jang said she had been thinking about copying some of Beyonce’s moves after watching her perform at the Super Bowl and winning her second title seemed like the perfect time to break it out.

“I’m trying to be like Beyonce, the single lady. I’m single right now, too, I try the single lady,” she explained.

Brooke Henderson also continued her impressive play, earning her fourth top 10 in as many starts. The 18-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont., native carded a final round 71 to finish at 9-under for a share of 9th.

Henderson’s previous top 10s include a tie for eighth at last week’s RACV Ladies Masters in Australia, a tie for ninth at the Women’s Australian Open and a second-place finish at the Coates Golf Championship.

SINGAPORE – South Korea’s Ha Na Jang shot a flawless 4-under 68 on Saturday to grab a one-stroke lead heading into the final round of the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament.

Chasing her second LPGA title this year, the 23-year-old racked up four birdies and her second straight bogey-free round to lead the tournament on 12-under 204 then headed back to the practice range for some more golf.

“My nickname is Enjoy Ha Na, Energizer Ha Na,” Jang told reporters. “It’s really good my nickname. I want to show every day, I enjoy playing golf.”

Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum knocked in six birdies in her 68 to end the third round in outright second at 11-under, one clear of the South Korean pair of Amy Yang and Mirim Lee.

Yang reeled off five birdies in her last eight holes for a 68 to charge up the leaderboard while the overnight co-leader Lee signed for a 70 after a mixed day where she made five birdies and three bogeys.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson carded a 5-under 67 Saturday to climb the leaderboard. She’s among a group of six players who finished two shots behind them at 8-under, setting the stage for an exciting finish on Sunday with the top 10 separated by just four strokes.