NASSAU, Bahamas – Tiger Woods fell behind early and never recovered. Charley Hoffman pulled away late and made himself hard to beat.

Hoffman handled the blustery conditions Saturday in the Hero World Challenge for a 2-under 70, one of only five rounds under par, and built a five-shot lead going into the final round at Albany Golf Club.

Woods went 11 consecutive holes without hitting a green in regulation. He went 14 holes until making his first birdie. He had to settle for a 75, leaving him 10 shots out of the lead and finding consolation in the way he feels and the way he fought to keep it from getting worse.

“It’s nice to be part of the fight again,” Woods said. “Fighting against the golf course, fighting against the guys, that’s fun. I just haven’t done it a whole lot in the last few years.”

The strong wind took the air out of any hopes that Woods, playing for the first time in 10 months following a fourth back surgery, might even get into contention in his celebrated return. He opened with rounds of 69-68. Those two rounds were enough for his odds of winning the Masters to plunge to 15-1, the same as Rickie Fowler and Jon Rahm. And then a warm afternoon brought a cold dash of reality.

Woods opened with four bogeys in seven holes. He played four par 5s without having a birdie putt on any of them. And when he finally made a birdie, Woods removed his cap to acknowledge the crowd and held up a finger to indicate his first birdie.

“It’s ridiculous it took me 14 holes to make a birdie,” Woods said. “At that time, I’d already played four par 5s and nothing happened. Just one of those days. Anything I did right ended up in a bad spot, and then everything I did wrong, it was really bad.”

It was tough on everyone.

No one in the 18-man field broke 70.

Hoffman had a few nervous moments but paid for it only once. He send his tee shot far right into the bushes on a sand dune right of the 10th fairway. He took a penalty drop onto a sandy path and wound up with a double bogey that brought a half-dozen players back into the mix.

But not for long.

Hoffman closed with three birdies over his last five holes, including the 18th hole for the second straight day. That put him at 14-under 202.

Justin Rose, an Albany resident, had a 71 and joined British Open champion Jordan Spieth (72) at 9-under 207.

“I got lucky on some tee balls that didn’t find the bushes and stayed in the sandy areas and I was able to sort of scrap it around,” Hoffman said. “I’m going to have to handle my nerves a little better than I did today”

Woods was under pressure early. In his previous two rounds, he was under par early in the round. This one started with a tee shot into the waste area, an approach the wind knocked down short of the green and a chip that was too strong, running 10 feet by and leading to a bogey.

Even his good shots didn’t work out for him. Woods blistered a 3-wood from 278 yards into the wind and saw it run through the green into a tough lie. His chip didn’t reach the green. His next chip ran 6 feet by the hole and he missed the par putt.

He bogeyed the next par 5 when he didn’t play for a flyer out of the rough, went well long and was left in such a tough spot that he played away from the flag and his pitch went through the green to the fringe.

He already was 5 over for his round through 10 holes, and he did well not to drop any more shots until he made a pair of birdies late.

Woods began his round by giving a hug to his 10-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son, who flew over from Florida. Even after a 75, he still managed to look at the big picture. He was hitting the ball well, his back felt strong and he at least feels as though he can contend.

“I think overall, I’m very happy with what’s going on this week,” Woods said. “There were a lot of questions that I had – I’m sure you guys have had – and I feel like I’ve come out on a good side.”

But he made it clear he had fewer questions about his performance than the public.

“I knew how I was playing at home,” he said. “I knew how I was hitting shots. I knew what was going on. Obviously, the very intelligent people out there didn’t know.”

This is the second straight year the 54-hole leader has built a cushion. Hideki Matsuyama led by seven shots last year and held on to beat Henrik Stenson.

It would be a great way for Hoffman to cap off a peculiar year. He hasn’t won a tournament since the Texas Open in May 2016, but he was in the mix at the Masters and the U.S. Open and played on his first Presidents Cup team.

“To have a chance to win this great tournament, hopefully I can knock it off,” Hoffman said.

NASSAU, Bahamas – One of the biggest cheers at the Hero World Challenge came from seeing the name Tiger Woods moved to the top of the leaderboard.

It just wasn’t there for long.

In another impressive showing in his latest comeback from back surgeries, Woods built on a solid start with a 31 on the front nine at Albany Golf Club that briefly gave him the lead Friday. He stalled on the back nine with a pair of bogeys and not enough birdie chances, and he settled for a 4-under 68.

“Successful,” Woods said, when asked to describe his round in one word.

When the second round ended, Woods was five shots behind Charley Hoffman, who had a 63 that might have sent fans into a frenzy if they had been watching.

Hoffman made 12 birdies, closing with five in a row . He was at 12-under 132 and had a three-shot lead over Jordan Spieth (67) and Tommy Fleetwood (69). Hoffman made only one par over his final 12 holes to go along with eight birdies and three bogeys.

But this week, a holiday exhibition with an 18-man field and no cut, is all about Woods. That much was obvious after the round.

Hoffman spoke to no more than five reporters about his round, while a dozen others were about 30 feet away surrounding Joe LaCava, Woods’ caddie, looking for any additional morsel about his round.

Woods delivered plenty on his own. He opened with three birdies in four holes. He made three good pars, one of them having to chip up the slope from a thin lie on No. 8, and then really raised hopes with his eagle on the par-5 ninth, set up by a 3-wood into the wind from 265 yards.

“Hit up in the air and took something off of it and cut it back into the wind,” he said.

He made the 20-foot putt to reach 8 under. Behind him, Hoffman made bogey on the par-3 eighth. Woods was alone in the lead, and the workers at the white scoreboard to the left of the green quickly moved his name to the top as some 100 people – that constitutes a large gallery this week – began cheering. There was a smattering of “He’s back!” and even a few mentions about the Masters.

Woods missed it. He was on his way to the 10th tee. By the time he saw a leaderboard, it was getting crowded at the top with Hoffman making his run, Spieth chipping in for birdie and setting up another with a tough chip, and Fleetwood overcoming a double bogey-bogey start to his back nine with three straight birdies.

“I saw somewhere on the back nine, I think there was like five guys at 8 under or something like that, something weird like that,” Woods said.

A case could be made that his name among them was weird.

His past is enough to merit legend status in this field. Woods has 79 victories on the PGA Tour, compared with 81 for the rest of the field. But he hasn’t won in more than four years, and this is only his 20th start since the first of four back surgeries in the spring of 2014.

He had played only seven rounds dating to August 2015, and this was his first competition in 10 months. He had fusion surgery on his lower back in April.

"Talk to me, Joey."

Not many can land it this soft with a 3-wood from 270 yards away.#ShotOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/5NrC5NbG8t

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 2, 2017

“You’ve got to be anxious – doesn’t matter who it is, doesn’t matter how well he’s been in the past at handling pressure,” Spieth said. “It’s still a new experience for him to have that little golf. And to come out and play competitive golf and work his way into contention, that’s what’s really exceptional.”

Woods didn’t make a bogey until a three-putt from 30 feet on the 12th hole. The greens were quicker, and that’s where he struggled. He had an eagle attempt from just short of the 15th green, about 45 feet away, that he ran 15 feet by the hole. He missed that for a three-putt par.

He still played the par 5s in 4 under, a five-shot improvement from the opening round.

And he showed his creative side on the par-3 17th. Facing a long putt over a hump with the grain running away from him, Woods chose to chip it off the putting surface and along the fringe to be able to better judge the speed. It settled 3 feet away for a par.

Otherwise, he looked like any of the other elite players at Albany. And while he wasn’t sure what to expect coming into the week, his expectations are getting stronger with each round, especially this one.

“I felt like today I could have easily gotten to double digits under par,” he said. “That would have put me probably one or two back, but I think I’m still in it. We’ve got two more days, and I think it’s supposed to blow a little harder to tomorrow. If that’s the case, I think a good, solid round should get me up there.”

That depends on Hoffman.

“I said at the beginning of the week, I hope he wins,” Hoffman said. “It’s great for the game of golf. Hopefully, I can stop him from winning this week. But anytime he’s in contention, or even playing the golf tournaments, it brings a buzz to golf that we all need.”

NASSAU, Bahamas – Tiger Woods looked a lot better in his return to golf than he did when he left.

Playing for the first time since his fourth back surgery, Woods returned from a 10-month layoff with a 3-under 69 on a breezy Thursday in the Bahamas that left him three shots behind Tommy Fleetwood after the opening round of the Hero World Challenge.

“For me, I thought I did great,” Woods said with a smile.

And in a sign that he was ready to get back into the mix, he was far from satisfied.

Unlike a year ago, when Woods ended a 15-month hiatus from his ailing back, he didn’t show any fatigue at the end of his round or make any big numbers. His only regret was playing the par 5s at Albany Golf Club in 1-over par with two bogeys that stalled his momentum.

Coming off a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 eighth, Woods hit a 3-wood that rolled up on the green and then down a slope about 30 feet from the pin. It took him four shots from there, starting with a chip that didn’t reach the green and his first expletive loud enough for television to pick up.

After his best shot of the day _ a pitching wedge he hit low from 95 yards that settled a foot behind the hole for birdie on No. 14 _ he sent a drive well to the right into the native dunes. Woods had to take a penalty drop to get back in play and wound up making bogey.

But it was solid enough that Woods was far more interested in the leaderboard than the fact he felt strong physically.

“It was not only nice to get the first round out of the way, but also I’m only three shots out of the lead,” he said. “So to be able to put myself there after not playing for 10 months or so, it was nice to feel the adrenaline out there.”

He was tied for eighth in the 18-man field of this holiday exhibition that awards world ranking points but does not count as official on any tour. Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar were at 67, while Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and Kevin Chappell were at 68.

The buzz was back. Johnson noticed it when he was on the practice range and noticed a crowd around the putting green.

“Tiger must be there,” Johnson said. “Because there’s 40 people instead of four.”

Golf Channel added an hour of coverage, and Twitter came alive with people curious about the latest return. That included Steph Curry, the Golden State Warriors’ two-time MVP who played a Web.com Tour event in August. “The wait is over. The wait is over,” he tweeted .

Michael Phelps said he was “pumped to be watching” Woods on TV again.

This event doesn’t draw big crowds, but most of them were with Woods to see how he would fare in this latest comeback, this one from fusion surgery on his lower back on April 20. Given it was his fourth surgery in three years, coupled with a DUI arrest in the summer that exposed the struggles Woods was having with pain medicine, a day like this seemed a long way off.

Woods said he appreciated the moment Thursday morning.

“I was in my head thanking all the people who have helped me in giving me a chance to come back and play this round again,” he said. “There were a lot of people who were instrumental in my life – friends, outside people I’ve never met before, obviously my surgeon. I was very thankful.”

And he was as competitive as always.

Woods delivered his first fist pump on par-4 fourth hole when he scooped a chip that didn’t reach the green, and then holed an 18-foot par putt.

While the field is short, the competition is strong with eight of the top in the world at Albany. Woods realizes they have spent the last couple of years playing at a high level that allows them to overcome a few mistakes.

“I don’t want to lose shots,” Woods said. “I haven’t played in a very long time and I can’t afford to go out there and make a bunch of bogeys and know that I can make nine, 10 birdies and offset them.”

Along with his five birdies – only two of them were tap-ins – Woods had an assortment of tough par saves, including a 10-footer that kept him dropping another shot on a par 5 at No. 11. He finished his round with a belly wedge from short of the 17th green because of mud on his ball, and holing a 6-foot par putt on the 18th.

A year ago, Woods made a pair of double bogeys over the last three holes for a 73 to finish nine shots behind. This time, he closed with pars and was three back.

PGA champion Justin Thomas, who also opened with a 69 in the same pairing with Woods, is among those who have played with him in recent weeks in Florida. Woods said he once played nine straight days.

“It was what I saw when we played at home,” Thomas said. “Obviously, taking this much time off from competition is hard. I felt rusty starting after a month-and-a-half, so I can’t imagine what it felt like for him. But he played well.”

Vintage Tiger. #ShotOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/IbZIJ9SaVg

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 1, 2017

The success of the 2017 CP Women’s Open continued this past week as the LPGA Tournament Owners Association (TOA) presented Golf Canada and Canadian Pacific (CP) with a Gold Driver Award for Best Charity / Community Engagement among all LPGA Tour events.

The annual TOA Gold Driver Awards were hosted in conjunction with the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Fla. The TOA was formally established in 1990 and is composed of owned and operated LPGA Tour events.

As part of their sponsorship of the event, Canadian Pacific through its CP Has Heart campaign, raised $2 million in support for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) to help fund a renovated catheterization lab and interventional suite.

“This award is the result of a total team effort and we share it with our friends at CHEO and countless community supporters, as well as CP’s staff, event partners and our CP golf ambassadors Brooke Henderson and Lorie Kane,” said Keith Creel, CP President and Chief Executive Officer. “CP supports heart health because it is an issue that touches so many Canadians. Together with our partners at Golf Canada and everyone involved with the CP Women’s Open, we are proud to leave a lasting charitable legacy in Ottawa through CP Has Heart in support of CHEO’s incredible work.”

The total charity contribution was the result of several fundraising activities tied to the CP Has Heart campaign. Through CP Birdies for Heart, CP contributed $5,000 for each birdie made by a player on the 15th hole at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club during tournament play with a total of 45 birdies representing a $225,000 donation. CP also matched all donations made online at cheoheart.com from April 1 to the end of the tournament.

In the four years of CP’s title sponsorship of the CP Women’s Open, $6.5 million has been raised to support children’s heart health in Canada.

“It is incredibly rewarding to see the CP Has Heart campaign honoured by the LPGA Tournament Owners with a Gold Driver Award for Best Charity/Community Engagement,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum. “Thanks to tremendous fan, player and partner support, the 2017 CP Women’s Open was a resounding success and it is most deserving that CP’s community impact has been recognized with this meaningful award.”

The 2017 CP Women’s Open saw rookie sensation Sung Hyun Park card a final-round 64 to capture Canada’s National Open Golf Championship just weeks after earning her U.S. Women’s Open title.  Park went on to share Rolex Player of the Year honours with fellow Korean So Yeon Ryu, making her the first player since Nancy Lopez in 1978 to win both Player and Rookie of the Year honours in the same season.

The 2018 CP Women’s Open will mark the first time the province of Saskatchewan will host a major LPGA Tour event when the world’s best players challenge Regina’s Wascana Country Club August 20-26, 2018. Through the CP Has Heart campaign, CP will once again make a substantial donation to the host community by supporting pediatric cardiology at the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, which is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2019.

Information regarding tickets and corporate hospitality for the 2018 CP Women’s Open can be found at www.cpwomensopen.com.

Can it really be 21 years since Tiger Woods made his RBC Canadian Open debut in only his second start as a PGA TOUR pro?

In 1996, at the age of 20, the man who would galvanize the sport came to Glen Abbey in his fifth start that season. Despite coming off a missed cut at The Masters, a T82 at the U.S. Open, a T22 at The Open Championship and a T60 at the Greater Milwaukee Open where he turned pro, expectations were off the chart.

He would finish 11th at Glen Abbey and use that as a springboard to win twice that season.

Maybe “springboard” is an understatement. It was more like a rocket launcher that would revolutionize the sport.

Tiger blew up golf. He did so unabashedly and to some, arrogantly. Remember “Hello, world,” his announcement when he turned pro at the Greater Milwaukee Open? But if there is an instance where arrogance can be justified, that was it.

In 1997, less than a year after turning pro, he was the world’s top-ranked golfer, an honour he regained multiple times, including five-year spans from 1999 to 2004 and then 2005 to 2010. He has been the PGA Player of the Year a record 11 times, won 14 majors and 79 PGA TOUR events.

Yes, Tiger Woods galvanized and revolutionized golf, immeasurably raising the profile of the game and expanding its horizons.

But, as his career progressed, he also polarized it.

Mention his name to a group of golfers and you will get a cacophony of opinions. Yes, he is, arguably, the best the game has ever seen. No, he’s always thought he was about more than the game, he’s a serial adulterer, he’s a pill-popping shadow of the icon he once was.

As the 41-year-old prepares to make his return this week to competitive golf in an elite 18-man field at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, those opinions are being voiced even louder.

Many will watch for the same reason viewers tune into a NASCAR race, less for the competition than in anticipation of the inevitable fiery crash.

Those folks should be reminded of one of the many admirable attributes of sport: its redemptive power.

Multiple knee and back surgeries, plus other ailments, not only hobbled Tiger and crippled his game, but made him susceptible to a reliance on prescription medications. His public humiliation in 2009 that led to his divorce plus his recent arrest for reckless driving have given the naysayers more negative ammunition. (For a comprehensive list, click here)

But, on the upside, he says he is pain-free for the first time in years and swinging well, although that swing now is a shadow of him at his pinnacle. Having said that, many knowledgeable observers feel it may be good enough to win again on TOUR. As he once said, he can win, even with his “C” game. There has been much money lost betting against Tiger.

Love him or hate him, no one can deny Tiger Woods was a golf god. But, as the Bible says, gods have heads of gold but feet of clay, an inevitable weakness that reveals their human vulnerability. Tiger, now ranked 1,193rd in the world, is but the latest evidence of that.

Given that undeniable truth, as we prepare to witness “Hello World 2.0”, let’s focus less on the clay and more on the gold.

And, perhaps, we will have the opportunity to watch him relive his golden moments at Glen Abbey at the 2018 RBC Canadian Open. Not only would it revive memories of the 1996 bedlam that accompanied him but also that unforgettable 6-iron out of the bunker on 18 that won him the 2000 RBC Canadian Open.

Redemption?

Stay tuned.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.  – Seven Canadians are among 166 hopefuls vying for status on the LPGA Tour in the final stage of qualifying on the Jones and Hills courses of LPGA International from Nov. 28 – Dec. 3

Leading the Canadian contingent is Canadian golf Hall-of-Famer Lorie Kane of Charlottetown, P.E.I. The four-time LPGA champion is joined by fellow Canadians Maude-Aimée LeBlanc (Sherbrooke, Que), Jennifer Ha (Calgary), Elizabeth Tong (Thornhill, Ont.), Samantha Richdale (Kelowna, B.C.), Brittany Marchand (Orangeville, Ont.) and Augusta James (Bath, Ont.).

All participants will compete in 90 holes of stroke play for one of 20 full-time LPGA cards available. Those who finish in places 21-45 (plus ties) will earn conditional status.

Click here for scoring.

Global Golf Post (GGP) publication named their selections to the fifth annual All-Amateur teams. GGP named 195 players in total from 25 countries, based primarily on the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR).

Among those selected were nine Canadian standouts:

Also making the list were Jennifer Kupcho (Westminster, Colo.), Sue Wooster (Australia) and Gene Elliot (West Des Moines, Iowa) — winners of the Canadian Women’s Amateur, Women’s Senior, and Men’s Senior championships, respectively.

Click here for the full listing.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. _ Austin Cook was chased by proven PGA Tour winners all day at the RSM Classic.

Now the Arkansas player is one of them.

The PGA Tour rookie held off veterans Brian Gay, Chris Kirk, Kevin Kisner and Brian Harman on Sunday at the chilly, windy Sea Island Club’s Seaside Course.

Cook closed with a 3-under 67 for a four-stroke victory over J.J. Spaun. The victory in the final PGA Tour event of the calendar year gave Cook a spot in the Masters next year.

“It was definitely exciting … real brutal with the wind,” Cook said. “I got off to a slow start but I was able to keep my head level and know there was a lot of golf to be played. With the wind and those conditions, a lot could happen.”

Cook birdied three of his last four holes after the three-shot lead he began the day with slipped to one over Spaun. Cook made a 14-foot birdie putt at No. 18 to finish at 21-under 261.

Spaun shot a 66.

Gay, the oldest contender of the week at 45, eagled the par-4 18th hole from 161 yards with a 9-iron to break out of a five-way tie for third and finish at 16 under. He shot 68.

Kirk (71) and Kisner (68), past winners of the tournament, St. Simons Island resident Brian Harman (65) and Andrew Landry (67) tied for fourth at 14 under.

Cook, the 26-year-old from Little Rock, earned $1,116,000 and improved to third on the FedEx Cup points list.

It’s the second year in a row that a rookie won the RSM Classic. Mac Hughes of Dundas, Ont., survived a five-way playoff to capture the title last year in a Monday finish, but missed this year’s cut.

Ben Silverman (66) of Thornhill, Ont., was the low Canadian, jumping up five spots and tying for eighth at 13 under. David Hearn (65) of Brantford, Ont., was 11 under and Corey Conners (69) of Listowel, Ont., was 7 under.

From @MacHughesGolf to @austincookgolf.

Another rookie winner at @TheRSMClassic. pic.twitter.com/v9K5EP4fa5

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 20, 2017

Spaun, a stocky former University of San Diego player, made the biggest move of the day and twice cut Cook’s lead to one shot _ the last time on an 8-foot birdie putt at the par-4 16th.

However, Spaun bogeyed No. 17 when he failed to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker, and Cook birdied No. 15 with a 4-footer and No. 17 with a 15-footer to seal the victory.

Spaun’s birdie at No. 16 could have put him into a tie for the lead but he missed a 4-foot birdie attempt on the previous hole.

“That (Spaun’s miss at No. 15) was big,” said Cook, who said he’s an obsessive leaderboard-watcher and knew exactly when Spaun had come within a shot.

Cook, who has Gay’s former caddie, Kip Henley, carrying his bag, never slipped after a bogey at the second hole, just his second of the week. He missed only two fairways in the final round and made par after four of his five missed greens. He led the field in scrambling, converting 11 of 12 pars after missing greens, and tied for fourth by hitting 48 of 56 fairways.

“With Kip on the bag, he was able to keep me in the moment and keep me pressing instead of playing conservative,” Cook said. “There was a lot of stuff going on, mostly up here (tapping his head). My ball-striking was great and for the most part, my putting was great. Holding the nerves down, playing a good round in these conditions. … I’m so happy.”

NAPLES, Fla. – Lexi Thompson won $1 million for the CME Race to the Globe and left so much more behind Sunday in the LPGA Tour’s final event.

Thompson was poised to win the CME Group Tour Championship and LPGA player of the year until she jabbed at a 2-foot par putt and missed it on the 18th hole at Tiburon Golf Club. That paved the way for Ariya Jutanugarn, who birdied her last two holes for a 5-under 67 and a one-shot victory.

It was a wild ending to the LPGA Tour season and sent four players home with a trophy of some variety.

Although she lost the tournament, Thompson still won the CME Race to the Globe and the $1 million bonus. She also won the Vare Trophy for having the lowest adjusted scoring average.

Thompson had to win the tournament to be player of the year. Instead, the points-based LPGA player of the year was a tie between a pair of major champions from South Korea, So Yeon Ryu and LPGA rookie Sung Hyun Park. It was the first time the award was shared since it began in 1966.

Park, the U.S. Women’s Open champion, was trying to become the first rookie since Nancy Lopez in 1978 to sweep the major awards. She already had won rookie of the year. She had to settle for a tie for player of the year, and her 75 in the third round damaged her chances of winning the Vare Trophy.

Brooke Henderson (72) of Smiths Falls, Ont., tied for 25th at 6 under and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (69) tied for 46th at 1 under.

What stood out on another sunny afternoon was the sterling performance of Jutanugarn, who won for the second time this year.

She was three shots behind Thompson with six holes to play when her putter saved the day.

Jutanugarn was at 13 under on the par-5 17th when she hit a hybrid for her second shot into the bunker and blasted out to about 18 feet. Ahead of her on the 18th green, Thompson was at 15 under and lagged a 50-foot birdie attempt beautifully down the slope on the 18th to 2 feet left of the cup.

Jutanugarn made birdie. Thompson missed her par putt, and there was a three-way tie for the lead at 14 under that included Jessica Korda, who was playing with Thompson and had left her 25-foot birdie attempt well short.

Thompson and Korda each closed with a 67.

Jutanugarn hit her approach about 18 feet above the hole and made it for winning birdie. She finished at 15-under 273 and earned $500,000.

“I had no expectation at all,” Jutanugarn said. “I really did not think about the outcome.”

Jutanugarn was part of a four-way tie for the lead going into the final round, and the CME Group Tour Championship was up for grabs most of the day until Thompson seemingly seized control with 32 on the front nine, a 10-foot birdie on the 13th and then a superb pitch from left of the 17th green that set up a 3-foot birdie.

Pernilla Lindberg had reason to believe she needed birdie from long range on the 18th to have a chance. She ran that 7 feet by the hole and three-putted for a bogey and a 68. She wound up finishing two shots behind, along with Eun-Hee Ji (67).

Michelle Wie, trying to win for the first time since the U.S. Women’s Open in 2014, had a share of the lead until she hit near the edge of a bunker and made double bogey on No. 9, and then dropped two more shots on the back nine. Even with seven birdies, Wie still only managed a 70. She tied for sixth with Park, who closed with a 69. Park was at 13 under through 35 holes and played 1 over the final 37 holes.

Ryu was coping with a shoulder injury and was happy to squeeze in 72 holes. She wound up a part-winner of LPGA player of the year.

Thompson was on the putting green when she heard the cheer for Jutanugarn’s final birdie.

It was the second time this year that Thompson appeared to be in control and was stunned to not win. She had a four-shot lead in the final round of the ANA Inspiration when she was penalized four shots – two for incorrectly marking her golf ball on the green in the third round, and two more shots because the infraction wasn’t discovered by a viewer until the next day, and so she signed an incorrect scorecard in the third round.

She wound up losing to Ryu in a playoff, though Thompson said this week it made her a stronger person.

This will be another wound from which to recover, though she at least takes $1 million home with her as a consolation.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – PGA Tour rookie Austin Cook shot a 4-under 66 on Saturday to increase his lead to three strokes in the RSM Classic.

Cook, a shot ahead after a second-round 62, had five birdies and a bogey – his first of the week – to reach 18-under 194 with a round left at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course.

“Putting is key right now,” Cook said. “Been able to make a lot of clutch putts for the pars to save no bogeys. Hitting the ball pretty much where we’re looking and giving ourselves good opportunities on every hole.”

Former University of Georgia player Chris Kirk was second after a 64.

“I’m really comfortable here,” Kirk said. “I love Sea Island. I lived here for 6 1/2 years, so I played the golf course a lot, SEC Championships and come down here for the RSM Classic. My family and I, we come down here a few other times a year as well.”

Brian Gay was another stroke back at 14 under after a 69.

“I love the course,” Gay said. “We keep getting different wind directions so it’s keeping us on our toes. Supposed to be another completely different wind direction tomorrow, so we’re getting a new course every day.”

J.J. Spaun had a 62 to get to 13 under.

“I just kind of played stress-free golf out there and kept the golf ball in front of me,” Spaun said. “I had a lot of looks and scrambled pretty well, even though it was only a handful of times, but pretty overall pleased with how I played today.”

Ben Silverman (69) of Thornhill, Ont., was the low Canadian at 9 under. David Hearn (69) of Brantford, Ont., and Corey Conners (68) of Listowel, Ont., are 6 under.

Cook has made the weekend cuts in all four of his starts this season. The 26-year-old former Arkansas player earned his PGA Tour card through the Web.com Tour.

“I think with an extra year on the Web this past year, I really grew mentally and with my game, just kind of more confidence,” Cook said. “I was able to put myself in contention on the Web.com more this year than I have in the past. I think I’ve just, you know, learned from experiences on the Web to help me grow out here.”

He planned to keep it simple Saturday night.

“I’ve got my parents here and my in-laws are both here as well as my wife,” Cook said. “Go home and just have a good home-cooked meal and just kind of enjoy the time and embrace the moment.”

Kirk won the last of his four PGA Tour titles in 2015 at Colonial.

“It’s nice to be back in contention again,” Kirk said. “It’s been a little while for me. But I felt great out there today, I felt really comfortable, and so hopefully it will be the same way tomorrow and I’ll keep my foot on the pedal and stay aggressive, try to make some birdies.”