HOUSTON — Hinako Shibuno can do without the “Cinderella” nickname, just not the smile. That was bright as ever Friday as the Japanese star posted a 4-under 67 and opened a three-shot lead going into the weekend of the U.S. Women’s Open.

Shibuno’s lone mistake on a damp, soft day at Champions Golf Club was a three-putt bogey on the par-3 16th at the Jackrabbit course. Her objective was to avoid dropping more shots by being overly aggressive. She wound up with a 10-foot birdie putt to restore her lead over Arizona State sophomore Linn Grant of Sweden.

Shibuno rose to sudden fame in the summer of 2019 when she won the Women’s British Open at Woburn, the first major for the 22-year-old and her first time playing outside Japan. She was called the “Smiling Cinderella,” a reference to her surprise performance and an engaging smile.

“No pressure whatsoever,” Shibuno said. ”I’m playing a major in the United States, unlike when I was at the British Open, where I feel like I am starting from scratch.“

She looked the part of a major champion at the U.S. Women’s Open, where the forecast of rain and strong wind never quite materialized. The rain was light and occasional. The wind was little more than a rumour.

Grant made her U.S. Women’s Open debut two years ago as an 18-year-old at Shoal Creek and was tied for fourth going into the weekend until closing with rounds of 78-81.

She had a 69 at Jackrabbit and will be in the final group Saturday. They will be joined by another amateur, Texas senior Kaitlyn Papp, who had a 68 at Cypress Creek and was four shots behind.

The USGA used two courses for the first time because the pandemic forced the Women’s Open to be postponed six months to December with limited daylight. The final two rounds will be at Cypress Creek, the course that previously hosted a Ryder Cup, U.S. Open and the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour.

Six amateurs made the cut, which was at 3-over 145.

Shibuno was at 7-under 135, and only 12 players were within five shots of the lead.

Amy Olson, the 18-hole leader, had to birdie her final hole for a 72. She was in the group with Papp and Megan Khang (69) at 3-under 139.

The group five shots behind included former Women’s Open champion Ariya Jutanugarn and her sister, Moriya, Champions Golf Club member Stacy Lewis and Cristie Kerr, who dislocated a couple of ribs in a cart accident one week ago and wasn’t even sure she could play until the Open began.

Kerr played bogey-free at Jackrabbit and shot 69, and the 43-year-old former Open champion says the injury at least has tempered her expectation.

“I’ve definitely missed shots I would normally not miss because I’m in pain, but it’s actually kind of a nice mental place to be. I’m not happy how I got here, but maybe it’s meant to teach me a lesson, I don’t know.”

Even winning a major championship last year wasn’t enough for Shibuno to take up LPGA Tour membership. She felt she was too young, too inexperienced, and needed more work on the Japan LPGA.

The plan was to wait until the end of the year and go through the LPGA’s version of qualifying school. That was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The only path now is to win the Open.

Asked if she would join the LPGA this time, Shibuno smiled — of course — and said, “By all means, yes.”

She also had to contend with instant fame in Japan, where women’s golf often gets higher TV ratings than the men.

“I turned from a normal person to a celebrity overnight, and I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel like I’m acting a good person,” she said through a translator. “In Japan, even though I was wearing a mask, people recognized me. Of course, that’s the purpose of playing golf professionally. But it’s more difficult for me to go out to dinner than before.”

Papp already has one USGA title to her name when she teamed with Texas teammate Hailee Cooper to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball in 2016. She is a three-time All-American for the Longhorns, and assistant coach Kate Golden is on her bag for the week. She finished with two birdies, chipping in on No. 17 at Cypress Creek.

“A good confidence booster going into the weekend,” she said.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., shot 2-over 73 on Friday, meeting the cut line at 3 over going into Saturday’s game. One shot behind was Hamilton’s Alena Sharp, who narrowly missed the cut and will not be playing the weekend.

Jin Young Ko, the No. 1 player in the world, had a 70 and made the cut with two shots to spare, leaving her eight shots behind. Women’s PGA champion Sei Young Kim had a 69 and was six shots behind.

Nelly Korda, the No. 3 player in the world who hasn’t competed in two months because of back pain, was among those who missed the cut. That list included Lexi Thompson and Mirim Lee, who won the ANA Inspiration in September.

HOUSTON — Winning once felt easy to Amy Olson.

She captured the U.S. Junior Girls her second time playing the tournament, won a record 20 times while at North Dakota State and went 4-1 in her lone Curtis Cup appearance.

In seven years on the LPGA Tour, however, she’s still looking for that first title.

“Coming out here, I expected to win really early. It always kind of came easy to me in college,” Olson said. “It’s not easy to win out here. You have to put four really good days together.”

She got one out of the way Thursday in the U.S. Women’s Open.

Olson got back to under par with one swing, an 8-iron for a hole-in-one on her seventh hole, the 16th at Cypress Creek, and kept right on going until she had a 4-under 67 and a one-shot lead at Champions Golf Club.

She also had the 18-hole lead at Royal Troon in the Women’s British Open before following that with an 81. Olson was one hole away from winning the Evian Championship two years ago until a double bogey on the final hole.

“It has been, I think, a test of my patience,” Olson said.

And even on a perfect day for scoring, it was clear this Women’s Open would be a stern test.

Olson was among only 11 players who broke 70 on the Cypress Creek and Jackrabbit courses. For the first time, two courses are being used for the opening rounds because of the limited daylight by postponing the premier event in women’s golf to December.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is the top Canadian after firing a 1-over 72 on the Jackrabbit course, while Hamilton’s Alena Sharp opened with a 4-over 75 at Cypress Creek.

Out of 156 players, only 36 were at par or better.

“We had absolutely perfect weather today and 4 under is leading,” Champions member Stacy Lewis said after a 72. “I don’t think scores are going anywhere.”

Moriya Jutanugarn managed to keep bogeys off her card on the Jackrabbit course for a 68, leaving her tied with former Women’s British Open champion Hinako Shibuno (Cypress Creek) and A Lim Kim (Jackrabbit).

Sophia Popov was among the group at 69. She figured it would be a long shot to be in the U.S. Women’s Open this year when the USGA had to scrap qualifying because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And then when golf resumed, Popov earned a spot in the Women’s British Open and won at Royal Troon.

And now she’s already in the mix at the U.S. Women’s Open, along with so many others. Asked if she had come down from the cloud of her surprise major victory, Popov smiled and said, “Am I down yet?”

“I’m trying not to come down off of it. I quite like it,” she said. “But yeah, I think it took me a couple weeks, but after that it was back to reality. You’ve got to grind, you’ve got to practice, you’ve got to do everything the same way you did before, just now you have a lot more events to play and better events to play.”

None of the top five in the world ranking broke par. Jin Young Ko opened with a 73, while Sei Young Kim had a 72 in what could be a battle for No. 1 this week. Nelly Korda, playing for the first time in two months because of back pain, had only one birdie in her round of 73. Danielle Kang didn’t make any birdies and shot 72.

The starting times for the second round were moved up a little more than an hour because or rain and wind in the forecast, which figures to make the courses even tougher.

For one round, the Jackrabbit course was a bout a stroke easier. Cypress Creek will be used on the weekend.

Most enjoyable for Olson was watching her 8-iron in flight on the par-3 16h hole and tracking it all the way into the hole, her second ace in competition on the LPGA Tour. She had a big crew of family and friends from North Dakota for her previous hole-in-one. She had only a few marshals, two other players and caddies, and a few people from a backyard to provide the cheers on Thursday.

“I had 141 to the flag and the pin was on the right side of the green with the wind kind of coming from from the right,” she said. “So I hit a fade to try to hold the wind, and it landed two paces short of the flag, had some good spin on it and just trickled in. We saw the whole thing, which was fun.”

Megan Khang was the only player to reach 5 under on the day until dropping a few shots on the back nine at Jackrabbit and finishing with a double bogey on the 18th hole when she flubbed a pitch that came back down to her feet. That dropped her to a 70.

Brittany Lincicome, a two-time ANA Inspiration winner, suffered the same fate. She was bogey-free when she missed the green to the left on No. 18 at Jackrabbit. Her pitch was weak and back down the slope, and her next pitch was too strong. She made double bogey and shot 70.

“The U.S. Open you can just lose your concentration for two seconds and then make a double within like two seconds,” Lincicome said. “Super bummed to finish that way. … Under par at the U.S. Open is really good, so can’t complain, but obviously that last hole is going to hurt.”

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced that the field for the 75th U.S. Women’s Open Championship is complete with the addition of 28 players who earned their way into the championship through the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. The final major championship of the 2020 golf season will be contested Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. The 156-player field for the championship is composed entirely of exempt players due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The historic 75th anniversary field boasts nine U.S. Women’s Open champions, while 42 players will be making their championship debuts in Houston. The field will also have seven Texas residents, including 2016 champion Brittany Lang, who grew up in McKinney.

The 28 players who gained entry via the Rolex Rankings are: Hae Ran Ryu, Sophia Popov, Ayaka Furue, Yuka Saso, Sakura Koiwai, Na Rin An, Song Yi Ahn, Erika Hara, Yuna Nishimura, Ji Hyun Kim, Anne van Dam, Alena Sharp, Lala Anai, Eri Okayama, Cristie Kerr, Pornanong Phatlum, Jun Min Lee, Ji Hun Oh, Emily Kirstine Pedersen, Mi Jeong Jeon, Maria Fernanda Torres, Bo Ah Kim, Teresa Lu, Wei-Ling Hsu, Ye Rim Choi, Asuka Kashiwabara, Sarah Schmelzel, and So Yi Kim.

?? tee times at the #USWomensOpen @BrookeHenderson – 10:37 a.m.@AlenaSharp – 11:21 a.m. pic.twitter.com/W24r2fgbJl

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) December 9, 2020

Hae Ran Ryu won the Jeju Samdasoo Masters in 2019 to earn her LPGA of Korea Tour card and successfully defended her title in August. The 19-year-old also has two runner-up finishes among her six top-10s this year. She will be making her U.S. Women’s Open debut.

Popov will be making her second U.S. Women’s Open start. Since turning professional in 2014, Popov has mainly played on the Symetra Tour, but she earned three tournament wins on the Cactus Tour during the COVID-19 break before earning her first major victory at the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Troon in August.

Kerr is one of the nine U.S. Women’s Open champions set to compete in Houston. The seasoned veteran earned her first major title in the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, finishing two strokes ahead of the runners-up. Kerr has 20 LPGA Tour wins, including a second major championship title at the Women’s PGA Championship in 2010. This is Kerr’s 22nd straight Women’s Open appearance, with seven top-10 finishes in addition to her victory.

The USGA announced on April 3 that the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, initially scheduled for June 4-7, would be moved to Dec. 10-13. To account for reduced daylight, the Jackrabbit Course at Champions Golf Club will be used in Rounds 1 and 2 along with the Cypress Creek Course, which was originally slated to host all four rounds of championship play. In June, the USGA announced that the championship would be conducted without traditional qualifying and on Oct. 21, the USGA announced that the championship would not have fans on-site due to health and safety concerns resulting from the ongoing pandemic.

Considered the world’s premier women’s golf championship, the U.S. Women’s Open is one of 14 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. The championship began in 1946 and its winners include Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright, Hollis Stacy, Amy Alcott, Meg Mallon, Annika Sorenstam, Se Ri Pak, Juli Inkster, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer, Inbee Park and Michelle Wie.

Click here for the full field.

CALGARY—Canadians from coast-to-coast have chipped in to help the Shaw Charity Classic raise $12,572,483 for more than 200 youth-based charities across Alberta.

Nearly 3,000 generous and compassionate donors from British Columbia to Prince Edward Island built on the PGA TOUR Champions event’s legacy of giving – despite our inability to welcome the golfers and fans this year in Calgary due to COVID-19 restrictions – through the Shaw Birdies for Kids presented by AltaLink program.

“While we always look forward to gathering at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club each summer to watch spectacular golf by many of the game’s greatest players, what makes the event truly special is the unwavering commitment of the generous donors across the country who show up every year to support the charitable groups that are making our communities better places to live,” said Jim Riddell, Chair of the Shaw Charity Classic’s seven-member Patron Group, who together supported Calgary’s pandemic relief efforts in April with a $100,000 donation to four-local charities.

“We are humbled and touched by everything that has been accomplished, thanks to thousands of Canadians who have rallied together in a time of crisis to support hundreds of charities through this much-needed fundraising platform.”

The Shaw Charity Classic has been a game-changer for Alberta’s children’s charities since 2013, annually setting new records for the largest charitable give on the PGA TOUR Champions.

When Tournament Officials were forced to cancel the 2020 edition of the event in June as a result of COVID-19, they promised the Shaw Birdies for Kids presented by AltaLink program would continue.

The tournament’s title sponsor, Shaw Communications, along with the Shaw Family were first to step up in the annual fundraising drive with a commitment to match up to $2 million in community donations. Their leadership sparked a flood of donations throughout the summer months, resulting in the second-highest tally in the eight-year history of the event. The 2020 contributions bring the grand total impact of the Shaw Charity Classic on children’s charities in Alberta to more than $61 million.

“Beyond the legendary golf and the electric energy of the crowds that line the fairways, supporting the charities that work tirelessly to help improve the lives of Alberta’s youth and their families has always been at the heart of the Shaw Charity Classic,” said Brad Shaw, Executive Chair & CEO, Shaw Communications. “In a year that can only be described as challenging, it is inspiring and humbling to see how people have once again rallied together to support the charities that make such a difference.”

The Shaw Birdies for Kids presented by AltaLink program ramped up the tournament’s charitable giving arm when it was created in 2015. The program was designed to be integrated into charities’ existing fundraising efforts to help generate new funds in communities across the country. Each of the participating charities connected to the Shaw Charity Classic receive 100 per cent of all donations collected on their behalf, plus up to 50 per cent in matched funding provided by the Shaw Charity Classic.

Funds raised have helped deliver a positive impact for children in the areas of health, food support, family support, development and counselling, sports, arts, and youth programming during the pandemic. 

“We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of Albertans in supporting hundreds of children’s charities throughout our province since we helped launch the Birdies for Kids program,” said Scott Thon, AltaLink President & CEO. “Charities in our province need us now, more than ever, to stay operational. They are all experiencing increased pressure to ensure the health, safety and well-being of the families in our communities during this unprecedented time. We are proud to play an important role in helping make a positive difference in the lives of Alberta’s youth.”

The 2021 instalment of the Shaw Charity Classic is scheduled to take place August 11-15, at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club in Calgary.

SUN CITY, South Africa — Christiaan Bezuidenhout won a second straight tournament on the European Tour when he finished with a 69 for 18 under par overall and a convincing five-shot victory at the South African Open on Sunday.

The 26-year-old South African became the first player since Justin Rose in 2017 to win European Tour events on consecutive weeks. Bezuidenhout won the Alfred Dunhill Championship, also in South Africa, last weekend and now has three career tour titles.

Bezuidenhout took a five-shot lead into the final round at Gary Player Country Club at the Sun City resort and maintained that advantage over Jamie Donaldson of Wales, who also closed with a 69. Dylan Frittelli of South Africa (71) was third on 11 under.

Canadian Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., was in the hunt after firing a 68 on Friday, but shot 72 on Saturday and followed that up with Sunday’s 74 to tie for 18th at 3 under.

After starting with a run of pars, Bezuidenhout made bogey at No. 8. But he recovered with three straight birdies after the turn and had four birdies in all on the back nine to consolidate his lead.

“It’s any South African golfer’s dream to win his national open,” Bezuidenhout said. “It’s unreal.”

His story is something of an inspiration after he nearly died as a child because of an accidental poisoning. That incident led him to be prescribed medication to help with anxiety and a stutter but the medication resulted in a doping ban when he was an amateur. The two-year ban in 2014 was later reduced to nine months.

Sunday’s victory took Bezuidenhout up to fifth in the Race to Dubai money list rankings ahead of the season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai starting on Thursday. Patrick Reed of the United States leads the season standings ahead of Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa, Lee Westwood and Bezuidenhout.

THE COLONY, Texas — Angela Stanford won her home LPGA Tour event in front of her parents, closing with a 4-under 67 for a two-stroke victory Sunday in the Volunteers of America Classic.

“I just haven’t had many chances to win in front of them. So to finally do it, it’s so cool,” Stanford said. “I couldn’t even look over at my mom coming up 18 because I was starting to get teary eyed. I’m like, `Just don’t look over there, don’t look over there.’ I would have lost it.”

The 43-year-old former TCU star from Fort Worth won her seventh LPGA Tour title and first since the major Evian Championship in 2018. She finished at 7-under 277 at Old American Golf Club in the event that started in bone-chilling cold Thursday.

“It was windy, it was cold, and I think growing up in Texas you have to play in a little bit of cold in the off-season,” Stanford said. “The course played really tough, but it just felt like Texas this week, so I was really comfortable out there.”

Inbee Park, So Yeon Ryu and 19-year-old Yealimi Noh, tied for the third-round lead, each shot 70 to tie for second in the final tuneup before the U.S. Women’s Open next week at Champions Golf Club in Houston.

Stanford pulled away with birdies on Nos. 13, 14, 16 and 17, and closed with a bogey.

“I really think it boils down to passion,” Stanford said. “I just love trying to get better. I think if you love what you’re doing and you love your process and you just are loving getting better, then you have to keep going.”

Ryu was making her first U.S. start since last year.

“I was quite nervous coming back, even though I played a few good events in Korea,” Ryu said. “It was really great to be in contention.”

Top-ranked Jin Young Ko was fifth at 4 under after a 70 in her second LPGA Tour start of the year.

“I’m looking for next week,” Ko said. “I have confidence from this week for next week, so I’m really excited.”

Anna Nordqvist (70) and Charley Hull (71) were 3 under.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Viktor Hovland of Norway holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Sunday for a 6-under 65 and a one-shot victory in the Mayakoba Golf Classic, his second PGA Tour victory this year.

It was the first time since the Mayakoba Classic began in 2007 that it was won with a birdie putt on the final hole. For the 23-year-old Hovland, it’s old hat. He made a 30-foot birdie putt on the last hole to win the Puerto Rico Open in February.

Aaron Wise closed with a 63 and did everything right over the last two holes except make the birdie putts. Tied for the lead, he missed birdie putts from 12 feet on each of the last two holes at El Camaleon Golf Club.

Corey Connors of Listowel, Ont., was the sole Canadian to play the final round, and shot 66 to finish tied for 17th at 13 under.

Hovland had four birdies in the opening six holes and built a two-shot lead going into the back nine on a course softened by rain that caused a two-hour delay in the morning.

But he made bogey on the 12th hole, and that seemed to create chances for a half-dozen players separated by one shot along the back nine.

Hovland responded with birdies on the next two holes, and he appeared to be in control with a tee shot to 4 feet on the par-3 15th. But he hit a tentative putt to remain tied with Wise, and Hovland thought he was in big trouble when his long iron on the 515-yard 16th hole sailed hard to the right toward the mangrove trees.

It came down in the waste area a few feet from the hazard, and he hit a splendid sand shot to 4 feet to save par.

Hovland, starting his second season on the PGA Tour after a stellar college career at Oklahoma State, finished at 20-under 264 and moved to No. 15 in the world.

That makes three players in the top 15 who were still in college a year ago in May. The others are PGA champion Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff, a teammate of Hovland’s at Oklahoma State.

Adam Long (67) and Tom Hoge (69) tied for third at 17-under 267. Hoge holed a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 15th hole to get within one shot, but he three-putted from some 70 feet on the tough 16th to fall back. Long lost hope when he sent his tee shot into the vegetation on the 17th hole and took bogey.

Emiliano Grillo, who led after the second and third rounds, closed with a 72 and tied for eighth, five shots behind. Justin Thomas got back to the fringe of contention with a 62 on Saturday, and the world’s No. 3 player followed that with a 69, making double bogey on No. 10 to end his chances.

This was the final PGA Tour event of the year, one last chance for players who either qualify for the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua or lock up a spot in the Masters next year. Neither was an issue for Hovland, who qualified for Maui with his win in Puerto Rico and was set for Augusta National by reaching the Tour Championship his rookie season.

Austin Eckroat of Oklahoma State had a 67-65 weekend and tied for 12th.

THE COLONY, Texas — Yealimi Noh closed with a double bogey Saturday in the Volunteers of America Classic, dropping the 19-year-old American into a tie with major champions Inbee Park and So Yeon Ryu with a round left.

Two strokes ahead after a birdie on the par-5 17th, Noh took two shots to get out of the right fairway bunker on the par-4 18th and missed a 3-foot bogey putt. She settled for an even-par 71 and a share of the lead with the South Korean stars at 4-under 209 at at Old American Golf Club.

“As soon as I finish, I wanted to see the leaderboard and to see that I’m playing with those two tomorrow,” said Noh, the 2018 U.S. Girls’ Junior winner. “I’m really, really excited. Actually in the beginning of the week I was talking to my parents about Inbee and So Yeon and how I really wanted to play with them and see just how good they are and be light there next to them. So I’m excited for tomorrow.”

Ryu birdied five of the first eight holes in a bogey-free 65, the best round of the event that start Thursday in freezing temperatures. Preparing for the U.S. Women’s Open next week at Champions Golf Club in Houston, she’s playing her first U.S. event on the LPGA Tour since the season-ending tournament last year.

“I have no complaints about my ball-striking today,” Ryu said. “I hit 17 greens, I believe, and then I made so many birdie chances. I wish I could have made more putts on the back nine.”

Park, the tournament winner in 2013 at Las Colinas Country Club and 2018 at Old American, shot a 69.

“We took about seven weeks of break after KPMG and coming back here first week just preparing for the U.S. Women’s Open, so I’m really happy with my game,” Park said. “I was probably thinking that I am going to be a little bit rusty and just trying to get things going before the Open, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

The Hall of Famer has a big fan in Noh.

“I think Inbee is so incredible,” Noh said. “Her putting especially is so amazing. I really want to see it first-hand tomorrow.”

Top-ranked Jin Young Ko (70) was a stroke back with Jessica Korda (72), Charley Hull (68), Kristen Gillman (66), Nasa Hataoka (69), Angela Stanford (70) and Pornanong Phatlum (71).

Ko is making her second LPGA Tour start of the year. She tied for 34th two weeks ago in Florida in the Pelican Women’s Championship.

Anna Nordqvist (73) and Madelene Sagstrom (71) were 2 under.

Jeongeun Lee, the defending Women’s Open champion, was 1 over after a 66

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Emiliano Grillo steadied himself with a pair of birdies over the last six holes Saturday for a 3-under 68, giving the Argentine a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Mayakoba Classic.

Tom Hoge, without a win in his PGA Tour career, birdied four of the last five holes at El Camaleon Golf Club for a 65 to get within one shot of the lead.

Corey Conners, a native of Listowel, Ont., is currently tied for 20th place after shooting a 3-under 68 Saturday. He is the lone Canadian in the field after Michael Gligic, Drew Nesbitt, Roger Sloan and Adam Hadwin all missed the cut.

After two days of rain, the course was soft and susceptible to low scores and quick movements, and there were plenty of both. Players were allowed to clean and place their golf balls in the fairway.

Adam Long ran off seven birdies on his opening nine holes before he slowed and had to settle for a 63. Justin Thomas, who started on the back nine, played bogey-free for a 62 to get back in the mix. He was four shots behind.

Tony Finau also got in on the action, but only briefly. Finau made a hole-in-one on the 103-yard fourth hole with a gap wedge. He followed with three more birdies on the front nine and got within one shot of Grillo at one point.

But he was wild with the driver, and it finally caught up with him. Finau bogeyed the 11th and 12th, and he failed to make birdie on the par-5 13th with an iron for his second shot. He had no birdies on the back nine, dropped another shot on the 18th and wound up with a 69, leaving him five shots behind.

Grillo was at 16-under 197.

His only victory was in the season-opening Safeway Open in 2015 in his debut as a PGA Tour rookie. He rallied that day at Silverado. Sunday will be the first time he takes a lead into the final round on the PGA Tour, but he should get some confidence from being at Mayakoba.

This was his 19th round at El Cameleon, all of them under par.

“Started in the lead, finished in the lead, that’s kind of the idea,” Grillo said. “Hopefully, one more of those.”

Even so, it figures to be a wild chase in the final official PGA Tour event of the year. Ten players were separated by five shots, and Saturday showed that ground can be made up quickly.

“Didn’t have it on the back nine for me. Luckily I’m still within reach,” Finau said. “A lot of guys scored today. Hopefully, I’m one of those guys tomorrow that takes it low. It’s going to take probably a low to mid-60s round for me tomorrow.”

Viktor Hovland, who won in Puerto Rico in one of the final events before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf for three months, put together a string of birdies of his own down the stretch for a 63 that left him alone in third, two shots behind.

Thomas didn’t feel as though he played that much differently from the second round, when he had a rough time on the greens in the afternoon and finished with two bogeys for a 67. He said he told his father it might have been the worst 67 ever shot.

“I felt like I could have shot 60, 61, 62 and shot that,” he said. “So I just really just tried to go out there and didn’t really have a game plan or mentality, just try to hit the fairways and, with the ball in hand, just attack and make a bunch of birdies. And we did.”

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., played 68 during Saturday’s round for 8-under 205. The sole Canadian in the field after Friday’s cut, Conners is tied for 20th place going into the final day of the tournament.

THE COLONY, Texas — Jessica Korda, Anna Nordqvist and 19-year-old Yealimi Noh share the second-round lead Friday in the LPGA Tour’s Volunteers of America Classic, the final tuneup before the U.S. Women’s Open next week at Champions Golf Club in Houston.

Korda shot her second straight 2-under 69. The five-time LPGA Tour winner played the first 12 holes in 4 under, then dropped a stroke on the par-5 13th and parred the final five.

Nordqvist had four birdies and closed with a bogey on the par-4 18th for a 68. Noh had the best round of the week with a 66. She had six birdies — four in a row on Nos. 17-2 — and a bogey.

At 4-under 138, the leading trio are one step ahead of Lindsey Weaver (68).

Among the five golfers at 2 under are Madelene Sagstrom (69), and Inbee Park (68), the tournament winner in 2013 and 2015.

Charley Hull (74) was leading after round one, but three bogeys and a double bogey on Friday caused her to slip fourteen spots.

Amateur Tillie Claggett, the sole Canadian player on the course, missed the +8 cut line for the weekend. The Volunteers of America Classic marks the first ever professional event for the high school junior.