MEXICO CITY — Christina Kim shot a 3-under 69 on Friday to maintain a one-stroke lead in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

Kim birdied the par-3 16th to take the outright lead and parred the final two holes at tree-lined Club de Golf Mexico. She had a 10-under 134 total.

“I love Mexico,” Kim said. “Everything about it – the culture, the food. It’s amazing.”

The 30-year-old American birdied three of the first four holes, dropped strokes on Nos. 7 and 9, and rebounded with a short birdie putt on the par-3 13th.

“It was getting a little sketchy in the middle of the round,” Kim said. “I just kind of hung through it and just tried to enjoy myself and, again, tried to see if I could be the best Lorena that I could be. Overall, it was a good day. It was just very stressful.”

She won the last of her two LPGA Tour titles in 2005.

Paula Creamer was second after a 65, the best round of the day.

“It was good to see some nice results with my irons,” Creamer said.

Creamer birdied seven of the first 14 holes. She won the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore in March for her 10th tour title, holing a 75-foot eagle putt on the second hole of a playoff with Azahara Munoz.

“I switched to left hand low and I switched my whole putter at Evian and that’s been probably the greatest thing that I’ve done,” Creamer said. “I just have a lot of confidence. My routine and what I do when I’m over the ball is the same every time. It’s more about speed instead of thinking about my stroke.”

Munoz, Suzann Pettersen, Lydia Ko and Pornanong Phatlum were tied for third at 7 under. Pettersen shot 66, Phatlum 68, Ko 69, and Munoz 71.

Top-ranked Inbee Park was 10th at 4 under after a 70.

Michelle Wie had a 69 to reach 2 under. She won the 2009 event at Guadalajara Country Club for her first LPGA Tour victory.

Lexi Thompson, the winner last year at Guadalajara, also was 2 under after a 72.

Second-ranked Stacy Lewis followed her opening 76 with a 70 to reach 2 under. She was tied for 27th in the 36-player field.

Beon Yeong Lee, Brad Fritsch and Ted Brown have advanced to next month’s final Web.com qualifying stage after solid finishes at 2^nd stage qualifying Friday.

Lee came into the final round just outside of the cut-line and played stellar golf, shooting a 4-under par 68 to finish T17.  The Montreal resident made seven birdies on the day including a clutch one on No. 18 that sealed his berth in December’s final.

Ottawa’s Fritsch, who had played steady golf all week with scores of 70-71-69, carded a 2-under 70 in Rd. 4 to finish T2 in his field. He finished at -8, one stroke behind the winning score.

Brown, a native of Peterborough, Ont., had two early bogeys on the day, but finished strong with three birdies in his final five holes.  He finished in a six-way tie for fourth place at 1-over par on the week (74-71-72-72–289).

Edmonton’s Wilson Bateman, Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., Devin Carrey of Burnaby, B.C., and Cam Burke of New Hamburg, Ont., all failed to advance by small margins.

Bateman carded his third consecutive 71 and finished in a tie for 20^th place, one shot shy of qualifying.

Burke was only three strokes shy of advancing, completing his week at even par with a final round score of 71, while Gligic (69-75-69-72–285) and Carrey (74-72-79-74–299) finished just four shots off the pace in each of their respective fields.

Putting forth a good effort but also failing to advance this week was Christopher Ross of Dundas, Ont., Justin Shin of Maple Ridge, B.C., Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Toronto’s Christian Westhorpe.

Ross carded an even par 72 and finished the week in a tie for 41^st, while Westhorpe shot a 3-over 75 and finished 46^th.

Shin and Pendrith both played tremendous golf in their final rounds, but couldn’t squeak into final qualifying. Shin shot a 3-under 69 in his final round to tie for 35th, while Pendrith carded a 4-under 68 and finished in a tie for 58^th.

Toronto’s Albin Choi and Matt Hill of Brightgrove, Ont. withdrew after Rd. 3.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Michael Putnam birdied five of the first eight holes Friday and finished with a 7-under 64 to take the lead in the PGA Tour’s OHL Classic.

Putnam had a 12-under 130 total, playing the first 36 holes without a bogey on Mayakoba’s El Camaleon course. He won the Web.com Tour’s 2013 Mexico Championship.

“I’ve kept the ball in play really well,” Putnam said. “It’s a tight golf course and got to keep it between the trees. After that, I’ve hit a lot of greens and made a lot of two putts. I did make about a 10-footer for par on 16 – probably the hardest hole on the course. Other than that, it was a pretty easy bogey-free round.”

Winless in 95 career PGA Tour starts, the 31-year-old former Pepperdine player birdied the par-4 18th to close his morning round.

“It’s a hard hole today,” Putnam said. “Driver, 6-iron into the wind and an 18-foot putt.”

Shawn Stefani and Jason Bohn were a stroke back. They each shot 65.

Stefani had seven birdies and a bogey.

“I’ve been hitting the ball really well for quite some time now,” Stefani said. “The last few days really has been credit to my putter. I kind of figured something out on Wednesday and just kind of focused on that.”

Bohn had six birdies in his second straight bogey-free round.

“It’s about positioning yourself in the middle of the fairway or right side of the fairway and trying to attack some of these flags,” Bohn said. “One of my strengths is just getting the ball in play. If I can get my putter hot, we’ll see what happens.”

Ken Duke was 10 under after a 63, the best round of the day.

David Hearn, Nicholas Thompson, Will MacKenzie and Alex Cejka were 9 under. Hearn and Thompson shot 65, Cejka had a 67, and MacKenzie a 68.

Fred Funk, the oldest player in the field at 58, was 8 under after a 65. He won the 2007 event at 50 years, 8 months, 12 days to become the fifth-oldest PGA Tour winner.

Oscar Fraustro topped the seven Mexican players in the field, shooting a 67 to reach 7 under.

“I’m happy with my round today again, very good score again,” Fraustro said through a translator. “It could have been better, but I had better control of my game.”

Countryman Carlos Ortiz was another stroke back, overcoming an early double bogey for a 69. He won three times on the Web.com Tour last season.

“I’m proud of myself,” Ortiz said. “I got it back and finished under par. I’m still in the tournament.”

Defending champion Harris English was 4 under after a 71.

Canada’s Roger Sloan is tied for 46th at 4-under, while Nick Talyor is 58th.

Adam Hadwin and Mike Weir failed to advance to weekend action.

The tournament is the final regular-season event of the year.

Federal Way, Wash. – Four British Columbia natives have been awarded 2014 Players of the Year awards from the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA).

Adam Svensson of Surrey, Kevin Carrigan of Victoria, Christina Proteau of Port Alberni and Naomi Ko of Victoria all received awards in their respective fields.

Svensson, who won the award in the Men’s category, put together an impressive and consistent championship record in 2014. As a junior at Barry University in Florida, Svensson won seven of the 12 NCAA Division II events he competed in, a record that earned him the Jack Nicklaus Award for best Division II golfer in the nation. He finished T8 in the Canadian Amateur Championship, and T4 in the BC Amateur Championship. Svensson competed in the World Amateur Team Championships, where he took 7th place individually, and 2nd in the team competition.

Carrigan, who won the Men’s Mid-Amateur category, captured the honour for the third consecutive year.  Carrigan had several top finishes in big events in 2014. He placed T6 in the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship, T7 in the BC Amateur Championship, and T10 in the Sahalee Players Championship. Carrigan also finished T43 in the Canadian Amateur Championship.

Proteau, who also received her third consecutive PNGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year honour, had a great season including a third straight run as champion of the Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur. Proteau was the BC Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, finished T4 in the BC Women’s Amateur Championship, and T49 in the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship. Proteau made an incredible run in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, finishing as a quarterfinalist. Locally, Proteau took third place in the Washington State Women’s Amateur Championship.

Ko, who won the award for her exceptional play in the Junior Girls’ division, capped her remarkable year with a win at the BC Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship. She compiled top finishes in many events, including a fourth-place finish at the BC Women’s Amateur Championship, fourth in the Canadian Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship, runner-up in the AJGA St. Louis, and 13th in the AJGA Junior Girls’ Championship.

Also winning awards this year were Gigi Stoll of Beaverton, Ore. in the Women’s category; Kevin Carrigan of Victoria, B.C. in the Men’s Mid-Amateur category; Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash. in the Senior Men’s category.

The PNGA Player of the Year candidates are nominated by the various state and provincial golf associations that comprise the PNGA (Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington), and are selected by a vote of the PNGA Championship Committee and members of the Northwest Golf Media Association. Awards are given annually in eight different categories: Men’s, Women’s, Senior Men’s, Senior Women’s, Junior Boys’, Junior Girls’, Men’s Mid-Amateur and Women’s Mid-Amateur. The awards are officially presented at the PNGA Annual Meeting in the spring.

BELFOR has announced that it will once again partner with PGA Tour rookie Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C.

BELFOR first partnered with the 2014 Web.com money list winner in 2009 when Hadwin was making the jump from amateur to professional.

Hadwin had a stellar 2014 campaign, capturing wins at the Web.com Tour’s Chile Classic and Chiquita Classic and securing full status on the PGA Tour for the 2014/2015 season. With four events already under his belt, Hadwin is making the most of his rookie season on the PGA Tour, having placed in the top-10 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas last month.

The financial burden of playing professional golf for a living often becomes a distraction for young golfers, as expenses for travel and tournament entry fees tend to outweigh what players earn from week to week. BELFOR’s support helped eliminate this distraction for Hadwin when he began his professional career.

“When BELFOR stepped up to support me in 2009, I was able to play with a level of security and confidence, knowing that I had the financial support I needed to go out and focus on winning at the professional level, a luxury most young pros do not have,” said Hadwin. “For this reason, I consider BELFOR a special part of my team and a major contributor to my success thus far. I can’t thank Sheldon, Will and the entire BELFOR team enough for the faith they put in me and I’m thrilled that they will be joining me on the PGA Tour.”

The renewed partnership, now in its sixth year, will continue to see the BELFOR logo positioned on Hadwin’s chest.

“Adam is a very driven, determined and talented young man who represents many of the core values that we represent corporately and individually,” said Will Cook, President of BELFOR Canada. “We are so incredibly proud of everything he has accomplished in his still very young career, and are equally proud to be associated with him professionally and personally. He represents the future of Canadian golf, and that future is very bright with Adam leading the charge.”

BELEK, Turkey — Ian Poulter picked up five shots through 14 holes of the second round to move into the lead of the Turkish Airlines Open before play was halted Friday because of the weather.

The Englishman holed a 40-foot putt for birdie on the 11th hole to take the lead in the third of the European Tour’s Final Four Series. Poulter is at 13 under, three ahead of Brendon De Jonge.

“In the time we were out there before the stoppage I played nicely and continued to hole some good putts,” Poulter said. “With the wind starting to blow really hard it was getting on near impossible out there, so it was the right decision to halt play.”

Play at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal course was stopped just after noon and was abandoned for the day at 2:30 p.m. with the continuing threat of thunderstorms.

On the course, defending champion Victor Dubuisson had to have medical treatment for a nose bleed believed to have been brought on by allergies.

“It’s not good and I didn’t feel well at all,” said the Frenchman, who was a rookie on this year’s winning Ryder Cup team.

Dubuisson shot a 77 in the first round and had six birdies and three bogeys on Friday to move to 2 over after 13 holes.

Miguel Angel Jimenez, the leader after the first round, dropped two shots through 14 holes to fall back into a share for fifth at 8 under.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Daniel Berger had five birdies in a seven-hole stretch Thursday for a share of the lead in the OHL Classic.

Making his sixth PGA Tour start, Berger birdied Nos. 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 and finished with two pars to match Will MacKenzie, Robert Garrigus, Steve Wheatcroft, Hudson Swafford and Tony Finau at 6-under 65 on Mayakoba’s El Camaleon course.

“This is what we work so hard for, so it’s great to get off to a good start, but got to keep it going,” said Berger, the 21-year-old Florida State player who earned a PGA Tour card last season on the Web.com Tour.

The six-player tie is the largest after 18 holes since six players also topped the leaderboard in the 2013 St. Jude Classic.

The Greg Norman-designed course requires accuracy off the tee.

“I think I hit maybe two drivers all day,” Berger said. “It’s just kind of one of those courses where you’ve got to hit the fairway. Super tight off the tee, so just put it in play and you’ve got some birdie opportunities.”

The long-hitting Finau hit driver only once.

“I’m still able to use my length by hitting 3-woods and 2-irons and moving it up the fairway still where most guys would have to hit driver,” Finau said. “I definitely wasn’t able to use my driver length, but I still use my length off the tee.”

Fifty-year-old Davis Love III was at 66 in a group that included Aaron Baddeley, Charley Hoffman and Pat Perez.

“I made some putts when I had to,” Love said. “I had four birdies in five holes in a little spurt in the middle of the round, and put the ball in play. I think that’s what you have to do here. You have to keep it in the fairway and you have to putt well.”

Defending champion Harris English closed with a three-putt bogey for a 67.

“It hurt on the last hole, three-putting, but I’m still going to take a lot of positives out of today,” English said.

Carlos Ortiz topped the seven Mexican players in the field at 67. He won three times on the Web.com Tour last season.

“I started a little bit nervous with all the people who were watching, family, friends,” Ortiz aid. “But I had a very good beginning on the first hole with a birdie and then I birdied 3, 4, 5. It helped me a lot to get relaxed.”

Canada’s Nick Taylor, the Sanderson Farms Championship winner Sunday in Mississippi, had a 71.

The tournament is the final regular-season event of the year.

MEXICO CITY — Christina Kim had two eagles in a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead Thursday in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

Kim eagled the par-5 second and 17th holes at tree-lined Club de Golf Mexico, the first-year venue after six seasons in host Lorena Ochoa’s hometown of Guadalajara.

The 30-year-old Kim also birdied Nos. 4, 7 and 16 in her bogey-free round. She won the last of her two LPGA Tour titles in 2005.

Spain’s Azahara Munoz was second. She eagled No. 17 to tie for the lead and dropped back with a bogey on the par-4 18th.

Third-ranked Lydia Ko birdied the final two holes for a 68. The 17-year-old New Zealander has two victories this year.

Lizette Salas, Gerina Piller and Pornanong Phatlum shot 69. Top-ranked Inbee Park and Lexi Thompson, the winner last year at Guadalajara Country Club, were in the group at 70.

Michelle Wie bogeyed three of the first seven holes in a 73. She won the 2009 event for her first LPGA Tour victory.

Second-ranked Stacy Lewis had a 76, leaving her tied for 31st in the 36-player field.

Ted Brown moved seven spots up the leaderboard at Web.com 2^nd stage qualifier into a three-way tie for fifth by carding an even par 72 at Deerwood Golf Club in Kingwood, Tex. on Thursday.

On a day when the average score from the field was well above par, the Peterborough, Ont. native was able to play steady golf, staying at even par for the tournament thanks to an eagle on the tough 7th hole.

Devin Carrey of Burnaby, B.C., Albin Choi of Toronto, and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., who all came into Thursday’s round within a couple strokes of Brown, succumbed to the tough conditions during Rd. 3 and posted uncharacteristic scores.

Carrey fell 19 spots to into a tie for 34^th place, after shooting a 7-over par 79, while Choi dropped into a tie for 41st with an 80. Hughes recorded a 79 on Thursday and is also in 41^st place, tied with Choi.

At the qualifier in McKinney, Tex., Cam Burke was the only Canadian to shoot under par, carding a 1-under 71 at TPC Craig Ranch.

A native of New Hamburg, Ont., Burke moved up 12 spots in his field into a four-way tie for 21^st spot with countryman Beon Yeong Lee.

Montreal’s Lee, who became a Canadian citizen in 2013, shot a 1-over par 73 in Rd. 3, yet moved up two places in the standings.

Justin Shin of Maple Ridge, B.C. and Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont. also struggled to execute Thursday. Shin, who began the day tied for 33^rd with Burke, dropped seven spots into 40^th after a 3-over par 75, while Pendrith shot an 80 to finish the day in a tie for 67^th place.

Across the country at Southern Hills Plantation in Brooksville, Fla., where playing conditions were more conducive to lower scoring, four of the five Canadians competing carded under par rounds.

Wilson Bateman of Edmonton shot a 1-under par 71 and finished the day in a 10-way tie for 26^th place at -5.

Michel Gligic, a native of Burlington, Ont., redeemed his 75 from Rd. 2 with a 3-under par 69, improving 11 spots to sit T36.

Christian Westhorpe, who began the day atop the leaderboard in 8^th place, made four bogeys and a double in Rd. 3 en route to a 4-over par 76. He is currently tied for the 41^st spot.

Two spots behind Westhorpe is Matt Hill of Brights Grove, Ont., who improved four spots with a 1-under par round of 71.

Christopher Ross (T51) of Dundas, Ont. brought himself closer to contention with a 4-under par 68, but will need to finish strong to advance into next month’s final qualifying.

For complete results of all three tournaments, click here.

BELEK, Turkey – Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez shot a 9-under 63 Thursday for a one-stroke lead on the opening day of the Turkish Airlines Open.

The 50-year-old Jimenez eagled his opening hole and had seven birdies in an 11-hole stretch starting on the fourth. He was one shot off the record at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal course.

England’s Ian Poulter also recorded an eagle and seven birdies, but a bogey left him one shot off the lead.

Australia’s Wade Ormsby, England’s Tyrrell Hatton and South Africa’s Brendon De Jonge were at 7 under.

John Daly shot a 69 and Colin Montgomerie, celebrating his 600th European Tour event, had a 76.

Eleven months ago, Jimenez broke his own record for oldest winner on the European Tour when he defended his Hong Kong Open title at age 49 years, 337 days.

“To shoot nine-under par on this course in only first round, it’s a good start,” he said. “I was six-under par after seven holes and playing very well, and you just try to enjoy yourself. So this is a special round because I’ve been struggling a little bit the last few months. But when you shoot under par, you feel very good.”

Poulter was pleased with his effort after coming close to falling outside the top 50 in the rankings.

“I decided to switch back to my old putter late last week that has a softer insert and it felt really good on these quick greens,” he said. “So the old putter is back in the bag.”