It was another rainy day at Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert, Sask., for the final round of the 2015 CN Future Links Prairie Championship. The conditions were challenging and the competition was tight, but Alexander Smith and Alisha Lau emerged victorious in the season’s third CN Future Links Championship.

Alexander Smith entered the final round sporting a 5-stroke lead, but a tough start and a strong push from his competitors threatened his attempt at a wire-to-wire win. The Calgary, Alta., native found his form and shot 2-under 34 on the back nine to secure the victory. He signed for a 1-over-par 73 to claim the championship title and finish the 54-hole competition at 213.

“I didn’t start off very smooth, I made a few bogeys. I had a birdie on three and didn’t make my first par until five, but I felt I got it back together on the back nine,” said Smith of his slow start. His steadier back nine reaffirmed the 16-year-old’s confidence in his abilities. “This win further proves to me I can compete with anyone and compete at the top of the leaderboard.”

On Smith’s heels were British Columbia runners-up Logan Yanick of Courtenay  and A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam who finished two strokes back of the winner. They both shot 1-under-par 35 on the front nine, but their concerted efforts in the latter half of the round truly challenged the leader. Yanick notched four birdies between holes 12 to 16; Ewart added three birdies on the back nine to post the low score of the day – a 3-under-par 69. Tying Ewart for the day’s low round was Cory Selander. The Prince Albert, Sask., native climbed into a tie for fourth place at 219 with Keaton Gudz of Victoria, B.C.

On the Junior Girls side, Alisha Lau entered this championship hoping to improve upon her runner-up finish last year to fellow Team Canada Development Squad member, Jaclyn Lee of Calgary. Lau’s strong and consistent play earned her the 2015 CN Future Links Prairie Junior Girls title.

“Last year Jaclyn won, she is a close friend and a close competitor and to have my name next to hers after winning is really nice,” Lau shared. “It has shown me that it is still early in the season and I just have to keep fighting and anything can happen.”

The Richmond, B.C., product credited her strong start when reflecting upon the victory. “I had a pretty good start on the front nine, I was 2-under and I hadn’t made a bogey so I was cruising along pretty well, but the back was a little bit bumpier. I had to start grinding pretty hard. Mary was putting up a really good fight and it’s not over until it’s over.”

Lau’s first bogey of the day came on hole 15. By the 18^th, Mary Parsons had climbed to within a single stroke – reclaiming the distance at which she had begun the day. Lau drained her putt for par on the final hole to secure the win and record her lowest round of the competition with a 1-under 71 to finish at 218.

Parsons, who finished a stroke back of the lead, also carded a score of 71 for the final round, including just two bogeys and a trio of birdies. In third place at 6-over 222 was fellow British Columbian Shirin Anjarwalla of Nanaimo who concluded the competition with an even-par 72 round.

Earning direct entry into the field at the 2015 Canadian Junior Girls Championship are Alisha Lau and the five runners-up from the CN Future Links Prairie Championship. The national championship will be contested at Deer Park Golf Course in Yorkton, Sask., from August 4-7. With the win, Lau has also earned an exemption into a future event on the Canadian Women’s Tour.

Alexander Smith and the second to sixth place finishers from the CN Future Links Prairie Championship have punched their tickets to Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., to compete in the 2015 Canadian Junior Boys Championship hosted by Summerlea Golf and Country Club from August 2-6.

The six 2015 CN Future Links Championships are presented by Golf Canada in partnership with CN to support the growth of junior golf in Canada. Trevor Ranton and Grace St-Germain – both members of Team Canada’s Development Squad – claimed victories at the series-opening Pacific edition. Ontarians Jack Simpson and Alyssa Getty were crowned winners in their home province’s edition of the series. Up next on the schedule is the CN Future Links Quebec Championship to be played July 2-5 at the Domaine Château-Bromont, in Bromont, Que.

Full results and additional information on the 2015 CN Future Links Prairie Championship can be found here.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Fabian Gomez of Argentina won his first PGA Tour title Sunday at the St. Jude Classic, beating England’s Greg Owen by four strokes.

Gomez, 36, started the round tied with Owen atop the leaderboard at 9 under with 23 players within four strokes. Gomez shot 4-under 66 for a 267 total for the win. He carded a five birdie-one bogey round for his first PGA title in his 70th start in a season already featuring three top 25s.

Taking home the winner’s check of $1.08 million is a nice turnaround for Gomez who had to earn back his tour card through the Web.com Tour last year. When he rolled in a 30-footer for birdie on No. 18 for the final margin, Gomez celebrated by holding up his putter and pumping his right fist.

Owen finished with a 70 for the round.

Phil Mickelson remains winless since the 2013 as he tied for third (65-272). He finished with a flourish, rolling in a 25-footer for birdie that nearly lipped out on No. 18. Mickelson finished tied with Seung-Yul Noh (65), Michael Thompson (66), Matt Jones (68) and Brooks Kopeka (70).

Boo Weekley (65), Billy Horschel (65), Russell Knox (66) and Chad Campbell (68) all tied for seventh at 273.

Mickelson used this event at TPC Southwind, sponsored by FedEx, to tune up his game for the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in Washington. He carded eight birdies Sunday with three bogeys and says he got the confidence boost he wanted.

“I’m feeling a lot better about heading into the U.S. Open after this week than I did after last,” Mickelson said.

This event belonged to Gomez who honed his game with tips from his mentor Jose Coceres along with many rounds with Angel Cabrera. He already had won twice on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica in Buenos Aires in 2013 and 2014. The last time he had a piece of the 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour, he tied Jordan Spieth for second at the 2013 Puerto Rico Open.

Starting with the lead this time, Gomez fell a stroke back of Owen with his lone bogey of the day on No. 5 and was two strokes behind before Gomez birdied the par 3 No. 8. He tied Owen at 10 under when the Englishman bogeyed No. 9.

Gomez took the lead for good at 11 under when he stuck a shot within 8 feet on the par-3 11th with the island green. He clinched his victory on the par-5 16th with his fourth birdie despite hitting into the greenside bunker. Gomez blasted out to within 2 feet for the tap-in birdie and a three-stroke lead.

Jones was only two strokes behind Gomez after a birdie on No. 13, but the Australian couldn’t roll in a birdie putt from 10 feet on the par-3 14th and then had a bogey on No. 15 after hitting into the rough twice.

That left Owen with the only chance to run down Gomez.

The veteran playing his 214th PGA event just missed rolling in a 30-footer for birdie on 13, and he couldn’t get up and down from a greenside bunker on No. 14 after hitting 12 feet past the hole. Owen rolled his par attempt just right of the hole for third bogey, giving Gomez a three-stroke lead with four holes to play. Owen birdied No. 15, but it wasn’t enough.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., completed his final round with a 70 to finish tied-45.

DIVOTS: The last player from Argentina to win on tour was Cabrera at the 2014 Greenbrier Classic. … This is the second straight year a leader has held on for the win on Sunday. Ben Crane won last year to protect his lead, but Brian Gay in 2009 was the only other third-round leader in the past decade to finish with the win.

HARRISON, N.Y.  – Inbee Park won her third consecutive Women’s PGA Championship on Sunday – and accomplished a whole lot more.

Park also regained the No. 1 ranking in the word, surpassed idol Se Ri Pak for the most majors by a South Korean player with six, tied the LPGA Tour record for the lowest score in a major in relation to par at 19 under and, in her own mind, cemented a place in women’s golf history.

“Obviously, putting my name alongside like Annika Sorenstam or Patty Berg, legends of golf, just being a part of history of this golf tournament, I feel extremely honored, and I can’t believe that I just did it,” Park said.

The 26-year-old Park closed with a bogey-free 5-under 68 at Westchester Country Club, finishing the season’s second major five strokes ahead of 22-year-old compatriot Sei Young Kim. Park had 22 birdies and only three bogeys in 72 holes.

“I played great the last three days,” she said. “I couldn’t believe myself. I made no bogeys for three days.”

Park and Sorenstam (2003-2005) are only players to win the event previously called the LPGA Championship three consecutive years. It also was Park’s fifth victory in the last 12 majors.

Park won the previous two years in playoffs in Pittsford, New York, taking the 2013 event at Locust Hill and the 2014 tournament at Monroe Golf Club.

Park birdied the par-5 final hole. She chipped her third shot to 5 feet, then sank the putt and threw her arms in the air as a fan yelled “Three-peat!”

It was her 56th consecutive hole without a bogey.

Kim, a two-time winner this season as a rookie, started the day two strokes back. She bogeyed the third and the fourth holes, then reeled off four consecutive birdies, holing a long putt on the eighth to pull within a shot of the lead.

That was as close as she would get.

A three-stroke swing on the ninth hole put Park in charge. She made a birdie putt, then watched as Kim three-putted for double bogey. Kim finished with a 71.

“Everything fell apart at the ninth hole,” Kim said through an interpreter.

Lexi Thompson was third at 12 under after a 66. She had eight birdies on her first 13 holes.

Thompson pulled within two strokes with her birdie on the 13th. But she missed a chance on the par-5 15th hole, hitting her tee shot well right and scrambled to make par. She then bogeyed the 16th to end her chances.

“(I) just take a lot of positives from it knowing that I can pull off a round on Sunday here,” Thompson said. “It means a lot and I’m going to take a lot of confidence going into my upcoming tournaments.”

Brittany Lincicome, the winner of the first major of the year at the ANA Inspiration, finished fourth at 11 under. She birdied the final hole for a 68.

Seventeen-year-old Canadian Brooke Henderson tied for fifth with Morgan Pressel at 10 under. Her $132,725 check will help in Henderson’s bid to earn a tour card for next year. She needs to either win a tournament or finish with the equivalent of the 40th player on the money list to avoid qualifying school after being denied an age exemption.

Fellow Canadian Alena Sharp signed for a final round 76 to finish tied for 65th.

The shot of the day came from Hyo Joo Kim with a hole-in-one on the 149-yard 14th hole. She finished with a 71 to tie for ninth at 8 under.

With No. 1 Lydia Ko missing the cut for the first time in 54 tries, No. 2 Park needed to finish just 29th or better to retake the top spot she last held in February. It will be her third stay at the top of the rankings. She was to the No. 1 for 59 weeks in 2013.

Park earned $525,000 for her third LPGA Tour victory of the season and 15th overall.

She joined Sorenstam, Pak, Patty Sheehan, Nancy Lopez, Kathy Whitworth and Mickey Wright as the only players to win the event at least three times. Wright won it four times.

“I think I always dreamed myself being a part of history, leaving my name, even before I die, there is my name on this trophy” Park said. “There’s a name on the U.S. Open trophy. There’s my name on great championships.”

BELMONT, Mass. – For about 10 minutes on the front nine in the fourth round of the Senior Players Championship, Bernhard Langer was almost in trouble.

The defending champion three-putted on the third hole at the Belmont Country Club – his first bogey in 48 holes – and the eight-stroke lead he had to start the day was down to six. But he eagled the next hole, then coasted to a six-stroke victory in the third Champions Tour major of the year.

“I enjoy playing with a big lead. But you’ve still got to pay attention. It’s not like it’s over,” said Langer, who claimed $405,000 and moved into second on the tour standings. “You just never know what happens. This game is so amazing: It’s brutally tough when things go bad, and enthralling and thrilling when things go right.”

A two-time Masters champion who won five times on the Champions Tour last year, Langer was winless this year before going wire-to-wire to earn his fifth major on the over-50 circuit. He is the first golfer since Arnold Palmer win in 1984 and ’85 to successfully defend his title in the Senior Players.

“It was a magical week,” Langer said. “Obviously, to do something that Arnie did is amazing.”

Kirk Triplett shot 64 – a score that would have been good enough for a course record at the beginning of the week – to finish six strokes back at minus-13. Starting the day 10 strokes back, he birdied six of seven holes around the turn to win the only competitive battle: for second place.

“I thought: `If I make six more birdies, Bernhard’s going to be nervous,'” he joked. “It’s not the first time this guy’s done this. … Most of us didn’t get out of the gate enough to stay with him.”

Senior tour points leader Colin Montgomerie shot 68 on Sunday to finish in a tie for third after spending the morning at Massachusetts General Hospital being checked out for chest pains. Doctors cleared him in time to get him back to the course for a 1:09 p.m. tee time despite a detour or two to get around a closed bridge downtown.

“I blame the British for building the roads,” the 51-year-old Scotsman said. “Bloody awful.”

Montgomerie earned 322 points in the Charles Schwab Cup standings and has 1,616 for the season – 172 more than Langer, who moved up to second. Russ Cochran (69) and Joe Durant (67) were also in the three-way tie for third.

“Best of luck to Bernhard,” Montgomerie said. “One day it will stop – hopefully sooner than later. But he’s amazing, and all credit to him.”

Langer shot matching 65s in the first two rounds at the par-71, 6,812-yard course and then added a 67 on Saturday to open an eight-stroke lead over Cochran heading into the final round. A bogey on No. 3 might have opened the door, just a bit.

But Langer then put his second shot on the par-5 fourth hole about six feet from the pin, and knocked it in for an eagle. The 57-year-old German earned his 24th victory on the Champions Tour, tying him with Miller Barber for fourth all-time.

“Playing next to Bernhard, he’s pretty solid,” Cochran said. “It just proves that if you want to win out here, you’ve got to do all things.”

DECATUR, Ill. – South Korea’s Jimin Kang won the Symetra Tour’s Decatur-Forsyth Classic on Sunday when rain washed out the final two rounds.

Kang shot an 8-under 64 on Friday at Hickory Point. The 35-year-old former Arizona State player earned $16,500, though it doesn’t count on the money list because the event that was declared unofficial after only one round was completed.

“I wish we could have played 36 holes more, but unfortunately we couldn’t,” Kang said. “I’m happy, but we were all looking forward to playing more golf.”

Kang won the Mission Health Wellness Classic last month in North Carolina and is second on the money list. The two-time LPGA Tour winner is making a comeback from an allergy problem that attacked her immune system and made it difficult to breathe and walk on her own.

“My game is really, really getting better,” Kang said.

Canada’s Maude-Aimee Leblanc was second after a 67. She was one of 66 players who finished the first round Sunday.

WESTLAKE, Ohio – Shane Bertsch won the Rust-Oleum Championship on Sunday for his third career Web.com Tour title, beating Lucas Lee by a stroke at Lakewood Country Club.

The 45-year-old Bertsch closed with a bogey-free 5-under 66. He had four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the front nine and added another on the par-4 13th before a rain delay.

Bertsch finished at 18-under 266 and earned $108,000.

Lee shot a 65. The Brazilian tied for second last week in the Greater Dallas Open.

Money leader Patton Kizzire tied for third at 16 under after a 67, his fifth top-five finish of the season. Michael Kim also finished at 16 under, shooting a 68.

Third-round leader Peter Malnati had a 72 to tie for fifth at 14 under.

ATZENBRUGG, Austria – Chris Wood came from five strokes behind to win the Lyoness Open on Sunday for his second European Tour title.

The Englishman had a bogey-free round of 5-under 67 to finish on 15-under 273, two strokes clear of 2009 champion Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain.

Overnight leader Gregory Bourdy of France faltered, carding a 78 and dropping to a tie for sixth place. Cabrera-Bello, who was two strokes off the lead going into the final round, shot a 72.

English trio Robert Rock (66), Robert Dinwiddie (68) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (71) shared third, five strokes behind.

“I had in my mind today that, regardless what (Bourdy and Cabrera-Bello) did today, I needed a good score,” Wood said. “That was all I could do.”

Wood set the tone by picking up three strokes on the first six holes, and added two straight birdies on the back nine.

By that time, the Englishman had already overtaken Bourdy and Cabrera-Bello. The Frenchman double-bogeyed the par-3 second and had five bogeys in total, while the Spaniard lost his grip on the trophy after three straight bogeys between the ninth and 11th.

The win capped Wood’s comeback from a wrist injury that ruled him out of the final months of last season after he tripped in the gym and tried to break the fall with his hand.

“I was off injured, broke a bone in my wrist, so I was quite a while away from playing,” he said. “I have been working so hard, so I deserved a victory. But you never know when they are going to come so you take them when you can.”

The 124th-ranked Wood, who won the Qatar Masters two years ago and finished fourth in the PGA Championship at Wentworth three weeks ago, will climb around 40 places in the rankings after becoming the fifth English winner of the Austrian Open and first since Kenneth Ferrie in 2011.

Heavy rainfall in Prince Albert, Sask., this morning delayed the start of the second round of the CN Future Links Prairie Championship until mid-afternoon. Despite the wet conditions, Alisha Lau and Alexander Smith did not let the weather dampen their spirits as the competition continued at Cooke Municipal Golf Course.

After the lengthy weather delay, Team Canada Development Squad member Alisha Lau maintained her focus to post a 1-over-par round of 73 to take the lead in the Junior Girls division. The Richmond, B.C., product currently sits at 3-over 147 for the tournament, a single shot ahead of opening round leader Mary Parsons. The Delta, B.C., native posted a round of 79 to fall back into second place at 148. Moving into third place with a second round 73 was Shirin Anjarwalla of Nanaimo, B.C., who sits at 6-over 150 for the tournament.

In the Junior Boys division, first round leader Alexander Smith increased his lead to 5-strokes with a second round of 1-under-par 71. The Calgary, Alta., native mirrored his first round performance by once again eagling his second hole of play. His eagle today came on the par-5 hole 11, after having started his round on hole 10.

Holding second place at 145 are B.C., natives Logan Yanick from Courtenay who posted a 2-under 70 and Josh Miller of Victoria who finished the day at 75. Fellow British Columbian A.J. Ewart from Coquitlam posted the low round of the day, a 4-under par 68, to sit in fourth place at 146.

The top six finishers in the Junior Boys division of each CN Future Links Championship will receive an exemption into the field at the 2015 Canadian Junior Boys Championship. The national championship will be contested at Summerlea Golf and Country Club in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., from August 2-6.

The 2015 Canadian Junior Girls Championship will take place in Yorkton, Sask., from August 3-7 at Deer Park Golf Course. Earning entry into this competition will be the top six junior girls from each CN Future Links Championship this season. In addition, the six CN Future Links Junior Girls champions will gain exemptions into a 2016 Canadian Women’s Tour event of their choice.

The final round at the CN Future Links Prairie Championship will start tomorrow with tee times beginning at 7a.m.

Full second round results and additional information for the 2015 CN Future Links Prairie Championship can be found here.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – England’s Greg Owen has never had a piece of a 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour. Now he hopes he can stay relaxed with the great short game that has him in position to win his first title in his 214th tour event.

And winning would mean so much more than simply having a title on every tour Owen’s ever played.

“Just a huge, huge relief that what you’ve been striving for your whole life you can say you’ve achieved,” Owen said Saturday.

Owen and Fabian Gomez of Argentina each shot a 3-under-par 67 to share a one-stroke lead after 54 holes at the St. Jude Classic, tied at 9-under 201 total.

Swirling wind and tough pins kept everyone guessing on a hectic day at TPC Southwind, where as many as six players had a piece of the lead.

Both Owen and Gomez putted well on the firm greens despite hitting only 11 of 18 greens. Owen needed 26 putts in making four birdies and one bogey, while Gomez had 24 putts despite three bogeys. He had six birdies.

“I’m reading them well, and my pace is good and I feel good with the putter,” Owen said. “I’ve been working hard.”

Gomez credited hitting his driver well and finding fairways with leaving him plenty of short putts.

“I’ve been working since the beginning of the year,” Gomez said through a translator. “You know when you make some putts, the confidence gets higher and the game is easier.”

Brooks Koepka had at least a piece of the lead through the first two rounds and got to 10 under. He finished with a 71 and was tied with Scott Brown (68) for second at 202.

“It was swirling, swirling so much we couldn’t even figure out a wind direction,” Koepka said. “We knew it was coming from the south. Downwind, threw grass up, hit you in the face two seconds later. You never really knew where the wind was.”

Matt Jones (68) and Austin Cook (72) were tied at 204, and David Toms (69) and Camilo Villegas (66) were tied with six others at 205. Phil Mickelson (69) was in a group tied at 207.

Owen, 43, who lives in Florida, has struggled this season, missing five of 12 cuts on tour. His best career finish is second at the 2006 Arnold Palmer Invitational, but his best result this season is a tie for 22nd last November at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He knows this might be his best, last chance at a PGA title.

“I’m in a position where this year my career is probably on the down spiral a little bit,” Owen said. “It’s very upsetting to say that. There’s a lot of young kids coming through. You got to be game. It’s a different game from when I started.”

His lone bogey came at No. 10, and Owen, who shared the 18-hole lead with Koepka and Ryan Palmer, moved atop the leaderboard with Gomez when he birdied the par-3 No. 14 from 11 feet. He also finished with a birdie on No. 18 after hitting his approach to 5 feet.

Gomez, 36, is from the same town in Argentina as Jose Coceres, whom he counts as a mentor. He also has played many rounds with Angel Cabrera the past few years. Gomez tied Jordan Spieth for second at the 2013 Puerto Rico Open, where he had a piece of the 54-hole lead.

“Obviously for me to win on the PGA Tour is like a dream come true, and tomorrow is going to be a really exciting day,” Gomez said. “And you know it’s a day that you don’t have to think too much about the situation and try to play the same way that you played the last few days.”

Gomez birdied four of five holes through No. 6 to grab a piece of the lead at 9 under, and he stayed atop the leaderboard for seven holes. He bogeyed No. 11 after hitting into a back bunker on the par-3 island green, and bogeyed No. 13. He birdied Nos. 15 and 16, getting back to 9 under.

Canadian David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., is tied for 47th after shooting a 1-over 71. He is even for the tournament.

DIVOTS: Seven of the last nine champions at this event, sponsored by FedEx, have come from behind to win. … Cook, a 24-year-old Arkansas native playing just his fourth PGA event, had a share of the lead at 8 under through 13 holes. But he hit his tee shot into the water on the par-3 14th. … Steven Alker of New Zealand also had the lead at 9 under when he eagled the par-5 No. 3, holing out from 17 yards from the rough just off the front of the green. But he shot a 74 and was at 207.

HARRISON, N.Y. – South Korean stars Inbee Park and Sei Yong Kim added another chapter to their friendly rivalry on Saturday.

Park shot a 7-under 66 and overtook Kim on the final hole to take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Kim, a rookie who came into the day with a one-stroke lead, shot a 69. The two had battled all afternoon each went into the final hole at 13-under par. But Park, who needed just 28 putts Saturday, made her seventh birdie of the day on 18, and Kim missed a 4-foot putt for par.

The 26-year-old Park said her experience in winning this tournament each of the last two years may give her a bit of an advantage Sunday over her 22-year-old countrywoman. Kim has won twice this season, but will be looking for her first major championship on Sunday.

“It feels like the first time is always hard, always hard to do and it puts extra pressure on yourself,” Park said. “But when you’re trying to do the second, third time in a row, it just feels like you’ve done your homework already. So you feel a little bit more relaxed and you kind of know how it feels like and how it’s going to play like.”

Kim said she plans to use the bogey on the 18th as “medicine” on Sunday to help her get better.

She also has a recent history that should give her some confidence. Kim beat Park at the Lotte Open in Hawaii by chipping in to force a playoff and holing out from 154 yards on the first sudden-death hole.

“Well, that’s a past story,” Kim said. “I want to write a new story tomorrow.”

A win here could allow Park to catch top-ranked Lydia Ko in the rankings. Ko missed the cut on Friday, ending her streak of 53 consecutive made cuts.

Park could also tie Annika Sorenstam (2003-05), who is the only golfer who has claimed this title in three consecutive years, an accomplishment Park would list among the most impressive in her career.

“I have to say it would be pretty close to winning three majors in a row,” she said. “That was my biggest accomplishment ever in my career, but if I’m able to do this tomorrow, I think that will definitely be like tied for first.”

Kim and Park will go into Sunday with some separation from the rest of the pack. Suzann Pettersen and 17-year-old Canadian sensation Brooke Henderson each shot a 71. They ended tied with Hall of Famer Karrie Webb for third place at 8-under par, six strokes back of Park.

Henderson is attempting to become the youngest winner of a major championship. She is also looking for a win that would assure her a spot on the Tour next year after being denied an age exemption.

“This year is definitely a learning experience for me,” she said. “It’s a year where I’m trying to play my best and get my card for next year … whether it’s the money list or the win this year, or go to Q-School. My goal is to have full status next year.”

At the other end of the spectrum is Webb. The 40-year-old is attempting to become the second-oldest winner in the 60 year history of the event. Webb was in second place to start the day, but had to overcome bogeys on her first two holes to shoot a 72. She will be trying to win her eighth major.

“If I had told you I was going to shoot 1-under today, I wouldn’t have thought I was going to be six behind,” she said. “It’s going to take a big round tomorrow from me and probably some help from the leaders.

Pettersen is on a hot streak after winning last week in Ontario, for her 15th tour victory, her first since October 2013.

Morgan Pressel is in sixth place. She went 5-under on the back nine to finish a round of 69, including an eagle after on 18.

“When I got to the 18th tee and I saw that the tee was moved up a little bit, plus it was downwind, I said to my caddie, I said definitely we can get there today if we hit a good drive and I did,” she said.

Brittany Lincicome, who won the first LPGA major of the year at the ANA Inspiration, moved into contention and a three-way tie for seventh place.

After dropping two strokes the first eight holes, she made five consecutive birdies on the ninth through 13 holes. The 29-year-old American picked up a sixth on the 15th hole and had a birdie putt lip out on No. 17. She finished with a 69.

“I always like to be coming from behind,” she said. “I don’t like leading after two or three rounds because it makes me more nervous, I have to do more interviews and there’s more attention, so if I’m coming from behind and chasing people, it seems to be more of my comfort zone.”

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot a 2-over 75 and is tied for 47th entering Sunday. Sharp is 2-over for the tournament.