CALENDON, Ont. – Paul Barjon proved Sunday why he’s been so tough to beat this year.

With his second victory of the season, Barjon sits on top of the Order of Merit with a focus on the Korn Ferry Tour that’s as sharp as his play was this week.

The native of Dumbea, New Caledonia shot a 5-under-par 67 Sunday at the Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates to win by three shots over Canadian Taylor Pendrith.

“I knew 25-under would have a pretty good chance out here and it worked out,” said Barjon. “My putting was good, everything, overall, was pretty solid. Nothing incredible, but nothing was poor either … just made the putts towards the end at the right moments.”

Barjon and Pendrith traded birdies on the par-5 No. 1 before Barjon flinched first, making a bogey on the par-3 No. 7. He bounced back with an eagle on the par-5 No. 8 and added another birdie on the par-4 No. 9. From there, Pendrith had to play catch up, despite being buoyed by the near-hometown crowds Sunday.

“It was awesome … all the support out here. A lot of my buddies, family and friends and a lot of local support too,” said Pendrith, who is from Richmond Hill, Ont., less than an hour from TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. “It was definitely a fun week and I played pretty good. I have to be happy.”

It wasn’t good enough to top Barjon this week, however. Barjon made three birdies in the last eight holes, combined with a handful of clutch par saves.

Pendrith made two birdies on Nos. 13 and 15 but made a costly bogey on the par-4 No. 17 after hitting his tee shot into the trees on the right side of the fairway. That was the difference, in the end.

“Honestly I played really well, I hit the ball great. I didn’t make a bogey until No. 17, which was kind of unfortunate, but it’s a hard hole. I thought I could miss the tree with my back swing but I kind of got it and didn’t hit it how I planned to and made an unfortunate bogey,” said Pendrith. “Overall I played really well, so I have to be happy with the result. It was pretty fun.”

Barjon had a two-shot lead heading into Sunday but he wasn’t resting on his laurels. He said he had some tension Saturday night and had trouble sleeping. He alluded to Greyson Sigg, who shot 59 in the final round of the GolfBC Championship as an example of how anyone can have a chance to win on the Mackenzie Tour.

“It was a little stressful, but you’re ahead. But I felt good. It was different than chasing someone,” said Barjon, who heaped the praise on Pendrith after Sunday at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley turned into a match-play scenario between the two.

“I’ve never played with him before but people told me ‘oh yeah, he hits it a mile.’ He does hit it far and he’s got great hands around the green. I was playing behind him yesterday and I was like, ‘this guy is scary. He can make a lot of birdies. But it was fun. We had a good match.”

With the runner-up finish, Taylor Pendrith wins his second Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week Award of the season.

Next week the Mackenzie Tour heads to Halifax, Nova Scotia for the inaugural HFX Pro-Am presented by Steele Jaguar.

Full results can be found here.

SILVIS, Ill. – While the rest of the leaders faltered, Dylan Frittelli surged to his first PGA Tour title.

Frittelli won the John Deere Classic on Sunday, closing with a 7-under 64 for a two-stroke victory over Russell Henley. The South African earned a spot next week in the British Open, finishing at 21-under 263 after the bogey-free final round at TPC Deere Run.

One of eight players within two strokes of the lead entering the lead, Frittelli was looking forward to the tournament’s charter flight to Royal Portrush.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a fun flight,” Frittelli said.

A two-time winner on the European Tour, Frittelli birdied the par-5 17th after blasting out of a greenside bunker to 11 feet, and closed with a par on the par-4 18th.

Frittelli had tied for 46th in each of his last two starts.

“I don’t want to say it was easy out there. It just felt a whole lot easier than it has been the last few weeks,” Frittelli said. “I calmed my nerves down.”

Henley shot a tournament-best 61. Andrew Landry, who opened Sunday in a two-way tie for the lead, was 18 under after a 69.

Rookie Collin Morikawa (66), the runner-up last week in Minnesota, and Chris Stroud (67) followed at 17 under. Morikawa hit all 18 greens in regulation.

Roger Sloan (69) of Merritt, B.C., was the low Canadian, tying for 10th at 15 under. Adam Svensson (68) of Surrey, B.C., tied for 18th at 13 under and Nick Taylor (71) of Abbotsford, B.C., tied for 33rd at 11 under.

Henley’s career-low effort included six birdies on the back nine, capped by one on No. 18 – the same hole he double-bogeyed Friday. Henley made six putts of at least 7 feet, including 26- and 46-footers.

“If you would have told me at the start of the day, ‘We’ll give you 66,’ I’d have said, ‘That’s pretty good.’ So to get five better than that is really awesome,” Henley said.

But Henley, who finished well before Fritteli hit the turn, could only watch from the clubhouse as Frittelli surpassed him and everyone else in the field.

Frittelli, who opened with rounds of 66, 68 and 65, started the final round with three straight birdies. He matched Henley with a chip-in on No. 10 and took the lead for good with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 11th hole.

Landry birdied No. 14 to pull within two shots. But Landry went with his putter 30 feet from the pin while off the green on the par-4 15th hole, and left his try short on his way to his third bogey of the day.

Moments later, Frittelli got out of a bunker by using the green’s downward slope to his advantage, where he made a birdie putt that effectively ended the drama in the Quad Cities.

“You can’t give up shots to the rest of the field,” Frittelli said. “When I saw the leaderboard, putting downhill, I thought, if I make this (I’ll get) a little bit of breathing room with Russell in the clubhouse already.”

Frittelli, who made the winning putt for the University of Texas in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, became the second player from that Longhorns team to win at TPC Deere Run. Jordan Spieth won in 2013 and 2015.

Full results can be found here.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Sei Young Kim won the Marathon Classic on Sunday for her second LPGA Tour victory of the season, making five straight birdies in a mid-round burst and shooting a 6-under 66 for a two-stroke victory over Lexi Thompson.

Brooke Henderson finished in a tie for 11th at 9 under for the tournament, while Alena Sharp finished in a tie for 46th at 4 under.

Kim began the birdie run on No. 7 and finished at a tournament-record 22-under 262 at Highland Meadows Golf Club. The 26-year-old South Korean player has nine tour titles, also winning the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship in May in California.

“I really wanted another win, especially this week, because the last two weeks I play really bad,” Ki said.

Thompson, a stroke behind Kim entering the day, closed birdie-eagle for a 66.

“She played some amazing golf,” Thompson said. “I didn’t have my best ball-striking day, but 5 under, finished well. She played amazing. It’s very well deserved.”

Six shots ahead of Thompson after the birdie run, Kim played the final seven holes in even par, offsetting a birdie on 15 with a bogey on 1. Kim broke the event mark of 263 set by In-Kyung Kim in 2017.

She’s focused on winning her first major title, with The Evian Championship and Women’s British Open coming up.

“I haven’t had a win the major tournament yet,” Kim said. “I think I try too much when I play the major tournament. I just play the same as regular tournament, even major. … Just let it go. Let it happen.”

Stacy Lewis was third at 16 under after a 66. She was born in nearby Toledo.

“It was a lot of fun,” Lewis said. “More putts have gone in this week than in the years past. It was nice to give my family something to cheer for.”

U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6 had a 69 to finish fourth at 14 under.

Jennifer Kupcho tied for fifth at 11 under after a 71, playing alongside Lewis.

“Getting to play with Stacy – and Lexi yesterday – seeing how their ball-striking is and how good their iron game is, definitely something to work on and definitely can learn and did learn from their games,” Kupcho said.

The former Wake Forest star won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April.

Linnea Strom (65), Tiffany Joh (67), Caroline Masson (68) and Pavarisa Yoktuan (69) also were 11 under.

Kupcho earned a spot in the Women’s British Open along with Joh, Strom, Yoktuan and Mariajo Uribe.

Full results can be found here.

CALEDON, Ont. — When Paul Barjon is on his game – which, when you look at his year so far, seems to be all the time – he is difficult to beat.

And it doesn’t look like the Dumbea, New Caledonia native is slowing down anytime soon at the Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates.

After opening with scores of 64 and 66, improving upon his Mackenzie Tour-best scoring average of 67.05, Barjon fired a third-round 66 on the North Course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley and heads into the final round with a two-stroke lead over Canadian Taylor Pendrith.

“I played really good today,” said Barjon, who has been under-par in each Mackenzie Tour round thus far this season. “I hit the ball really well and then to make a few putts here and there, that’s what you have to do out here.”

Entering the round tied for the lead with playing-competitor JD Fernandez, Barjon got his round started by making eagle on the par-5 1st. He held the lead by himself after that 25-foot putt dropped, and he wouldn’t let go of that position on the leaderboard all day.

After making his only bogey of the week on hole No. 4 (breaking a stretch of 49-consecutive holes without a bogey), the Bayview Place DCBank Open champion made a birdie on No. 6 before a thunderstorm sent players back to the clubhouse for close to 2-hours.

“I hit a lot of good shots, but the pins were pretty tough and the wind was blowing,” said Barjon. “After the delay I came out, hit it to about six feet on No. 8 and made my second eagle, which was really nice.”

On the back side, Barjon made birdie on No. 11, a long par-3 with a hazard on the right and the wind off the left, a hole he said would play a key role in determining the tournament’s champion.

“I just knew if I went a little long of the pin and a little left, I would have the straightest putt you can have there without going right at the pin,” said Barjon. “I had about a 30-footer left and made it, so that was really cool.”

With four top-10 finishes this season on the Mackenzie Tour, a victory would propel Barjon into first place on the Order of Merit.

Barjon will likely have a large crowd following along on Sunday, playing alongside Pendrith, who is in search of his first-career Mackenzie Tour victory.

“It’ll be fun, hopefully they cheer for me a little bit,” laughed Barjon. “He was in the group ahead of me and they had quite a few people following. It’ll be fun.”

With a win on Sunday, Pendrith would become the first Canadian to win on the Mackenzie Tour since Adam Cornelson in 2016 at the Bayview Place DCBank Open.

“I’m in a great position, and any time you’re playing in the final group on Sunday it’s a good thing,” said Pendrith, who finished third on the Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit in 2015. “I’m just going to go try to make as many birdies as possible and see what happens.”

Full scoring can be found here.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Sei Young Kim shot a 5-under 66 on Saturday in the Marathon Classic to take a one-stroke lead over Lexi Thompson into the final round.

Brooke Henderson is in a tie for seventh, but seven shots behind Kim. Alena Sharp, who held a tie for the lead after round one, is  now in a tie for 41st.

Kim had seven birdies and two bogeys in gusty conditions to reach 16-under 197 at Highland Meadows Golf Club.

“It was a little tough to judge the distance,” Kim said. “Wind very gusty, on and off.”

The South Korean player won the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship in May in California for her eighth tour title.

“Tomorrow, I play with Lexi Thompson, one of my favourite players,” Kim said. “I’m very exciting play with her. … I’m very confident right now. Play same as last three days.”

Thompson made a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th for a 65. She won the ShopRite LPGA Classic last month in New Jersey for her 11th tour title.

“It was a lot windier today,” Thompson said. “A little bit different direction, but not a big difference. It was just gusty. … It was a little bit more to deal with and then firmer greens in the afternoon, but it was a good test.”

She’s coming off a two-week break after playing five straight events.

“I took my first week off at home and just relaxed and then I basically just played the second week,” Thompson said. “I just wanted to keep my swing in the groove because I was hitting it well before I took the break. Just really took it easy. Came into this week knowing I like this golf course and just this tournament in general, so it’s just been overall a fun week for me.”

U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6 was third at 12 under after a 69.

“My tee shot was not very good, especially my iron shots,” Lee6 said. “It was so hard to control my shots. There weren’t a lot of birdies today.”

Stacy Lewis (69), Jennifer Kupcho (69) and Carlota Ciganda (68) were 11 under.

Lewis won the last of her 12 LPGA Tour titles in 2017. She was born in nearby Toledo and has an endorsement deal with Marathon Oil.

“As long as it stays windy and the golf course keeps playing hard, I think there is a good round out there,” Lewis said. “I feel like I’m getting really close. I did a good job hanging in there today. I thought it played pretty tough. Just keep inching a little closer to playing some really good golf. That’s all you can do.”

Kupcho is making her sixth tour start as a pro. The former Wake Forest star won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April.

“It was good,” Kupcho said. “I definitely struggled a little bit the beginning with tee shots. Got the groove going at the end and just missed a couple putts.”

Full scoring can be found here.

SILVIS, Ill. – Cameron Tringale and Andrew Landry topped the John Deere Classic leaderboard Saturday, with a half-dozen guys right behind them.

Roger Sloan of Calgary is one of them, sitting three back of the leaders after firing a 4-under 67. Canadians Nick Taylor and Adam Svensson are also in the hunt, tie for 14th and tied for 21st, respectively.

Winless on the PGA Tour, Tringale shot a 6-under 65 to match Landy at 16-under 197 at TPC Deere Run. Landry had a 67. He won the Valero Texas Open last year for his lone tour title.

“Some golf courses you can leaderboard watch, but this is not one of them,” said Landry, with eight players within two shots of the lead. “You want to stay with your game plan.”

Bill Haas, the 2011 FedEx Cup champion, and Adam Schenk were a stroke back. Haas shot a 64, tying the best round of the day. Schenk had a 66.

Nick Watney also had a 64 to join 2016 winner Ryan Moore (65), Dylan Frattelli (65) and Vaughn Taylor (66) at 14 under. Chris Stroud (66), Lucas Glover (69) and Roger Sloan (67) were 13 under.

Second-round leader Jhonattan Vegas stumbled to a 76 and fell to 8 under.

Tringale bogeyed the first hole, but that only motivated him to post his lowest score of the tournament.

“The bogey on the first hole was a shot in the leg,” Tringale said. “But I was able to get out of there myself and birdie the next two, which gave me some momentum.”

Landry looked as if was in trouble after bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes. He then birdied Nos. 16 and 17 – only to miss a 10-foot putt that would’ve given him the outright lead.

Haas, who hasn’t won since 2015, was a passenger in a car last February when driver and friend, Mark Gibello, was killed on a winding road outside Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. Gibello’s Ferrari clipped another car and slammed into a pole. Haas walked away largely unscathed.

Haas has struggled this season, finishing 48th or worse in each of his last six starts. He had seven birdies in a bogey-free third round.

“I don’t know if it ever leaves you. But at the same time, I’m just trying to be the best I can be out here,” Haas said.

Moore, who has five PGA wins, finished birdie- eagle-birdie.

Perhaps the biggest surprise on a day when so many players moved into position to win Sunday was that Vegas won’t be among them.

After just one bogey in his first 40 holes, Vegas missed an 8-foot putt for par on the 5th – and a pair of poorly-hit pitches at the par-4 sixth led to a double bogey. Vegas then stuck his tee shot on the par-3 seventh hole within five feet of the cup before pushing his putt left.

Full scoring can be found here.

Lakewood, Wash. – Team Canada National Junior Squad member Laurent Desmarchais (Longueuil, Québec) defeated Josh McCollum of Upland, Calif. 3&2 in the final match to win the 118th Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur Championship, held this week at Tacoma Country and Golf Club in Lakewood, Wash.

After starting with 168 players in stroke-play qualifying, split between Tacoma and nearby Chambers Bay, the championship came down to the final match between McCollum and Desmarchais, both of whom survived five matches to reach today’s final match.

Desmarchais threatened to make short work of the scheduled 36-hole final match. McCollum had difficulty off the tee immediately, and Desmarchais took advantage, going 5-up after nine holes and 8-up after 18 holes. During the lunch break, it seemed the match would be over soon.

But McCollum, a recent graduate of Chico State in California, got control of his driver, and gradually worked himself back into the match. After 27 holes, Desmarchais’ lead was just 5-up. Then McCollum birdied the 28th hole, and was just 4-down.

After the 25th hole, no hole was halved until the 34th and final hole.

Then Desmarchais made the putt of the championship. On the par-5 11th hole, he sprayed his second shot against the fence on the right, two feet from being out of bounds. From there he chipped over the green, 12 feet onto the fringe, and faced a 40-foot, downhill, side-hill putt on a green that was rolling 14 on the Stimpmeter. When he drained the putt, increasing his lead to 5-up with seven to play, it looked pretty much over.

Then it was 5-up with five holes to play. But McCollum still didn’t give up. He birdied 14, then stuffed a 9-iron on the par-3 15th to five feet for another birdied that was accentuated by a fist-pump.

On the 16th hole, a par-5, McCollum had just 163 yards left for his second shot, and he hit a wedge to 12 feet. When Desmarchais 2-putted for birdie, McCollum’s attempt at eagle slid by the hole, and the match went to Desmarchais.

“Josh wasn’t playing too well this morning, so I was able to take advantage of some of that,” Desmarchais said. “I kind of let it go in the second round, and he started to make some putts, and kept pushing me out there. He was making birdies, and good on him for doing that. He grabbed the momentum around the 26th hole or so, but I felt at that point all I had to do was make the shots because the pressure was on him. Just make pars, and then he would have to make birdies. This feels really great.”

McCollum said he found out about the Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur from a teammate at Chico State who is from Idaho. “I knew it always has a strong field, and I try to find events where I can compete against the best.”

Laurent just turned 18, and at 6-foot-5, he is long off the tee. He is a member of the Canadian National Junior Team. He spent four months this spring at the Golf Canada National Development Centre at Bear Mountain Resort outside Victoria, B.C. on Vancouver Island. “That’s when I found out about this championship,” Desmarchais said. “My coach told me about it, and that I should play in it.”

Desmarchais had played last week in the Sahalee Players Championship, where he tied for 41st, as the first leg of the Western Swing, and this week played the second leg. His coach on the Canadian National Junior Team, Robert Ratcliffe, caddied for Desmarchais at Sahalee, but went back to Victoria afterward. Desmarchais told Ratcliffe that if he made it to the final match this week, Ratcliffe would have to return to caddie for him. This morning on the first tee, Ratcliffe was on the bag, standing side by side with Desmarchais.

Desmarchais has committed to play for the University of Tennessee, but will not begin there until 2021. Until then, he will continue to play on the Canadian Junior National Team. Next week he will compete in the Pacific Coast Amateur, held at the Championship Course at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

One of the oldest amateur golf championships in the world, Desmarchais’ name now goes on the Macan Cup, which is named after legendary golf course designer A.V. Macan, a member of the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame and winner of this championship in 1913.

Past champions include names such as Tiger Woods, Jeff Quinney, Ben Crane, Jeff Coston, Nick Flanagan, Jim McLean and Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Famers Chandler Egan, Harry Givan, Jack Westland, Bud Ward and George Holland, among many others.

Full results can be found here.

CALEDON, Ont.—Co-leading the Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos and CBM Aggregates at 14-under alongside JD Fernandez through two rounds of play, Paul Barjon has yet to make a bogey this week on the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley’s North course as he seeks his second win of the Mackenzie Tour season.

With a scoring average just a hair below 67 this season – tops on the Mackenzie Tour – another trophy to accompany his hardware from the Bayview Place DCBank Open presented by Times Colonist would propel Barjon to the top spot on the Order of Merit.

However, even with four top-10s, a T19 at the RBC Canadian Open, and not a single Mackenzie Tour round over par this season, this is the first time the 26-year old heads into a Saturday as a leader.

“So far, I’ve always seemed to be coming from behind, so this is fun,” said the Dumbea, New Caledonia native. “We’ve played 36 holes, but there are still 36 left. As Tyler (McCumber) showed last year, a 61 is out there, so anybody can catch you.”

So far this week, it has been Barjon’s efforts on the par-4s, which he has played 9-under par, that has set him apart – along with his ability to grind for pars when the North course shows its teeth.

“I’m 1-under this week on the par-3s, which is good because they’re not easy,” said Barjon. “I’ve made a couple 15-footers for par when I’ve missed in the wrong place, but I found a little something with my swing on the back nine with my irons, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Heading into the weekend, Barjon says two holes, No. 7 and No 11, are going to be key, and could determine who adds their name to the trophy.

“No. 11, you have to hit a good shot, you don’t have a choice or else you’ll make bogey or worse,” said Barjon. “And then No. 7, those two holes are key because right after you have a stretch of easier holes, so you have to set the tone.”

Meanwhile Fernandez (65-65) is off to the best 36-hole start of his Mackenzie Tour career and has momentum on his side after firing four sub-70 numbers at the Windsor Championship on his way to a T28 finish.

Sitting one stroke back is a group of three players: Taylor Pendrith, Sean Walsh and Carter Jenkins. Pendrith is seeking his second Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week Award after claiming the prize with a T10 finish at the Bayview Place DCBank Open and is looking to become the first Canadian to win on the Mackenzie Tour since 2016.

SILVIS, Ill. – Jhonattan Vegas shot a 9-under 62 on Friday in the John Deere Classic to take a one-stroke lead into the weekend.

Off since missing the cuts in the Memorial and U.S. Open in June, , the three-time PGA tour winner from Venezuela said he “found something really good” on the range Thursday after an opening 67.

“Probably the best I’ve felt all year, to be honest,” Vegas said. “I hit the ball extremely well, kind of what I’ve been struggling with a little bit the past few months. It felt really good, in control the whole time with the ball-striking, which is my type of game. So I’m glad that stuff is back.”

Vegas had a 13-under 129 total at TPC Deere Run.

“It’s usually soft, and it’s been a little firmer because of the conditions, obviously a little warm,” Vegas said. “It’s the best I’ve ever seen it. The greens are perfect. The fairways are rolling more. It’s actually a little bit tricky because a lot of the fairways, as undulated as they are, you have to be a little careful with some of those run-outs.”

He last won on the tour in 2017 at the RBC Canadian Open.

Andrew Landry was second after his second 65. He birdied the first three holes on his second nine, then played the next six in 1 over with a bogey on the par-4 sixth hole.

“I’ve been hitting the ball very, very well all year long,” Landry said. “The putter has just kind of been letting me down all year long, and it seems to be working pretty good the last two days.”

Lucas Glover had an albatross on the par-5 10th in a 64 that got him to 11 under. He holed out with a 3-iron from 255 yards after a 318-yard drive.

“Honestly, I was trying to hit it over short left, chip up the green, and I pushed it 5, 8 yards, and it bounced and rolled and I guess it went in. I didn’t see it,” Glover said. “I was just trying to make birdie, and I got lucky with a 2.”

Three Canadians made the weekend cut.

Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 65 and sits 9 under, while Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., also had a 65 and is 7 under. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is 6 under after shooting 69.

Harold Varner III (65), Russell Henley (68), Daniel Berger (66), Cameron Tringale (66) and Adam Schenk (65) were 10 under. Varner chipped in for eagle from 42 yards on the par-4 14th.

“I hit a really good drive in the rough and it was perfect, and I blasted it and it went too far and smashed the pin and went in,” Varner said. “It was awesome.”

First-round leader Roberto Diaz closed with a double bogey for a 73 that left him at 7 under.

Matthew Wolff, the rookie who won last week in Minnesota, was 4 under after a 71.

Michael Kim, the winner by eight shots last year, missed the cut with rounds of 73 and 72.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Sei Young Kim shot a 7-under 64 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead over U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6 in the Marathon Classic.

Kim had four straight birdies on Nos. 3-6 and also birdied the par-4 12th and 15th holes and the par-5 18th to get to 11-under 131 at Highland Meadows Golf Club. The South Korean player won the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship in May in California for her eighth tour title.

“My play wasn’t good the last two weeks,” Kim said. “I’m just trying to do my best this week. So, I’m very happy with the (better) result than I expected.

Lee6 shot her second straight 66. The South Korean birdied two of the last three holes.

“It was pretty good,” Lee6 said. “The greens were not too soft, not too firm. It was so easy to play with my second shot in order to control my shots. Satisfied with it.”

Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis and Jennifer Kupcho were 9 under. Kupcho shot 66, Thompson 67, and Lewis 68, with Lewis playing alongside Kim the first two days.

Lewis won the last of her 12 LPGA Tour titles in 2017. She was born in nearby Toledo and has an endorsement deal with Marathon Oil. From Texas, she’s treated like a hometown player.

“I love it,” Lewis said. “It was pressure at first, but now it’s fun. It’s nice having the crew out there behind me and give them something to cheer about this year, which is awesome.”

Canadian Alena Sharp carded a 1-over 72 to slip into a tie for 11th after holding a share of the 18-hole lead.

Kupcho is making her sixth tour start as a pro. The former Wake Forest star won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April.

“I’m hitting the ball really good this week, reading the putts well, and putting good rolls on them,” Kupcho said.

She parred the par-5 17th and 18th after birdieing three of the previous four holes.

“Obviously, walking off 17 and 18, two par 5s to finish, you expect to get at least one,” Kupcho said. “Left 17 short and just pushed 18’s putt. It’s a little upsetting.”

Thompson is coming off a two-week break.

“I just took yesterday’s round and came into today with the same confidence and same mindset,” Thompson said. “Just firing at pins and focusing on one shot at a time. I feel good with where my game is at. It was perfect weather. Couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Yealimi Noh, the 17-year-old from California who tied for sixth last week in Wisconsin in her LPGA Tour debut, missing the cut with rounds of 73 and 72. She played on a sponsor exemption after Monday qualifying last week.