MEXICO CITY – Inbee Park made two late birdies and shot 5-under 67 to open a three-stroke lead Saturday in the LPGA Tour’s Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

The second-ranked South Korean star hit a 7-iron to 3 feet to set up a birdie on the par-3 16th, and made a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 17th. She had a 10-under 206 total at tree-lined Club de Golf Mexico.

Park is making her first start since withdrawing in China two weeks ago because of a cyst on her left middle finger. She has four victories this season, winning two of the five majors.

Sei Young Kim, also from South Korea, was second after a 70. She won the event two weeks ago in China for her third victory of the season and has wrapped up the tour’s rookie of the year award.

 Canada’s Alena Sharp shot 72 Saturday and is 28th.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Team Canada’s duo of Eric Banks and Tony Gil continued their effort to defend Canada’s Tailhade Cup title on Saturday, carding a collective 3-under 139 to sit in fourth place heading into Sunday’s final round.

Overall, the Canucks sit at 4-over par and trail a trio of leading teams by three strokes—Australia, Brazil and host Argentina.

Truro, N.S., native and National Amateur Squad member Eric Banks shared the lowest round of the day with a 3-under 68, placing him in second place individually, two strokes back of Argentina’s Simaski Matias.

17-year-old Development Squad member Tony Gil of Vaughan, Ont., bounced back on Saturday’s second round at the Los Lagartos Country Club, shooting an even-par 71 to sit T33 individually.

The final round of rain-shortened event will commence Sunday.

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SHANGHAI – Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the BMW Masters.

Thongchai had started the day three shots behind Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark, but made five birdies on the front nine to move into a share of the lead and then two more on the back nine to card a 15-under 201 through 54 holes.

“I think today I miss about three greens. That’s why the key, I think, is I play my irons really well,” the 46-year-old veteran said. “Tomorrow is a very big day. If I play well like this, keep performing like this, I’m going to have a good chance.”

The Thai golfer, seeking his second European Tour title of the season, is one stroke ahead of Bjerregaard (70), Sergio Garcia of Spain (67) and An Byeong-hun of South Korea (66).

Players wore black ribbons on their hats to remember the victims of the attacks in Paris on Friday night and took to Twitter to share their condolences.

France’s Benjamin Hebert, who shot a 71 on Saturday, posted a picture of himself wearing a white hat and glove with the words “Pray for Paris” written across them, as well as black pants and a green shirt. His tweet read, “Black for mourning, green for hope, white for peace.”

After breaking a BMW Masters record with a 29 on his back nine, Australia’s Marcus Fraser tweeted: “Days like today make you realize even more how insignificant golf really is.”

Fraser ended his round by holing a 231-yard shot for eagle on the par-4 18th hole to become the first player at the tournament to break 30 on either the front or back nine, according to the European Tour. He shot a 65 to move into a tie for 11th place, four strokes behind the leader.

Fraser said he thought his second shot on 18 was “perfect” when he hit it. “All of a sudden, there’s a lot of carrying on up here (at the pin) and I walk up there and I’d torn the front out of the hole and the ball was sitting in the bottom,” he said.

Garcia also finished strongly with three birdies on his last four holes to stay close to the lead. He’s aiming to win his first European Tour title in nearly two years.

“I played the last four holes really well, I think. It was nice to be able to finish like that and give myself a shot tomorrow because I was getting a little bit far behind,” he said.

An, the BMW PGA Championship winner earlier this year, carded six birdies in a blemish-free round, while Bjerregaard had three birdies to go with one bogey.

Sweden’s Kristoffer Broberg was in fifth place at 13 under overall, two shots behind Thongchai, while Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed, Ross Fisher, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter were another shot back in a tie for sixth.

France’s Alexander Levy and Belgium’s Thomas Pieters had the low round of the day with a 63.

Levy said the Paris attacks were on his mind when he started his round on Saturday morning.

“I was very disappointed this morning when I wake up because I watch what happened in France,” he said. “And I say, ‘Come on, today just have fun and enjoy your day’ because a lot of trouble in France.”

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Graeme McDowell made seven birdies in an eight-hole stretch Friday and shot an 8-under 63 to take a one-shot lead in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba.

McDowell closed out the back nine with three straight birdies, made a bogey on No. 1, and then bounced back with four straight birdies in the morning. He has played the first hole at El Camaleon Golf Club in 3 over for two days.

Derek Fathauer made four birdies over his last seven holes for a 66 to get within one shot of McDowell.

McDowell was at 12-under 130. He typically plays the European Tour as it concludes the Race to Dubai, but the 36-year-old from Northern Ireland had such a mediocre year that he chose to start the new PGA Tour season.

Canada’s David Hearn shot 70 Friday and heads into the weekend tied for 27th at 4 under. Fellow Canadian Adam Hadwin (72-75) was 4 over and did not make the 36-hole cut.

MEXICO CITY – Minjee Lee shot her second straight 3-under 69 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead over four players in the LPGA Tour’s Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

The 19-year-old Australian player two-putted from 50 feet on the par-5 17th for the last of her six birdies at tree-lined Club de Golf Mexico. She won at Kingsmill in May for her first LPGA Tour title.

Second-ranked Inbee Park, defending champion Christina Kim, Angela Stanford and rookie of the year Sei Young Kim were tied for second in the 36-player event. Park, the first-round leader, had a 71. Christina Kim and Sei Young Kim each shot 66, and Stanford had a 70.

Park is making her first start since withdrawing in China two weeks ago because of a cyst on her left middle finger. The South Korean star has four victories this season, winning two of the five majors.

Sei Young Kim, also from South Korea, won the event in China for her third victory of the season.

Stanford is coming off playoff loss to Sun-Ju Ahn last week in the Asian Swing finale in Japan. The American won the inaugural tournament in 2008 in Guadalajara.

Last year, Christina Kim beat Shanshan Feng on the second hole off a playoff after losing a five-stroke lead in the final round.

Norway’s Suzann Pettersen was sixth at 4 under after a 71.

Canada’s Alena Sharp carded a 1 over 73 Friday and has a share of 31st at 5 over.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko is skipping the tournament to rest for her title defense next week in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida.

Four Canadians finished inside the cut of T21 (plus ties) on Friday to advance to the final stage of Web.com Tour Qualifying School. The Canucks were in action at two separate 72-hole stroke-play events contested at different sites in the U.S.

Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., led the way at the Brocksville, Fla., event, closing at 17-under at the Southern Hills Plantation Club to finish as runner-up—four strokes back of medalist Doug Leston. Canadian Chris Ross—also of Dundas, Ont.—posted an 8-under to just squeeze inside the cut line with a T18 finish.

Across the way in Texas, Canadians Devin Carrey of Burnaby, B.C. and Cam Burke of New Hamburg, Ont., cracked the top-10 at the Clubs of Kingwood-Deerwood to punch their ticket to the final stage. Carrey came in at 8-under par to finish tied for fourth while Burke ended at 6-under to finish T10. American Anthony Broussard of Addison, Tex., took home medalist honours, finishing at 16-under, five-strokes clear of the runner-up.

There are two remaining stage II Qualifying events still to be conducted, both running next week from Nov. 17–20. There are 10 hopeful Canadians in the field at the remaining events, all looking for their chance to advance to the final stage contested from Dec. 10–13 at PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.—see the list below:

Nov 17–20
Oak Valley Golf Club, Beaumont, Calif.

• Max Gilbert (Montreal)
• Ryan Williams (Surrey, B.C.)
• Matt McQuillan (Kingston, Ont.)
• Seann Harlingten (Vancouver)
• Ryan Yip (Calgary)
• Brad Clapp (Chilliwack, B.C.)

Nov 17–20
Plantation Preserve Golf Club, Plantation, Fla.

• Lucas Kim (Toronto)
• Jon Mills (Belleville, Ont.)
• Ben Silverman (Thornhill, Ont.)
• Matt Hill (Brights Grove, Ont.)

All players who make it to the Final Stage of the Web.com Tour Q-School will earn at least conditional status on the Web.com Tour in 2016.

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Team Canada’s duo of Eric Banks and Tony Gil posted a 7-over 149 in Friday’s first round of action at the Tailhade Cup to sit in a tie for seventh.

After play was suspended on Thursday due to thunderstorms, Nova Scotia’s Banks led the Canadian pair with an opening even-par 71—good for the day’s third-best score overall. Gil, a 17-year-old Vaughan, Ont., native, struggled on the day with a 7-over par 78.

Collectively, the Australians hold the outright lead after Friday’s first round, carding a 1-over 143. They are closely followed by host Argentina, who sit two-back at 145.

The second round of action will resume tomorrow at the Los Lagartos Country Club, with the final round to commence on Sunday.

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When Jocelyne Bourassa arrived for the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, she thought she was in Hollywood.

There was a red carpet entrance, all the spotlights and a who’s who of Canadian sport attended the glitzy shindig.

“Gosh, I felt like I was outside a Hollywood premier,” the 68-year-old Bourassa stated. “I didn’t know how big a deal this was.

“Most of my fellow inductees were past Olympians. They talked about their paths to success, the injuries they suffered and overcame. Now golf is part of the Olympics again.”

Bourassa’s story easily could be made into a Hollywood film. She went into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame as a builder, but her diligence in making sure young women professionals had a place to play in Canada is only part of her fascinating narrative.

She was the Brooke Henderson of the time. The Shawinigan, Quebec-raised dynamo reeled off amateur win after amateur win in Quebec, nationally and internationally.

The highlights were consecutive Quebec junior titles in 1963, 1964 and 1965, backed up by Canadian Women Amateur Championship titles in 1965 and 1971. She turned pro and promptly was named the 1972 LPGA rookie of the year.

But knee problems plagued Bourassa’s success, so much so that she was once called the Bobby Orr of women’s golf because of how many knee surgeries she required.

However, she battled through the pain for a week back in June of 1973. The LPGA finally had come to Canada at Montreal Municipal to contest La Canadienne, which became the du Maurier Classic, now known as the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.

Bourassa was 26 and wondered how many good rounds she had left in her. A doctor had told her caddy, Mario Brisebois, that if she was a horse she would have been put out to pasture.

But Bourassa battled that week. She scrambled and made several clutch putts. On the 72nd hole, Bourassa walked over to the spectators and found her brother Gilles.

“I asked him what I needed to get into the playoff and he told me a birdie,” she recalled. “I went back inside the ropes and knew I was going to do it.

“I had a very long putt [30 feet] to make for birdie. People tell me I took forever to make the putt, but I knew the line. I knew the putt was going to go in.’’

It did go in and gave her a spot in the playoff against Judy Rankin and Sandra Haynie. Bourassa was extremely nervous beginning that playoff. She duck-hooked her drive on the opening hole, only to make a miraculous recovery shot from under a tree to the green. She outlasted Rankin and then, finally, Haynie.

“Sandra duck-hooked her drive into the water on the last hole,” Bourassa said. “The fans cheered, just like at a hockey game. I was embarrassed. I had to apologize to Sandra.

“But I still had work to do. I needed to make a two-foot putt to win. But I couldn’t draw the putter back. So I took a deep breath and hit it through. It just snuggled in.’’

Quebec went crazy. They had a new sporting hero. But Brisebois put some perspective on the massive win. The win inspired a generation of elite-level athletes in Quebec like diver Sylvie Bernier, biathlete Myriam Bedard and short-track speed skater Nathalie Lambert.

But not everyone was doing cartwheels after Bourassa’s win. Brisebois recalled that Bourassa was a guest on a popular sports radio show and that the host told her a woman should be home in the kitchen, raising kids and taking care of her husband.

“Jocelyne proved there was room for women in sports,” said Brisebois, who went on to become one of Canada’s top golf writers and still is going strong.

Bourassa retired a few years later from competitive golf and in 1979 became the executive director of the du Maurier. She dedicated her life to grow women’s professional golf in Canada.

She helped promising Canadian juniors find golf scholarships. Later, she would help them begin professional careers with a series of events across Canada, now known as the Canadian Women’s (golf) Tour.

She played a big part in why Canada had LPGA Tour winners like Dawn Coe, Lisa Walters, Jennifer Wyatt, Lorie Kane and now Henderson.

“Jocelyne has so many good qualities,” Brisebois said. “But if I had to pick one it would be her generosity. She’s very generous. She’s so likeable. You cannot find anyone who dislikes this lady.

“She deserves a lot of respect.”

SHANGHAI – Lucas Bjerregaard is learning how to deal with the pressure of playing from the front, and closing in on a maiden European Tour title, too.

The Dane heads into the weekend with a three-stroke lead at the BMW Masters after carding a 6-under 66 in Friday’s second round.

Bjerregaard trailed overnight leader Sergio Garcia for much of the day before surging into the lead with three birdies in his last four holes to match his opening-round score. He’s now shot below 70 in 12 of his last 13 rounds since mid-October, going a combined 47 under.

Garcia, meanwhile, ran into trouble on his back nine on a cold, blustery day at Lake Malaren Golf Club. He bogeyed No. 12 and hit into the water on No. 13 for a double-bogey, falling four strokes back.

The Spaniard recovered to shoot a 71 and tie for second place at 9 under with Thongchai Jaidee (68).

Bjerregaard has been in top form this autumn, posting four top-10 finishes on the European Tour and falling just short of capturing his first title at the Hong Kong Open three weeks ago. Playing in the final group, the 24-year-old Dane led Justin Rose by a stroke down the stretch before a double-bogey gave victory to the Englishman.

Still, it was a far better finish than the last time Bjerregaard played in the final group on a Sunday at the Alfred Dunhill Championship last December – he collapsed with a 17-over 89 in the final round.

“It was nice in Hong Kong to prove to myself and prove to everyone else that I can still compete up there, so hopefully I can do that again this week and just come up one place better than last time,” Bjerregaard said.

Ian Poulter (68), Paul Casey (69) and An Byeong-hun (71) were tied for fourth at 8 under on Friday, while Peter Uihlein (66) sank seven straight birdies to jump into a tie for seventh at 7 under with Ross Fisher (71).

Playing alongside Bjerregaard, Uihlein began his birdie spree on the par-5 15th hole and narrowly missed matching the European Tour record of eight consecutive birdies when his 20-foot putt on the par-3 fourth hole slid just to the right of the cup.

“I was cheering him on,” Bjerregaard said. “I was really hoping that would go in.”

Uihlein started the day in a tie for 48th place but is suddenly only five strokes off the pace going into the weekend.

“It was weird. I was level-par going into 15, 1 over for the day, and I felt like I played 24 holes really, really well,” the American said. “I felt like there was going to be a surge coming and I didn’t know it would be seven in a row, but I’m pleased it was.”

Garcia, who shot 64 on Thursday, made three birdies in a blemish-free front nine to get to 11 under before faltering on No. 12 and 13. His second shot on the par-5 15th found the bunker next to the green, but he made a nice recovery to birdie the hole and get a stroke back.

“If you didn’t hit the right shot at the right time you could pay. And I did a couple of times,” Garcia said. “It feels like it should have been a little bit better, but it is what it is.”

The BMW Masters is the third of four events in the European Tour’s Final Series, which ends next week at the DP World Tour Championships in Dubai. Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy is skipping this week’s tournament, giving Danny Willett a chance to pass him in the standings with a strong showing in Shanghai.

Willett shot a 69 to get to 3 under on Friday in a tie for 28th.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Justin Leonard got off to a quick start in what he expects to be his shortest season, opening with a 6-under 65 on Thursday in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba to share the lead with Aaron Baddeley, Shawn Stefani and Derek Fathauer.

Leonard, who moved from Dallas to Colorado during the summer, said he plans to play only 12 events this season to spend more time with his wife and four children. The former British Open champion is using his one-time exemption for being top 50 on the PGA Tour’s career money list.

The 43-year-old Leonard played bogey-free at El Camaleon before the wind and rain arrived and stopped play for 1 hour, 14 minutes. The first round was suspended because of darkness, and 21 players did not finish.

Stefani was a runner-up last year at Mayakoba to Charley Hoffman.

Baddeley, a three-time winner, lost his card last season and failed to get it back through the Web.com Tour Finals. He is playing as a past champion, and got into the Mexico event through a top-10 finish last week. He tied for fourth in the rain-plagued Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi.

D.J. Trahan, another past champion, also got into Mayakoba through a top 10 in Mississippi. He was in a large group at 66 that included Charles Howell III and Patton Kizzire, who won the Web.com Tour money title last season.

Leonard is approaching two years since his last top 10 on the PGA Tour. He was born and raised in Dallas, so it was a big move to take the family to Aspen. But it’s part of a bigger plan to make the transition to full-time golf to being with his four children, ages 5 through 12.

“I’ve just been out here 21 or 22 years and my kids are growing up,” Leonard said. “And I get to do a lot of things, but I miss a lot of things, too. We just moved to Colorado in August, and I want to just play the tournaments that I’m excited to go play and see what I can do.”

He referenced Steve Stricker, who in 2013 decided to trim his schedule to be at home more often.

“So many decisions I’ve made over the last 25 years have been about golf,” Leonard said. “So when we started talking about moving, I said, ‘Let’s just take golf out of it. Where are going to be the happiest and most excited when we get on an airplane to go home?’ And we’re there.”

Matt Kuchar, at No. 16 in the world the highest-ranked player at Mayakoba, opened with a 72. He was in the same group as Mississippi winner Peter Malnati, who shot a 68, and HSBC Champions winner Russell Knox, who had a 70.

Knox is playing his fifth straight week, going from Napa, California, to Las Vegas to Malaysia to Shanghai and now Mexico.

Former PGA champions Keegan Bradley, whose world ranking has plunged to No. 65, was in the group at 67 that included Erik Compton, Patrick Rodgers and Graeme McDowell, who overcame a double bogey on his opening hole by making five straight birdies.

The best start belonged to Thomas Aiken of South Africa. Starting on the par-3 10th, he made a hole-in-one and then followed that with two straight birdies. But his round fell apart at the end with a quadruple-bogey 9 on the seventh hole that led to a 74.

David Hearn opened with a 68.