SHIMA, Japan – Jenny Shin shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over fellow South Korean player Ha-Neul Kim in the LPGA Tour’s Toto Japan Classic.

Shin had her second straight bogey-free round at Kintetsu Kashikojima, reaching 13 under with a birdie on the par-3 17th and closing with a par. The 2006 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion is winless in five seasons on the LPGA Tour.

Kim had a 66. She has one victory this year in her first season on the Japan LPGA.

American Angela Stanford was 11 under along with South Korea’s Sun-Ju Ahn and Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum. Stanford, tied for the first-round lead, had a 68. Ahn, a 19-time winner on the JLPGA, shot 65, and Phatlum birdied six of first eight holes in a 66.

Canada’s Alena Sharp shot 69 and has a share of 15th at 8 under.

SHIMA, Japan – Americans Angela Stanford and Ryann O’Toole shared the lead at 7-under 65 on Friday in the LPGA Tour’s Toto Japan Classic.

The 37-year-old Stanford had eight birdies and a bogey at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA. She has five LPGA Tour victories and played a key role in the United States’ Solheim Cup comeback with a victory over Suzann Pettersen.

The 28-year-old O’Toole closed with a bogey on the par-4 ninth after playing the previous seven holes in 6 under with an eagle on the par-4 fourth and four birdies. She’s winless in her five-year career.

Japan’s Ai Suzuki was a stroke back along with South Koreans Ha-Neul Kim, Ilhee Lee, Jenny Shin and Mi-Jeong Jeon. Canadian Alena Sharp, Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson topped the group at 67.

HAINAN ISLAND, China – Sei Young Kim made a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th for a one-stroke victory Sunday in the Blue Bay LPGA.

The 22-year-old South Korean player won for the third time in her rookie season on the LPGA Tour, closing with a 2-under 70 at difficult Jian Lake Blue Bay for a 2-under 286 total.

“I was like really nervous on the last putt,” Kim said. “I can hear my heart pound.”

After high wind sent scores soaring the first three days, the players faced only a moderate breeze on a rainy afternoon along the South China Sea.

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis, fellow American Kim Kaufman and Taiwan’s Candie Kung finished a stroke back. Kim holed her winning putt after playing partners Lewis and Kung missed birdie tries – Lewis from 20 feet and Kung from 10.

Lewis finished with a 70 for her sixth runner-up finish of the season and the 21st of her career. She won the last of her 11 LPGA Tour titles in June 2014.

“She is one of my favorite players, so I’m very honored to play with her,” Kim said about Lewis. “But I win, she still is my idol.”

Kung shot a 71. Kaufman, playing a group ahead, had a 69 for the best round of the day.

“It was so hard out there,” Kung said. “You can’t worry about what other people are doing. We’re just trying to hold the umbrella. ‘Is it going to rain? Is it not going to rain?’ … It was busy out there.”

Kim won playoffs this year in the Bahamas and Hawaii in events also played in strong wind on seaside layouts.

“This year my target was just three wins, so I feel very fulfilled,” Kim said. “I also come through rookie of the year, so I would be very honored to win that.”

The five-time Korea LPGA winner earned $300,000 to move up a spot to fourth on the money list with $1,727,436 and is projected to jump from 11th to eighth in the world.

“The first goal is Olympic gold medal. Then my next goal is No. 1,” Kim said.

Kim dropped into a four-way tie for the lead on the par-3 17th when she three-putted from about 120 feet on the massive beachside green. Kung hit to 2 1/2 feet and Lewis to 4 1/2 feet, but missed their putts to the right.

“I tried to cut a shot because the pin, there’s no room behind, and I made a mistake,” Kim said. “I was very upset after that hole. … After they missed, I got a new opportunity.”

Kim’s best shot was on the par-4 10th when she holed a 40-foot flop from the rough to save par after hitting her approach long and left into the water.

“That chip happened to me, so I trust more that I can win,” Kim said.

She pulled even with Lewis with a birdie on the par-4 13th. Kim’s 3-wood drive took a big forward bounce off a cart path, leaving her a sand wedge approach that she hit to 6 feet. Lewis three-putted for bogey, missing a 5 1/2-footer.

Kim moved ahead on the par-5 14th when she made a 10-foot birdie putt and Lewis missed an 8-footer.

Kaufman had her best finish in her first two seasons on the tour. The 24-year-old former Texas Tech player from tiny Clark, South Dakota, birdied Nos. 9, 11, 14 and 15, then missed mid-range birdie tries on the final three holes.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko shot her second straight 70 to tie for eighth at 4 over. She had the best weekend total in the field after opening with rounds of 77 and 75.

“I’m happy that everything’s over and I can relax and go back home,” Ko said..

Ko won the LPGA Taiwan by nine strokes last week to regain the No. 1 spot from Inbee Park. The 18-year-old New Zealander has a tour-high five victories.

Canada’s Alena Sharp recorded her best LPGA Tour finish in 10 years, a tie for 5th at 3-over.

HAINAN ISLAND, China – Candie Kung was worn out after another difficult day at wind-battered and sun-baked Jian Lake Blue Bay.

“As far as tomorrow, I would like just to simply survive the day,” Kung said.

She wasn’t kidding.

It has been so tough in the Blue Bay LPGA that the 34-year-old Taiwanese player and South Korea’s Sei Young Kim topped the leaderboard Saturday at even par.

Only two of the 78 players broke 70 and there were 11 rounds in the 80s. The players averaged 76.282 to push the three-day mark to 75.733. With more wind and possibly rain Sunday, the tournament could be the first with an over-par winner since Birdie Kim won the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open at 3 over at Cherry Hills in Colorado.

“If you can really get close to even par, you can probably win it,” Kung said.

Kung bogeyed the final two holes for a 1-over 73, and playing partner Kim shot a 74.

The wind makes it hard for players to hit into good positions on the large, undulating greens, with their firmness making it even more difficult.

“This is probably one of the hardest courses I’ve ever seen,” Kung said. “The course itself is full of slopes and sometimes it really feels like you’re taking a roller-coaster ride.”

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis was third at 1 over. The American bogeyed the par-5 18th for a 73.

Since winning the last of her 11 titles in June 2014, Lewis has finished second seven times, including playoff losses this year in the ANA Inspiration and Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.

Playing into the wind just off the South China Sea, Kung failed to reach the green on the 127-yard 17th and left her chip 20 feet short. She three-putted the par-5 18th, missing a 4-foot par putt.

“I really am very much distraught with the windy conditions,” said Kung, trying to win for the first time since 2008.

Kim also bogeyed the 17th, missing an 8-footer after driving through the green. The tour rookie won playoffs this year in the Bahamas and Hawaii in events also played in strong wind on tropical seaside layouts.

“This is the toughest course I’ve ever played,” Kim said. “This is really, really tough.”

The leaders both birdied the par-4 13th and par-5 14th, with Kung making two 10-foot putts to reach 2 under. After bogeying the previous two holes, Kim hit to 2 feet on 13 and holed a 15-footer on 14.

Norway’s Suzann Pettersen was 2 over along with American Kim Kaufman, Canada’s Alena Sharp and Japan’s Haru Nomura. Pettersen birdied the 18th in the final group for a 75. Nomura had a 72, and Kaufman and Sharp shot 74.

“It was the worst day by far,” Kaufman said.

China’s Lin Xi-yu, the first-round leader after a 67, followed her second-round 77 with a 75 that left her tied for eighth at 3 over. After playing her first 23 holes in 7 under, the 19-year-old Lin has played the last 31 holes in 10 over.

Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling had the best round, a 4-under 68 to jump from a tie for 42nd into the tie for eighth. Playing the back nine first, she had six birdies in a 30, then played her second nine in 2 over with three bogeys and a birdie.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko shot a 70 to move into a tie for 20th at 6 over. She opened with rounds of 77 and 75.

Ko won the LPGA Taiwan by nine strokes Sunday to regain the No. 1 spot from Inbee Park. The 18-year-old New Zealander has a tour-high five victories, winning three of her last five starts.

HAINAN ISLAND, China – South Korea’s Sei Young Kim took advantage of Chinese teen Lin Xi-yu’s wind-blown collapse to take the lead Friday in the Blue Bay LPGA.

Kim made a 3-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th for an even-par 72 in difficult conditions along the South China Sea at Jian Lake Blue Bay.

The 22-year-old Kim had a 2-under 142 total. She won playoffs this year in the Bahamas and Hawaii in events also played in strong wind on tropical seaside layouts.

“I like the windy weather because I’m using a lot of skills and low cut shots,” Kim said.

The 19-year-old Lin opened with a 67 to take the first-round lead and was 7 under and five strokes ahead after five holes. With her family watching in the tour’s only event in China this year, she bogeyed eight of the last 13 holes for a 77 that left her two strokes behind.

She was one of many to struggle on a day when only five off the 78 players broke par and the scoring average soared to 75.464.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko was tied for 47th at 8 over after a 75. She opened with a 77, her highest score since a career-worst 80 in high wind last year at Royal Birkdale in the Women’s British Open.

Ko won the LPGA Taiwan by nine strokes Sunday to regain the No. 1 spot from Inbee Park. The 18-year-old New Zealander has a tour-high five victories, winning three of her last five starts.

The second-ranked Park withdrew because of pain in her left middle finger after a first-round 75. The South Korean player has four victories this year, winning two of the five majors.

Norway’s Suzann Pettersen had the best round of the day, a 3-under 69 to jump from a tie for 22nd to a tie for second at 1 under with Taiwan’s Candie Kung and Americans Ryann O’Toole and Austin Ernst.

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis of the United States had a 73 to join opening-round leader Xi Yu Lin of China, Canada’s Alena Sharp (70), Australia’s Minjee Lee (70) and Americans Kim Kaufman (72) and Jane Park (74) at even par.

China’s Shanshan Feng was 4 over after a 75. She has four career LPGA Tour victories.

Michelle Wie also was 4 over after a 72.

HAINAN ISLAND, China – China’s Lin Xi-yu took the lead Thursday in the windy Blue Bay LPGA, while Lydia Ko struggled in her first round since regaining the No. 1 spot in the world.

With her family watching at the tour’s lone event in China this season, the 19-year-old Lin shot a 5-under 67 in difficult conditions at Jian Lake Blue Bay. She had the lone bogey-free round on a day when only 10 of the 80 players broke par.

“My mom just got here this morning and she hasn’t watched me play since the U.S. Open,” Lin said. “I’m very happy that my family can be with me this week.”

Ko opened with a 77, her highest score since a career-worst 80 in high wind last year at Royal Birkdale in the Women’s British Open. She won the LPGA Taiwan by nine strokes Sunday to regain the No. 1 spot from Inbee Park. The 18-year-old New Zealander has a tour-high five victories this season, winning three of her last five starts.

Ko had a double bogey on the par-4 second, bogeyed the next three holes and dropped more strokes on 11 and 12. She birdied the par-5 14th and 18th.

Lin hit to hit to 6 inches on the par-3 17th to set up her final birdie.

“I actually hit it a little thin, but the wind was helping,” Lin said.

She missed a birdie chance on the par-5 18th when her 6-foot putt slid by on the right side.

“When I played in the practice round, I thought, ‘This place is pretty tough,'” Lin said “I’m pretty surprised what I did today. I’m really satisfied with my game.”

She has had the two best finishes of her two-year LPGA Tour career on the Asian Swing, opening with a tie for seventh in Malaysia and tying for sixth last week in Taiwan.

Austin Ernst was second after a 68. Fellow Americans Ryann O’Toole and Jane Park were at 70 along with South Koreans Jenny Shin and Sei Young Kim. Third-ranked Stacy Lewis, U.S. Solheim Cup teammate Brittany Lang, Germany’s Caroline Masson and Taiwan’s Candie Kung shot 71.

“Pretty windy out there and then a few of the pins are kind of in kind of tough spots if you get it on the wrong side of the hole,” Ernst said. “But I hit it pretty well all day. Gave myself a lot of looks. Made a lot of good putts. A lot of good pars.”

The 23-year-old Ernst won the Portland Classic last year for lone LPGA Tour title. She won the 2011 NCAA individual title for LSU.

China’s Shanshan Feng had a 73. She has four career LPGA Tour victories.

Canada’s Alena Sharp had a 74.

The second-ranked Park shot a 75. The South Korean player has four victories this year, winning two of the five majors. She tied for second Sunday in a Korea LPGA event.

Michelle Wie opened with a 76. South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace, the winner last year in the rain-shortened event, also shot 76.

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Lydia Ko ran away with the LPGA Taiwan Championship on Sunday to regain the No. 1 spot in the world ranking.

The 18-year-old New Zealander holed a 30-yard pitch for eagle on the par-5 12th and finished with a 7-under 65 in sunny, breezy conditions at Miramar for a nine-stroke victory.

Ko took the top spot in the world from South Korea’s Inbee Park with her fifth LPGA Tour victory of the season and the 10th of her career. Park skipped her title defense at Miramar to play in a Korea LPGA event, where she tied for second Sunday.

“I think winning and playing well at an event is the top priority,” Ko said. “And then if you get the extra bonus with it, it’s even better. … The winning part is probably the most memorable. I haven’t really thought about being world No. 1 again.”

Ko also took the top spot from Park with a second-place tie in the season-opening event in Florida. Park moved back in front with her major victory in the Women’s PGA Championship in June in New York.

“In Ocala, I was disappointed in the way I finished,” Ko said. “Coming tied second and being world No. 1, I think it’s a little different right now. I think I played really consistently well the last couple weeks, so I think it’s something we can all celebrate and I want to share this with my whole team.”

At 18 years, 6 months, 1 day, Ko is the youngest player to win 10 events on any major tour. Horton Smith set the PGA Tour mark of 21 years, 7 months in 1929, and Nancy Lopez set the previous LPGA Tour record in 1979 at 22 years, 2 months, 5 days.

“I actually met her in Cleveland for an outing a couple months ago,” Ko said about Lopez. “She’s such an amazing person and an amazing golfer. To have beaten her record, it’s an honor.”

Ko broke ties with Park for the tour victory lead and the No. 1 spot in the player of the year points race, and earned $300,000 to increase her tour-leading total to $2,716,753.

Ko finished at 20-under 268 after opening with rounds of 69, 67 and 67 to take a four-stroke lead into the final day.

South Koreans So Yeon Ryu and Ji Eun-hee tied for second.

“She’s still a teenager, so it’s really hard to believe how she acts and how she plays,” Ryu said about Ko. “I feel really happy to be playing with someone really special on the tour. She’s not only a good player, but she’s a really good person. If she was not a good person, I might be jealous, but I totally respect (her).”

Ryu shot a 68, and Ji had a 70. England’s Charley Hull was fourth at 10 under after a 70.

Ko birdied four of the six holes, bogeyed the par-3 seventh, and opened a seven-shot lead with the eagle chip on 12.

“I mis-hit it a little bit,” Ko said. “But I was looking at it and thought it was flying enough and then I saw it kind of landed a yard or two short of the green. When I walked up, I felt like it was a little on the firmer side, so I kind of thought it would bounce up anyway. But I didn’t imagine it going in.”

She added birdies on the par-3 14th and par-5 18th, chipping to a foot on the last.

Ko has three victories in her last five starts. She won in Canada and France – where she became the youngest major champion – in consecutive starts, tied for second two weeks ago in Malaysia and tied for fourth last week in South Korea.

In addition to her 10 LPGA Tour titles, Ko has four other worldwide victories, including a 2013 KLPGA tournament at Miramar and a Ladies European Tour event this year in New Zealand. She won her first LPGA Tour title as an amateur in the 2012 Canadian Women’s Open at a record 15 years, 4 months, 2 days.

Canada’s Alena Sharp finished 11-over-par and tied for 66th.

The tournament was the third in the five-event Asian Swing. The Blue Bay LPGA is next week in China, followed by the Japan Classic.

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Lydia Ko took a four-stroke lead Saturday in the LPGA Taiwan Championship, putting the 18-year-old New Zealander in position to regain the top spot in the world ranking.

Ko had four birdies in a five-hole stretch and closed with another birdie for a 5-under 67 in windy conditions at rain-soaked Miramar.

She would jump from second to first in the world with a victory or second-place finish Sunday and also could take the top spot under other scenarios depending on where top-ranked Inbee Park finishes in the Korea LPGA’s KB Financial Star Championship. Park, the winner last year at Miramar, was tied for fourth Saturday in the South Korean event.

Ko had a 13-under 203 total. South Korea’s Eun-Hee Ji, a stroke ahead after each of the first two rounds, was second after a 72.

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Ji Eun-hee took a one-stroke lead over Lydia Ko into the weekend in the LPGA Taiwan Championship, overcoming a double bogey with three straight birdies Friday in tricky wind conditions at Miramar.

The 29-year-old South Korean player finished with a 3-under 69 to reach 9-under 135. She made the double bogey on the par-5 sixth after hitting her drive left into the jungle, rallied with birdies on Nos. 9-11 and closed with seven straight pars.

Ji won the 2008 LPGA Championship and 2009 U.S. Women’s Open, both major tournaments, for her lone LPGA Tour titles.

The second-ranked Ko birdied the par-5 18th for a 67. She’s trying to regain the No. 1 spot in the world from South Korea’s Inbee Park, the winner last year at Miramar.

The 18-year-old New Zealander has four LPGA Tour victories this year, the last a major victory last month in France in the Evian Championship. She won the 2013 Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters at Miramar for her first victory as a professional.

Park is skipping her title defense to play in the Korea LPGA’s KB Financial Star Championship, where she dropped into a tie for seventh Friday after a 2-over 73.

England’s Charley Hull and China’s Lin Xi-yu, both 19, were tied for third at 7 under. Hull shot a 69, and Lin had a 70. Hull missed a 5-foot birdie putt on 18.

South Koreans So Yeon Ryu (69) and Sun Young Yoo (71) were 5 under. Norway’s Suzann Pettersen followed her opening 74 with a 66 – the best round of the day – to move into a tie for seventh at 4 under. She won the event in 2012 and 2013 at Sunrise.

American Morgan Pressel and Germany’s Sandra Gal, tied for third after opening rounds of 68, dropped off the leaderboard. Pressel had a 75 to fall into a tie for 16th at 1 under, and Gal was tied for 36th at 2 over after a 78.

Taiwanese star Yani Tseng was tied for 32nd at 1 over after a 73. She won the inaugural event in 2011 at Sunrise. Jessica Korda, the winner two weeks ago in Malaysia, and Michelle Wie were 2 over after their second straight 73s.

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis was tied for 55th at 5 over after a 72. She opened with a 77, her worst score since a 78 in the final round of the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open. The American finished second last year at Miramar.

Canada’s Alena Sharp is the lone Canuck in the field. She carded a second-round 73 and has a share of 55th at 5-over.

The tournament is third in the five-event Asian Swing. The Blue Bay LPGA is next week in China, followed by the Japan Classic.

New Taipei City, Taiwan – Eun-Hee Ji shot 6-under 66 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over China’s Xi Yu Lin at the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship.

The 29-year from South Korea birdied four of her last five holes in windy conditions and holds the lead after
18 holes for the first time since the 2013 Mobile Bay LPGA Classic. Ji, a former U.S. Women’s Open champ, said she used the wind to her advantage.

“Actually, I didn’t fight with the wind,” said Ji. “I just using the wind a lot. My ball flight wasn’t too lower today. I just see my ball line and I just look at my shot, my image was really good.”

Ji has two career LPGA Tour victories and will try to break back into the winner’s circle for the first time since her major breakthrough in 2009. Her season-best finish and only top-10 of the year came at the Evian Championship where she tied for eighth. Ji had two chip ins and only 23 putts in her round today.

“It’s getting better from the beginning of the season to the last of the season,” said Ji. “I just working on my short game last week and the week before, because my chipping wasn’t feeling good. So I was working a lot this week and I just chipped in twice today and I think I worked on a lot of right things.”

A group of four players sit two shots back and in a tie for third including Morgan Pressel, Sandra Gal, Charley Hull and Sun Young Yoo. Rolex Rankings No. 2 Lydia Ko (T7) is three shots back and tied with seven others at 3-under par.

Five-time major champion Yani Tseng and TLPGA member Meng Chu Chen were the top Taiwanese performers on day one and sit six shots back after rounds of even-par 72.

Canada’s Alena Sharp shot a 4-over 76 and tied for 67th.