SAN ANTONIO – Defending champion Michael Allen shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday for a share of the lead with Scott McCarron in the Champions Tour’s San Antonio Championship.

“For the first time, instead of trying to defend my championship, I’m trying to just win the golf tournament,” Allen said. “Luckily, I’ve had the chance to defend a few times over the last few years, but trying to defend has never worked out too well for me, so I’m taking a new approach.”

McCarron also had a 69 to reach 6-under 138 on TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Canyons Course. The three-time PGA Tour winner is making his seventh start on the tour after turning 50 in July.

“This golf course is tough. It’s tricky,” McCarron said. “You have to hit the fairways. If you don’t hit the fairways, it’s very difficult.”

The 56-year-old Allen has seven senior victories after failing to win on the PGA Tour.

“The course was set up great. It was set up hard,” Allen said. “Every pin seemed to be in the back of the green. Breezy, but not too bad today. It was a challenging, but fun day. The greens were extremely fast, extremely tricky.”

Fred Couples was a stroke back along with Bernhard Langer, Scott Dunlap and first-round leader Wes Short Jr. Couples shot 69, Langer 68, Dunlap 71 and Short 72. Couples won the 2011 event, shooting 62-62-66 for a seven-stroke victory.

“I thought today’s pins were really, really, hard,” Couples said. “It was hard to get the ball close and it was hard to make a putt.”

Charles Schwab Cup leader Colin Montgomerie was tied for 11th at 3 under after a 70. He has a 39-point lead over Jeff Maggert with three events left in the season-long competition.

Maggert withdrew after nine holes because of a lingering left calf injury.

“I felt I could play this week but the calf tightened up on me yesterday and with the Toshiba Classic and Charles Schwab Cup Championship coming up, I didn’t want to risk it any further this week,” Maggert said.

Canada’s Stephen Ames had a share of second, but dropped into a tie for 15th thanks to a 74 Saturday.

Brandt Jobe was tied for 27th at 1 over in his Champions Tour debut. He shot 72.

INCHEON, South Korea – Lydia Ko and Sung Hyun Park rebounded to top the crowded leaderboard Saturday in the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.

In position to take the top spot in the world, the second-ranked Ko overcame a double bogey with two late birdies in a 3-under 69. Park bounced back from a second-round 74 with a 67 to match Ko at 13 under 203 on Sky 72’s Ocean Course.

“You might not even get one day out of the 365 days in a year where you hit it perfect,” Ko said. “I always say I love golf, because there is no perfect.”

Ko made the double bogey on the par-4 14th, driving left into the water and missing a 4-foot putt. The 18-year-old South Korean-born New Zealander rallied, driving the short par-4 15th to set up a two-putt birdie and making a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th.

“There’s still a long day ahead of me,” Ko said. “But if I am holding the trophy at the end, it will be very special. To win at your birthplace, it’s hard to do. To be able to win in front of the Korean fans and my family and relatives who have flown over from Jeju Island, I think it would be a very special moment.”

Park birdied three of the last four holes, also driving the 15th, holing a 20-footer on 17 and chipping to 2 feet on the par-5 18th. Making her first career LPGA Tour start, the 22-year-old South Korean player opened with a course-record 62. She would earn an LPGA Tour card with a victory.

“Actually, I had this conversation with my mom and we were just talking about it,” Park said. “I told her, ‘If I should win this championship, I still don’t think I’m ready for the LPGA Tour.’ And even if I don’t win tomorrow, I think I would be quite satisfied with the results of the championship so far.”

Ranked 54th, Park won the Korea LPGA’s Se Ri Pak Invitational two weeks ago for her third victory of the season. She won the Korea Women’s Open in June.

“To be really honest, I don’t think I ever really thought about winning, and so I wasn’t really confident coming into this week,” Park said. “I was more worried and nervous, but I’m quite proud of myself.”

Ko would take the No. 1 ranking from Inbee Park with a victory Sunday and also could move up with a second- or third-place finish depending on where her South Korean rival finishes. Inbee Park was tied for 18th at 5 under after a 70.

Ko tied for second last week in the LPGA Malaysia after winning her previous two starts in Canada and France, where she became the youngest major champion. Ko and Inbee Park, a two-time major winner this year, are tied for the tour victory lead with four.

American Lexi Thompson and South Korea’s Mirim Lee each birdied the 18th to pull within a stroke of the lead. Thompson had a 69, and Lee shot 67.

“I just know I need to make birdies, focus on myself and control my game,” Thompson said. “That’s all I can do. Lydia is playing great and she’s going to make birdies, we all know that. But it’s not just her.”

Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn and South Korea’s Yoon-Ji Cho were two strokes back at 11 under. Jutanugarn holed out from 110 yards for eagle on the par-5 fifth in a round of 67, and Cho had a 69.

Taiwan’s Yani Tseng (69) was 10 under, and Norway’s Suzann Pettersen (68) was 9 under along with China’s Shanshan Feng (71). Pettersen won the event in 2007 and 2012.

VILAMOURA, Portugal – England’s Andy Sullivan shot a 4-under 67 in windy conditions to take a five-shot lead into Sunday’s final round at the Portugal Masters.

Sullivan had six birdies in the third round on Saturday, when tee times were moved forward because of severe weather.

The Englishman said his score was “awesome in that horrible weather.”

“I thought I handled myself well. I didn’t really feel like I’d done much wrong out there today,” Sullivan said. “I think every part of my game is in good touch, and I didn’t really ever leave myself too much to do.”

Sunday’s final round at the Oceanico Victoria course will also start earlier than scheduled because of weather.

“More of the same hopefully,” Sullivan said. “Just go out there and do my thing, and hopefully come in and sign for a good score again.”

Sullivan, who won the South African Open earlier this year, shot 64 on each of the first two days and is 18 under for the tournament.

Eduardo de la Riva of Spain is second after a 3-under 68 put him on 13 under.

“Five shots is a lot and he’s playing very, very well,” De la Riva said of Sullivan. “If the day is like this, it can be possible with a very low round.”

Spain’s Jorge Campillo and Chris Wood of England were tied for third at 11 under, seven shots back.

NAPA, Calif. – Brendan Steele felt no different about his game Friday than when he tied the course record with a 63 in his opening round at the Frys.com Open. The difference was seven shots. What didn’t change was his position on the leaderboard.

Steele had to settle for pars on the closing three holes at Silverado that tend to produce birdies, giving him a 2-under 70 on a course that was getting firmer and featured much stronger pin positions.

All that mattered was a two-shot lead going into the weekend.

“I expected today to be tough,” said Steele, who was at 11-under 133. “And it’s always tough to follow up a round like yesterday with anything even under par. I think we’ve seen guys over the years follow 63 up usually with something around par. If you can go lower than that, you probably have a pretty good-sized lead.”

He’ll take the two-shot margin over Canada’s Graham DeLaet (68) , Will Wilcox (67), Jhonattan Vegas (71) and Harold Varner III (70).

One thing didn’t change for Rory McIlroy. He can’t seem to make a putt.

McIlroy, the No. 3 player in the world, shot 71 and was six shots behind. Considering how many putts he missed, it felt like an even greater margin.

“Not to be able to break 70 today is quite disappointing,” McIlroy said.

His only two birdies were on par 5s where he missed putts for eagles. And he ended his round by missing a birdie putt from just outside 12 feet, a familiar sight for him over two days at Silverado.

“I think it’s more mental than anything else,” McIlroy said. “Whenever you don’t see anything go in, it makes it harder and harder each and every hole that goes by. … I don’t expect to hole everything, but I expect to hole more than I am at the moment.”

And with that, he signed a few autographs and headed straight for the practice green.

With tougher pins, Silverado played about one shot more difficult. It was just as tough to get some separation.

The cut was set at 2-under 142, and a 54-hole cut was in play for Saturday because 81 players advanced to the weekend. That group includes Brandt Snedeker, who birdied his last two holes to make it on the number.

Missing putts was a familiar sight for everyone.

“I actually felt like from tee-to-green, I played way better than yesterday, to be honest,” said Vegas, who followed his 64 with a 71. “I just couldn’t buy any putts.”

This is a big week for Vegas, who received a sponsor’s exemption after losing his card and needs to make the most of what limited tournaments he can play this year.

And it’s a big start for Varner, who joins Tiger Woods as the only players of black heritage on the PGA Tour this year. Varner made back-to-back birdies and was closing in on the lead when he had to settle for four straight pars at the end. It was nearly dark when Varner played his last hole, though he never considered coming back to finish Saturday morning.

“Six hours of sleep is way more important than one putt, I think,” Varner said. “I’m staying in American Canyon. It says it’s 25 minutes, but it’s yet to take me 25 minutes to get back. I’m going to get it tomorrow. I’m pretty excited.”

Steele opened his round with a birdie, which he thought might be a sign of another low score. He made two birdies in three holes to start his back nine and was thinking he might get a chance to pull away at 12 under, especially with a pair of par 5s and a short par 4 among the three closing holes.

Plus, he ended that side with five straight birdies Thursday. It just didn’t quite work out that way.

Steele missed the green on the par-5 16th with a wedge in his hand. His tee shot on the short 17th settled in a divot. And then on the par-5 18th hole, he drove left into the rough, laid up in the group and missed the green again.

“So those last three you think you can score on were kind of a struggle,” he said.

But he wasn’t alone. Justin Thomas, coming off a strong rookie season and a 66 to start the new season, caught Steele with a 20-foot birdie putt at the turn and had his hopes ruined by missing the green at No. 4 with a wedge, and then taking double bogey on No. 6. A birdie on the last hole for a 70 put him in the group at 8-under 136 that included Justin Rose (69), Russell Henley (69 and Martin Laird (71).

SAN ANTONIO – Wes Short Jr. birdied three of the last four holes Friday for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s San Antonio Championship.

The 51-year-old former University of Texas player had seven birdies and two bogeys on TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Canyons Course. He won the Quebec Championship last year for his lone victory on the 50-and-over tour and also won the PGA Tour’s 2005 Las Vegas event.

Paul Goydos, Jeff Sluman, Canada’s Stephen Ames, Duffy Waldorf and Scott Dunlap were tied for second.

Defending champion Michael Allen had a 69. Fred Couples shot a 70. He won the 2011 event

Charles Schwab Cup leader Colin Montgomerie opened with a 71. He has a 39-point lead over Jeff Maggert with three events left in the season-long competition. Maggert had a 72. He has a tour-high four victories, winning majors in the Regions Tradition and U.S. Senior Open.

On October 8th, 2015, the AT&T Byron Nelson – a PGA TOUR stop in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area – issued a challenge to Golf Canada – organizers of the RBC Canadian Open.

The bet was that if the Texas Rangers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in the MLB playoffs, Golf Canada staff would have to sing “Texas, Our Texas” – the official state song of the state of Texas. However, since the Toronto Blue Jays bet Texas, the organizers of the AT&T Byron Nelson had to sing “O’Canada”. Here is their rendition. Enjoy!

VILAMOURA, Portugal – England’s Andy Sullivan carded a 7-under 64 for a second straight day to take a three-shot lead at the Portugal Masters on Friday.

Sullivan, who shared the overnight lead with Nicolas Colsaerts, hit seven birdies in a flawless second round at the Oceanico Victoria course for a 14-under total of 128.

Belgium’s Thomas Pieters is second on 11 under, while Eduardo de la Riva of Spain and Bernd Wiesberger of Austria are four strokes behind Sullivan.

Play is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. local time Saturday due to a bad weather forecast. Last year’s edition was reduced to 36 holes.

CARY, N.C. – Tom Lehman had an eagle and three birdies in the final four holes Sunday to win the Champions Tour’s SAS Championship.

The 56-year-old Lehman birdied the par-4 15th and 16th, eagled the par-5 17th and birdied the par-4 18th for a 7-under 65 and a one-stroke victory over Joe Durant.

“It’s just nice to get back in the winner’s circle,” Lehman said. “It’s nice to see the putts drop when you need them most.”

Lehman finished at 12-under 204 at Prestonwood Country Club and earned $315,000 for his ninth victory on the 50-and-over tour and first since June 2014.

“I knew that there was a lot of guys really bunched up, and I knew that nobody was running away with it,” Lehman said. “I was 7 under from the 10th hole on … and nobody was really making any big move, so the game was still on. (Durant) played well, but he didn’t get way ahead where we couldn’t catch him. So, he kept everybody – the last group kept everybody in the game.”

Durant closed with a 68. Needing to hole out from the fairway on the 18th to force a playoff, he hit close to set up his final birdie. He missed a 4-foot birdie putt on 17.

“You’ve got make a four there,” Durant said. “I knew that (Lehman) had made a three, and from the crowd, I figured he made a birdie on 18, too. He just finished great. He did what you have to do to win a golf tournament out there, and I just finished a little short.”

Bernhard Langer and Kenny Perry tied for third at 10 under. Langer shot a 68. Perry, the second-round leader, had a 70. Colin Montgomerie tied for fifth at 8 under after a 66.

“So disappointing in many ways, the week to be honest, but that’s my best finish here,” Montgomerie said. “At least I got a top 10 here.”

Montgomerie took sole possession of first place in the Charles Schwab Cup race, 39 points ahead of Jeff Maggert after they began they week tied. Langer is third with three events left.

Canada’s Stephen Ames tied for 16th at 4-under 212.

WOBURN, England – Matthew Fitzpatrick signaled his emergence as one of Europe’s most prominent young golfers on Sunday, shooting a 3-under 68 to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the British Masters at Woburn for his first professional title.

The 21-year-old Englishman, playing his first full professional season on the European Tour, shot five birdies in his final round to win by two strokes and finish on a 15-under total of 269.

“I honestly did not think I was going to win this year,” Fitzpatrick said, even though he finished second in the European Masters in Switzerland in July. “A wire-to-wire victory is unbelievable for me, I really feel that is an amazing achievement. I dreamt of doing it but I never thought I would be good enough.”

Fitzpatrick’s front nine was quiet and unspectacular, making seven pars, a bogey and a birdie on the fourth to go out in 35 shots for par.

But the 2013 U.S. amateur champion shifted gears on the back nine with four birdies.

“It was frustrating after the front nine, I could not get anything going,” Fitzpatrick said. “But the back nine, I started brightly and it felt like I was swinging it a little bit better and I managed to pull it off.”

Fitzpatrick was jostling for the lead with Soren Kjeldsen (69) at the top of the leaderboard on the closing stretch and they both missed putts for the outright lead within minutes of each other on Nos. 13 and 14.

Fitzpatrick saw an eight-footer slide another two feet beyond the hole on the 13th, which he returned for par, while Kjeldsen spurned a straight one from 12 feet moments after on the 14th.

It was Kjeldsen, 19 years Fitzpatrick’s senior, who crumpled under the pressure.

On the par-5 15th, he gave himself a 30-foot putt for eagle, but an excessive swing saw his ball race off the green. The 40-year-old Dane rescued par, before a wild and wayward tee shot on No. 16 settled in the rough, behind the base of a tree.

He escaped, but failed to get up and down for par from 60 feet, by which point Fitzpatrick had demonstrated his composure to surge two shots clear.

After Fitzpatrick escaped from a fairway bunker on the 15th, a resplendent approach with his 8-iron from 175 yards settled 20 feet before the flag. On the same green that had troubled Kjeldsen moments before, the youngest player in the field rolled the ball firmly into the center of the cup for birdie.

On the par-3 17th, Fitzpatrick’s tee shot finished eight feet from the pin for a routine birdie before a bogey on the 18th.

Kjeldsen ended tied for second on 13 under alongside Paraguay’s Fabrizo Zanotti (69) and Bridgestone Invitational winner Shane Lowry (67) of Ireland.

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who started the day tied for the lead with Fitzpatrick, carded a 1-over 72 and was tied fifth on 11 under.

LONGWOOD, Fla. – Jackie Stoelting won the IOA Golf Classic on Sunday for her second straight Symetra Tour title, shooting her third 4-under 67 for a two-stroke victory.

Finishing the season as a non-member on the Symetra Tour after struggling on the LPGA Tour, Stoelting won the El Dorado Shootout two weeks ago in Arkansas for her first tour title.

“It was a huge monkey off my back to win two weeks ago and now to win two in a row after six professional seasons is everything I could have asked for,” Stoelting said. “This is definitely the confidence I needed and an extra bonus to win twice.”

The 29-year-old former Florida Southern player finished third on the Symetra Tour money list last season to earn her LPGA Tour card, but made only two cuts and earned just $7,475 in 18 events. She’s preparing for the final stage of LPGA Qualifying School.

Stoelting earned her second straight $15,000 check, though her earnings don’t count on the money list. She’s the first player to win consecutive events since Esther Choe in 2012.

With her father serving as her caddie, and her mother, husband and many other family members watching, she hit a hybrid to a foot to set up a birdie on the par-4 17th and closed with a par.

“It has been a long journey to get here, I spent five years on the Symetra Tour,” Stoelting said. “None of my family was in Arkansas so to have them all here was just awesome. I’m glad that they got to witness it and be a part of it this time.”

Brianna Do was second after a 68. She made a 7-foot birdie putt on the final hole to finish second alone, and earned $9,342 to jump from 18th to 12th on the money list with $51,037. The top 10 next week after the season-ending Symetra Tour Championship will earn LPGA Tour cards.

“It wasn’t going to be a win with a birdie, but I hit a really good tee shot and I’m glad I made that putt,” Do said. “It was a nice way to end the round.”

Yueer Cindy Feng, Lindy Duncan and Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong tied for third at 9 under. Feng shot 67, Duncan 68, and Santiwiwatthanaphong 69. Duncan is 13th on the money list with $50,315.

Sara-Maude Juneau finished 4-under and was the top Canuck finisher. The Quebecor tied for 20th.