AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Canadian Brooke Henderson won the weather-delayed New Zealand Women’s Open on Monday, finishing off a 3-under 69 for a five-stroke victory.

The 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., led by four shots through six holes Sunday when the final round was suspended after a day of heavy rain, high wind and threatened lightning strikes. She returned Monday morning to the Windross Farm course and easily held off China’s Jing Yan for her second LPGA Tour victory of the season and fifth overall.

Henderson finished at 17-under 271. She also won the Meijer LPGA Classic in June in Michigan.

“I was feeling pretty comfortable out there and I was just trying to keep it at minus 17 as long as I could,” Henderson said after receiving the trophy, $195,000 winner’s check and a ceremonial feather cloak presented by indigenous Maori. “I had a couple of bogeys but made a lot of birdies and it was probably some of the best golf I’ve played in a while.

“I’m super excited to win outside North America for the first time and glad it could be here in New Zealand.”

ICYMI: Watch highlights from the final round of the @NZWomensOpen! pic.twitter.com/p4nRsE2Ves

— #CMEFinalStretch ? (@LPGA) October 2, 2017

Henderson said the relatively short Windross Farm course was not ideally suited to her game and she was pleased to show she could win on such a layout and “in pretty terrible weather conditions.”

“I felt like the pressure was really off of me this week was possibly why I got off to such a fast start,” she said. “To play so well on this golf course was just incredible.

“I’m just so happy to win here. My season has been kind of up and down, steady for the most part. I got a lot of questions early in the year but now to get my second wind is great going into the last five events I’m going to play.”

What an amazing week @NZWomensOpen! Proud owner of a new trophy & ceremonial cloak…I’ll get some use out of it back home this winter! ??? pic.twitter.com/an0M3GTJA3

— Brooke Henderson (@BrookeHenderson) October 2, 2017

The weather remained troublesome Monday with strong wind making low scoring difficult. Henderson mastered the conditions, birdieing three of the first five holes and turning for home five shots clear.

Yan shot a 71. South Korea’s Hee Young Park was third at 11 under after a 69.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp tied for 13th at 7 under.

American Jennifer Song had the best round, a 68, to finish fourth at 10 under.

New Zealand star Lydia Ko closed double bogey-triple bogey for a 75 to tie for 22nd at 5 under.

“I played really solid apart from the last two holes,” Ko said. “I made an eagle on 15; I hit it really close and I thought I might have actually hit it in the water. It was a tough finish, but overall I felt really solid, a lot of positives.”

Ko defended the decision to play on in marginal weather conditions Sunday.

“Week to week we just have to go with it and they’re trying to do the best for us,” Ko said.

Henderson had an early bogey Monday on the par-4 eighth hole, then parred the next four and got to 17 with a birdie on the par-3 13h. By the 14th, the wind had picked up and was making it hard to hit the narrow fairways at the newly established course built on farmland east of Auckland. The wetlands layout featured bristling rough and water off the fairways but Henderson, with sister Brittany on her bag, was able to stay out of trouble and to maintain a lead that peaked at six shots.

She bogeyed the tricky par-4 16th and finished a birdie on the par-5 18th.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Americans won the Presidents Cup for the seventh straight time, and this one was no contest.

With most of the work already done, a dominant U.S. team needed only one point from the 12 singles matches Sunday. Kevin Chappell halved the first match with Marc Leishman, and victory was assured when Daniel Berger went 3 up with three to play against Si Woo Kim in the fourth match.

Berger wound up winning his match, and the celebration was on.

The last point came from Phil Mickelson, a 47-year-old on an American team that featured six players in their 20s. Mickelson has played in every Presidents Cup since it began in 1994. This was his 23rd straight team in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup. And in his 100th career match, he beat Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., 2 and 1.

The final score was 19-11.

The Americans fell short of their goal to become the first Presidents Cup team to win all five sessions. The Internationals won six matches and halved two others. One of those victories belonged to Jhonattan Vegas, who waved his Venezuela flag after beating Jordan Spieth, keeping Spieth winless in singles in his five team competitions as a pro.

President Donald Trump arrived at Liberty National about 45 minutes before the Americans secured the gold trophy that he was to present to them. Trump, the honorary chairman of the matches, is the first sitting president to attend on the final day and present the trophy.

“This is a juggernaut of a U.S. team,” said Nick Price, in his third and final stint of the International captain, all of them losses. “They’re an overpowering team that played some phenomenal golf. It was tough to watch, especially being on the receiving end.”

The Americans had an 11-point lead going into Sunday. All that remained was the margin of victory, and to see if they could become the first team to win all five sessions in the Presidents Cup.

That was the motivation from U.S. captain Steve Stricker, and the players responded with some of their best golf.

So thorough was this beating that Chappell and Charley Hoffman could have clinched the cup Saturday evening if they had won their fourballs match. Stricker sent them out at the top of his lineup to give them a chance to finish the job. Chappell nearly did. Hoffman was beaten by Jason Day, who had gone nine straight matches without winning until a 2-and-1 victory.

Instead, the clinching match fell to Berger, who had told Sky Sports in an interview Saturday, “Our goal from the minute we got here was to crush them as bad as we can. I hope that we close them out today and we go out there tomorrow and beat them even worse.”

Berger won his match on the 17th green with the Americans who had finished gathered around and ready to start their party. Hoffman ran over and sprayed Berger with champagne, and Berger took a swig from the bottle before handing it over to Stricker for a quick guzzle.

“They came in here riding a ton of momentum and a ton of confidence,” Stricker said. “It was about getting out of their way.”

The Americans have a 10-1-1 record in the Presidents Cup. The only loss was at Royal Melbourne in 1998, which ended just 12 days before Christmas. The matches return to Australia in two years for another pre-Christmas test for the Americans.

“It was a bit of a slaughtering this week,” said Adam Scott, who won his first point of the week by beating U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka.

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – Heavy rain Sunday postponed the final round of the Web.com Tour Championship at Atlantic Beach Country Club until Monday.

Five-time PGA Tour winner Jonathan Byrd shot a 7-under 64 on Saturday in rainy, windy conditions to take the lead in the last of the four Web.com Tour Finals events that determine 25 PGA TOUR cards.

Needing a high finish to regain his PGA TOUR card, Byrd had a 20-under 193 total for a two-stroke lead over Sam Saunders. Byrd entered the week 66th in the race for 25 cards with $5,480. The winner will get $180,000.

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – Five-time PGA Tour winner Jonathan Byrd shot a 7-under 64 in rainy, windy conditions Saturday to take the third-round lead in the Web.com Tour Championship.

Needing a high finish to regain his PGA Tour card, Byrd had a 20-under 193 total at Atlantic Beach Country Club for a two-stroke lead over Sam Saunders in the last of four Web.com Tour Finals events.

Byrd finished 55th on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list and 170th in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings. He entered the week 66th in the race for 25 cards with $5,480.

“I was telling myself, ‘I’m a clutch putter and I’ve made a lot of clutch putts over the year,”’ Byrd said. “I just felt good out there,” the 41-year-old Byrd said. “I felt at ease. When you feel that way, you’re kind of letting it come to you, you’re not working hard to make putts. You’re just kind of letting it happen and that’s kind of the way I felt.”

Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, had a 70, two days after shooting a 59 on his home course. He was 129th in the FedEx Cup and began the week 24th with $27,900.

Saunders three-putted the par-5 18th for a bogey after closing with a double bogey Friday.

“That putt right there, it’s a bummer, but in the scheme of 18 holes it’s irrelevant,” Saunders said.“ There’s a lot of golf left and I played solid today. I missed a lot of really short putts, which is weird. I’ve been putting solid all week. I’ve just got to work that out and tomorrow not do it and I’ll be fine.”

Cameron Tringale was third at 17 under after a 65. He was 133rd in the FedEx Cup and 49th in the card race with $10,944.

Canada’s Ben Silverman, who has already locked up his PGA TOUR card by finishing inside regular season Top-25, sits tied for 8th at 14 under par.

The winner Sunday will get $180,000.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Americans came within one match of winning the Presidents Cup.

On Saturday.

Anirban Lahiri made two clutch birdies that only delayed the inevitable. This is a powerful U.S. team playing to its full potential, and the result is the biggest blowout since these matches began in 1994.

Lahiri and Si Woo Kim had the only victory for the International team over two sessions. From the sun rising over the Manhattan until the chilly twilight at Liberty National, the American poured it on. They had a 14 1/2-3 1/2 lead and need only one point Sunday to win the cup for seventh straight time.

Phil Mickelson set a Presidents Cup record with his 25th victory, breaking the record set by Tiger Woods. Mickelson hit two wedges into birdie range in the morning foursomes session with Kevin Kisner, when the Americans won three matches and halved the other.

Jordan Spieth’s best intentions cost him a hole in a ruling rarely seen in match play, though that didn’t matter. All that did was inspire Spieth and Patrick Reed to win yet another match. They are 8-1-3 as a partnership in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup.

Justin Thomas made another big birdie on the 14th hole and cupped his hand to his ear, covered by a beanie in the chill, to fire up a crowd that didn’t need much help. Even in the lone loss of the day, the Americans made it hard on them. Charley Hoffman chipped in from short of the 17th green and body-slammed partner Kevin Chappell, a celebration that lasted only long enough for Lahiri to match his birdie with a 20-foot putt.

Lahiri and Kim were 1 up playing the par-3 18th, and when Lahiri chipped to 3 feet and both Americans were in the bunker, they chose not to concede Lahiri’s putt until after Chappell had made par.

It was meaningless in the big picture, yet it illustrated clearly – along with all the celebrations – that no victory is too big for this U.S. team.

Hoffman was aware that his match could have ended it.

“We knew what was on our shoulders,” said Hoffman, the 40-year-old who had never been in a team competition as a pro. “I didn’t have my best stuff all day long, but I had a chance. Got to give it up to Lahiri. He made some great birdies coming down the stretch, and they knocked us off.”

The 11-point margin is the largest going into the 12 singles matches, breaking the International record of nine points set in 1998 at Royal Melbourne, the only time it has ever won the Presidents Cup. The 2003 matches ended in a tie.

Canada’s Adam Hadwin will square off against Phil Mickelson at 1:54 p.m. local time

While the outcome was inevitable, this day still had its moment, none more peculiar than the 12th hole.

Jason Day was already down for a birdie. Spieth had 12 feet for his birdie, while Louis Oosthuizen hit his drive behind the green on the reachable par 4 and had a shot at eagle. The ball raced by the hole and was headed down the slope with water on the other side, and the partisan American crowd was urging it to keep going.

Spieth had heard enough and reached over and scooped away the moving ball with his putter.

Match referee Andy McFee, a top rules chief on the European Tour, stepped in and informed Spieth that it was a violation of the first rule in golf (Rule 1-2): “A player must not take an action with the intent to influence the movement of a ball in play.”

No player would ever do that in stroke play (though John Daly and Kirk Triplett did it to their golf balls on U.S. Open greens). Spieth figured the International team already had its birdie. Even so, the rule meant Spieth was disqualified from the hole, even as Oosthuizen and Day protested.

“I’m sorry for trying to do the right thing,” Spieth said to McFee, a mixture of sarcasm and frustration.

That gave Day and Oosthuizen a 1-up lead that lasted only three holes. Spieth birdied the 15th to square the match, Reed hit a tee shot into the wind and along a ridge to 5 feet for birdie on the 16th, and Spieth birdied the 17th to close them out.

Day went 0-4-1 in the Presidents Cup two years ago. He heads into singles with a 0-3-1 mark at Liberty National. Hideki Matsuyama has failed to win a match. Adam Scott is 0-3 and sat out the Saturday afternoon session.

Dustin Johnson extended his record to 4-0 this week, teaming with Matt Kuchar for an easy victory in foursomes and riding U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka and his hot putter for a 3-and-2 victory that put the Americans on the cusp of victory.

The celebration will have to wait. Lahiri missed a 3 1/2-foot putt on the 18th hole that cost the International team a rare victory in South Korea two years ago. This time he saved his team, if only for a day.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Spain’s Belen Mozo will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the LPGA Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open after a 1-under 71 Saturday helped her hold off challenges from Canada’s Brooke Henderson and American Brittany Lincicome.

Mozo, who led by five strokes after the second round, had a three-round total of 15-under 201 on the newly-established Windross Farm course.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., had a 67 to move into second place. The biggest mover on the day was Lincicome, who had a 66 to be tied for third, four strokes behind. Also four back was China’s Jing Yan, who shot 69.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot a 66 to enter a tie for 31st.

Local favourite Lydia Ko shot 70 and was seven strokes behind Mozo.

Mozo had a bogey at the 164-meter, par-3 13th, where she had a hole in one on Friday.

The hole exemplified how difficult the layout became on Saturday when the wind began to blow and temperatures fell.

It had been one of the easiest holes on the course over the first two days but became one of the hardest on Saturday. Mozo’s bogey allowed Henderson, playing ahead of her, to narrow the lead to one stroke but Mozo responded by sinking a 30-foot birdie putt at the 14th to restore a two-shot buffer.

“It was a grind-out day for sure. I had to talk to my caddie in the middle of the round because obviously I couldn’t compare the golf I was playing today with the golf that I played yesterday under perfect conditions,” said Mozo. “I was able to manage bad shots better than yesterday, and converted a not-so-good round into an under-par round, so that’s fine.”

Henderson had birdies at 14 and 15 to put pressure on the Spanish player, who hasn’t won since joining the LPGA Tour six years ago. But Mozo played solid golf over her last five holes to retain her lead, finishing with a scrambled par at the 18th.

“There are a lot of players around me that could shoot a low number so everyone has to go out and shoot a lot of birdies,” said the 20-year-old Henderson. “It depends a lot on the conditions but if it is like today, then 5-under or 6-under will probably win tomorrow.”

Lincicome had four birdies and an eagle in conditions she described as “yukky.”

The 34-year-old Florida native said she felt support close by and from home.

“My dad and husband are both at home but I’ve got Mom here cheering for me which is nice,” Lincicome said. “It’s just cool to be playing well so I’m on television a little bit and they can see me.”

Henderson played aggressively on a day on which the wind made several holes play long and on which flag placements were challenging.

“Very tough conditions, so to shoot 5-under was great,” Henderson said. “My game is in a very good spot so I’m excited to play tomorrow.”

Ko is in a tie for 11th at 8-under. The former No. 1 started and finished with birdies at the first and 18th holes but struggled to move up with one bogey and one birdie in between.

“I started with a bang, finished with a bang,” Ko said. “I’m kind of fortunate that the ball went in on the last because it was going by pretty quickly.”

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – Sam Saunders followed his opening 12-under 59 with a 66 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead into the weekend in the Web.com Tour Championship.

Arnold Palmer’s grandson, Saunders closed with a double bogey on his home Atlantic Beach Country Club course a day after shooting the seventh sub-60 round in Web.com Tour history.

“It’s the fact that you start feeling disappointed with pars,” Saunders said. “You make good pars on holes that you know are pars, and you have to tell yourself you’re fine. It feels like you’re playing so bad compared to yesterday. I parred the first three holes today and I felt like, ‘OK, I’m still playing good golf. It’s not time to panic.”’

Saunders is trying to regain his PGA Tour card in the four-event Web .com Tour Finals after finishing 129th in the FedEx Cup standings. He entered the week 24th in the race for 25 PGA Tour cards with $27,900 – the winner Sunday will get $180,000 – in the first three events.

On the par-5 18th, he blocked his second shot right of the green, and hit third into a plugged lie in a greenside bunker. He needed two shots to get out of the bunker and missed a 10-foot bogey putt.

“I’m not going to let making a bogey out there, or a couple of loose shots that got away (bother me),” Saunders said. “That happens. Golf is hard. You can’t shoot 59 and expect to shoot 62. … What’s important is the final score after two days, and I would have taken that my whole life.”

Argentina’s Julian Etulain was second at 15 under after a 63. He was 46th in the money chase with $11,348 after finishing 161st in the FedEx Cup standings.

Bronson Burgoon (63), Jonathan Byrd (65) and Roberto Castro (64) were four strokes back at 13 under. Steve Wheatcroft, like Saunders an Atlantic Beach member, had a 68 to top the group at 12 under.

Burgoon, in the series field on a special medical extension, entered the week 15th with $42,812 – enough to secure a card. Byrd and Castro need strong finishes to regain their cards. Castro, 172nd in the FedEx Cup, is 54th at $8,526. Byrd, 170th in FedEx Cup, is 66th at $5,480.

Wheatcroft is 23rd with $29,025 after finishing 179th in the FedEx Cup standings.

Hunter Mahan missed the cut by a stroke with rounds of 70 and 68, costing the six-time PGA Tour winner a chance to regain his card in the series. He entered the week 33rd with $21,320 after finishing 182nd in the FedEx Cup standings.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Phil Mickelson and Kevin Kisner rehearsed the dance from “Three Amigos.” The only question was whether to use it at the Presidents Cup, and as the veteran of 23 team events, Mickelson concluded it would need to be a big moment.

Their match was all square on the 18th hole Friday. Mickelson was 12 feet away for birdie. A victory would give the Americans a record lead.

“If this putt goes in,” Mickelson said he told his rookie partner, “we’re going to dance.”

This turned out to be one big dance party for an American team that has gone nearly two decades without losing. They hammered the International teams on the back nine to go unbeaten in fourballs and build an 8-2 lead, the largest margin after two sessions since the Presidents Cup began in 1994.

Mickelson had his 24th match victory to tie the Presidents Cup record held by Tiger Woods, and he set a record with his 10th victory in fourballs.

As for that dance ?

It looked a little awkward, though Mickelson did slightly better than when he cropped most of his face out of a selfie he took during the opening ceremony with the last three U.S. presidents.

“I’m clearly the worst selfie taker. I’m the worst ‘Three Amigos’ dancer,” Mickelson said. “But I can putt.”

So can his teammates, who have followed the script set out by U.S. captain Steve Stricker to win every session. They won handily in the other three matches. The other match was a halve, but even in that one, Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Hadwin had a 2-up lead with four holes to play until Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed rallied. The Americans nearly won that one, too, except that Spieth narrowly missed birdie putts on the last two holes.

“Our guys stepped up again,” Stricker said. “They have a knack for doing that. To finish like that is huge for us going into tomorrow.”

Mathematically, the International team could be done Saturday, the first day of a double session – four matches of foursomes in the morning, following by four matches of fourballs in the afternoon. The Americans are 7 1/2 points away from clinching the cup.

“I think we saw the strength of the U.S. team come out today,” Price said.

He also saw his team play its worst golf on the back nine at Liberty National. The Americans won 13 holes on the back nine. The Internationals won three.

Price was not about to give up, hopeful of gaining some momentum in the morning and riding it into the afternoon ahead of the 12 singles matches on the final day.

“We’re only 10 points through 30. There’s 20 points left,” Price said. “We are not laying down. These guys are going to come out fighting over the next two days, and especially tomorrow.”

Justin Thomas, already with a big year behind him as a major champion and the FedEx Cup champion, teamed with Rickie Fowler for another easy victory. They have trailed only one hole in their two matches, and they became the first partnership to beat Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace.

They took the lead for good when Fowler made a 15-foot birdie putt on the third hole, and then Thomas produced the loudest cheer of the afternoon at a pivotal moment on the 14th hole. Oosthuizen hit his approach to 6 feet, while both Americans missed the green. From the left bunker, Thomas blasted out perfectly and watched it drop in for a birdie that kept the International team from cutting the deficit to 1 down.

Thomas birdied the next hole, and his bunker shot on the 16th hit the pin and somehow stayed out.

The shortest match of the day belonged to a pair of American rookies, Kevin Chappell and Charley Hoffman, who sat out the foursomes matches in the opening session. They were 3 up after four holes against Charl Schwartzel and Anirban Lahiri and never let up in a 6-and-5 victory.

Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, close friends and the last two U.S. Open champions, took their first lead on the par-3 10th with Koepka’s birdie, and Johnson showed rare emotion on his final two birdies in a 3-and-2 victory over Adam Scott and Jhonattan Vegas.

Scott set a record of his own – it was his 19th loss in the Presidents Cup, breaking the record held by Ernie Els.

The Americans have a 9-1-1 lead in the series, their only loss coming in 1998 at Royal Melbourne. But it has at least been close after the opening two sessions, with neither side leading by more than two points since 1998.

“We’re going to keep the pedal down,” Hoffman said. “These guys are going to keep pushing us. We’re not going to get complacent where we’re at right now.”

Few could have predicted the wild finish that took place on Friday for the World Junior Girls Championship at The Marshes Golf Club.

In thrilling fashion, the Spanish team fired a collective 4-under par (140) to erase an eight-stroke deficit, forcing a playoff with the Korean squad. As light rain began to fall, both teams headed back to the par-4 18th in pairs to conduct the first playoff in World Junior Girls Championship history.

The Spaniards kept their foot on the gas, with two of the first three team members making birdie on the hole to put the trio at 2 under. The Korean team was then forced to hole out for eagle to continue the match, but their approach missed the green to the right.

“If I would not have made that putt, my teammates might not have been as motivated as they were,” said Elena Arias, the first Spanish team member to birdie the playoff. “I just hit the putt like the other times I had played the hole. It just looked so clear to me and went in but I was so nervous.”

Dimana Viudes followed in the second playoff group, capping her 3-under bogey-free round with a birdie of her own.

“It is like Elena said, her putt really gave me confidence because knowing that we already had a birdie was a great start,” said Viudes, who finished in fourth place individually. “I was very nervous but at the same time calm as well. I was just lucky enough to pull off the shot.”

The win marks the first World Junior Girls Championship medal for Team Spain, which is something not lost on the team’s coach.

“This is a dream come true. To beat a strong team like Korea is something else,” said Nacho Gervas, Team Spain coach. “They are so strong that at times you feel like you are playing for second place. I told them (Spain) they had the game to do well today and if we played our game you never know what can happen.”

Republic of Korea’s Seo-yun Kwon, the 54-hole leader, headed into the final round with a two-stroke advantage over Italy’s Alessia Nobilio. Kwon had built a clear advantage on the day before running into trouble on the par-5 14th with a triple-bogey.

Nobilio took advantage of Kwon’s mishap by making birdie on the 14th to briefly hold a one-stroke lead, until giving a stroke back on the next hole. The pair took scores of 9 under to the last hole, forcing another playoff to be commenced after the team event was decided.

With Korea losing the team event, Kwon was determined to come out on top. The 16-year-old missed the green on her approach but went up-and-down for par, beating out Nobilio who slipped with a bogey.

“At first I was angry with myself because I was leading by a few strokes and made one mistake,” said Kwon. “Even though I won the individual medal, I am a little disappointed in myself because if I had done a little more, we could have won the team championship so it is bitter sweet. This is my first win at an international tournament so right now I am so happy.”

A big round of ?? for Korea’s Seo-yun Kwon??, who hung on for the wire-to-wire individual title at the World Junior Girls Championship #WJGC pic.twitter.com/vOXAzuHWvB

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) September 29, 2017

Rounding out the team medallists was the trio from Sweden, who finished the tournament at 9 under par, five strokes shy of Spain and Korea. Spain’s Blanca Fernández took home the individual bronze medal, posting a final-round 71 to close the tournament at 7 under par.

Céleste Dao from Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que., finished as the low Canadian with a share of 24th place at 6 over for the tournament.

In 2018, the World Junior Girls Championship will return to the Ottawa area at Camelot Golf and Country Club next September.

Additional information and full results from the competition can be found here.

Photos from the fourth annual World Junior Girls Championsip can be viewed here.