ROGERS, Ark. – Top-ranked Lydia Ko won the NW Arkansas Championship on Sunday for her third LPGA Tour victory of the year, closing with a 3-under 68 for a tournament-record 17-under total and a three-stroke victory.

The 19-year-old New Zealander has 13 career LPGA Tour victories, also winning the Kia Classic and major ANA Inspiration in consecutive weeks in Southern California. She broke the previous tournament record by two strokes.

Ko has finished sixth or better in each of her four appearances at Pinnacle Country Club, and she has shot under par in all 12 rounds.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp entered the day two strokes behind Ko, but fell out of contention with a even-par 71. She finished in eighth at 12 under. Maude-Aimee Leblanc, from Sherbrooke, Que., shot a 2-under 69 to finish 5 under.

Morgan Pressel, tied for the lead with Ko at 14 under entering the day, had a 71 to tie for second with Candie Kung (69).

Pressel was the clubhouse leader by two shots Saturday afternoon before Ko shot a back-nine 28 and tied her at 14 under with an eagle on the par-5 18th.

The New Zealander, who became the youngest two-time major winner in LPGA history at the ANA Inspiration, wasted little time in taking control of the tournament after teeing off Sunday.

Playing in the final pairing with Pressel, Ko birdied four of her first five holes – only settling for a par once in the five-hole stretch when narrowly missing a short birdie putt on the par-3 third. After Pressel bogeyed the par-5 second, Ko went from even to three shots clear of the field after only two holes.

And that was just the start of Ko’s final-round coronation on a 6,330-yard course she’s tamed in each of her four tournament appearances. Ko has shot below 70 in 11 of her 12 rounds at Pinnacle, including matching the course record with her 9-under 62 on Saturday.

Ko fell back to 17 under with a bogey on No. 6, but she stayed two shots clear of Pressel with a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-4 eighth. She then reached as low as 19 under with a birdie on the 246-yard par-4 10th, well on her way to topping the previous tournament low of 15 under – set by Seon Hwa Lee in 2008 and matched by Na Yeon Choi a year ago.

Pressel stayed within two shots of Ko for much of the round, reaching 17 under following a birdie on No. 10. However, her round unraveled with a poor tee shot on the par-3 11th – leading to the first of four straight bogeys that took Pressel, who is still in search of her first victory since 2008, out of contention.

Ko, atop the world rankings for the last 35 weeks, earned $300,000. She began the 18th with a four-shot lead before hitting her layup in the water and settling for a bogey.

MADISON, Wis. – Kirk Triplett rallied to win the inaugural American Family Insurance Championship on Sunday for his fifth PGA Tour Champions title, making four straight birdies in front of another large crowd at University Ridge.

The 54-year-old Triplett shot a 7-under 65 to finish at 17-under 199, two strokes ahead of Bart Bryant and Mike Goodes.

Triplett birdied the par-4 13th, 14th and 15th and par-5 16th, saved par with a 6-footer on the par-3 17th and parred the par-4 18th. The three-time PGA Tour winner played the front nine in 3 under, dropped a stroke on the par-4 10th and birdied the par-5 11th.

Bart Bryant, the leader at 17 under after a birdie on 14, had a 69. He made a triple-bogey 7 on the 15th after losing his ball when it sailed to the right off the tee.

Goodes shot a 68.

Third-round leader Jean-Francois Remesy of France had a 71 to tie for fourth at 14 under with Fran Quinn (67), Billy Andrade (68) and Gene Sauers (70).

Bernhard Langer finished with a 69 to tie for 13th at 11 under. The 58-year-old German star was coming off a victory two weeks ago in the Constellation Senior Players Championship.

John Daly had a 66 – his best round in his first six events on the tour – to tie for 36th at 7 under.

Hometown PGA Tour player Steve Stricker helped launch the event and is the tournament host. He turns 50 in February and will be eligible to play next year.

Whitecap, Sask. – Germany’s Max Rottluff capped off a marathon Sunday at Dakota Dunes Golf Links by shooting a 6-under 66 to win the SIGA Dakota Dunes Open, the fourth event of the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The 23-year old Arizona State University grad finished at 23-under par for the week to win by one over North Carolina’s Carter Jenkins. The win comes in Rottluff’s third start as a professional.

“To win in my third start after missing the first two cuts, that was certainly not on the radar and came unexpectedly,” said Rottluff. “I haven’t had the year that I was hoping for, but coming out with the win today gives me a lot of confidence. It’s a huge boost.”

Rottluff and Jenkins began the day with a share of the lead and 35 holes to play in the tournament due to delays from Saturday’s thunderstorms. After play resumed at 8 a.m. the pair – who played together for every round of the tournament – concluded round three with identical rounds of 67-65-67 to sit tied at 17-under through 54 holes.

“It was fun playing with Carter. We were just throwing those birdies at each other, and I’m sure if we weren’t paired together we wouldn’t be where we are right now. It was fun,” said Rottluff.

With four holes to go, the stalemate had yet to be broken, but after Jenkins bogeyed the par-3 15th, Rottluff took control by giving himself birdie opportunities at each of the last three holes. His birdie at the par-5 16th pushed the leading score to 23-under, and after Jenkins was unable to convert long birdie putts on the 17th and 18th, Rottluff two-putted his way to victory.

Rottluff benefited all week from the support of his girlfriend and caddie Emily Collins, a professional golfer herself who plays on the Symetra Tour.

“She was great. She’s a great player herself, and reading the greens she helped me a lot. I should listen to her a little bit more,” said Rottluff with a smile.

With the victory, Rottluff moves to third place on the Order of Merit through four events, in position to earn Web.com Tour status for 2017.

“I’ve set goals to make it through the Mackenzie Tour on to the Web.com Tour. That’s the goal for a lot of guys out here, but for me to get the win in my third pro start is huge, especially after missing the cut the first two weeks,” said Rottluff.

Two shots behind Rottluff in solo third was Calgary, Alberta’s James Love, who came into the week without Mackenzie Tour status but earned conditional membership for the remainder of the year by being one of the top three non-members on the Order of Merit through four events.

LOVE TAKES FREEDOM 55 FINANCIAL TOP CANADIAN

With a total score of 20-under par in solo second place, Calgary’s James Love finished as the top Canadian on the leaderboard, earning Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week honours and a $2,500 prize.

The top Canadian on the leaderboard each week takes home the award, with the top Canadian on the Order of Merit at season’s end earning the Dan Halldorson Trophy, Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year honours and a $25,000 prize.

CHASE FOR THE FIVE

With a T8 finish on Sunday, Dan McCarthy extended his spot atop the Order of Merit, earning $5,075 for the week. Below are the top five players through two events (bold denotes Canadian):

1. Dan McCarthy $73,938
2. Adam Cornelson $33,810
3. Max Rottluff $31,500
4. Ryan Williams $27,363
5. Carter Jenkins $21,070

ROGERS, Ark. – Top-ranked Lydia Ko eagled the par-5 18th to tie the course record at 9-under 62 and take a share of the second-round lead Saturday in the LPGA Tour’s NW Arkansas Championship.

Ko matched Morgan Pressel at 14-under 128 at Pinnacle Country Club, tying the tournament 36-hole record set by Veronica Felibert in 2012. Ko played the final eight holes in 7 under, making five birdies and the eagle.

Pressel, winless since 2008, had a 63.

China’s Jing Yan, Taiwan’s Candie Kung and Canada’s Alena Sharp were 12 under. Sharp birdied the last two holes for a 65, Yan also shot 65, and Kung had a 66.

First-round leader Ayako Uehara followed her opening 62 with a 74 to drop to 6 under.

The 19-year-old Ko closed with a flourish on the back nine at the 6,330-yard course she’s has much success on over the last three years. The New Zealander finished fourth as an amateur in the event three years ago, and followed that by finishing second and sixth over the last two years.

On Saturday, Ko made the turn at 7 under and was well off the early leaders when she missed the fairway with a poor drive on No. 10. She recovered to make par and followed with four straight birdies, capping her 7-under back nine with a 10-foot putt for birdie on No. 17 and a 12-foot eagle putt on the 520-yard par-5 18th.

Ko has two LPGA Tour victories this year, including the major ANA Inspiration, to push her career total to 12. The reining LPGA Tour Player of the Year has finished no lower than 23rd this year and had finished in the top 10 in eight of her 12 tournaments.

Pressel, meanwhile, hasn’t won since the 2008 Kapalua Classic. The major winner at the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship (no the ANA Inspirtation), however, has finished second five times since her last victory – including last month in Alabama.

Pressel was one of 13 players who opened the tournament with a 65 on Friday, and she quickly moved up the leaderboard during her afternoon round Saturday.

After Yan took the early clubhouse lead at 12 under following her second straight 65, Pressel moved into a tie at the top following back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14. She closed her round with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th and a two-putt birdie on No. 18.

Pressel missed the cut last year, but she has finished as high as 16th in her eight previous appearances at the tournament. She hit 11 of 13 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation on Saturday, needing 27 putts on her way to a career low round on the course – topping an opening-round 66 she shot in 2010.

Ko, who opened with 66, needed only 27 putts and hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation.

Local favourite and former No. 1 Stacy Lewis was 5 under after a 70.

Second-ranked Brooke Henderson, who beat Ko in a playoff two weeks ago at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, missed the cut after a second-round 73 and finished at even par.

Defending champion Na Yeon Choi also missed the cut, finishing at 4 over.

BETHESDA, Md. – Naval Academy graduate Billy Hurley III shot a 4-under 67 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead over Ernie Els into the final round of the Quicken Loans National.

Hurley had four birdies in the bogey-free round at Congressional to reach 15 under.

Els holed out for eagle on the par4 12th with the shot of the week and finished with a 65.

Jon Rahm, who held the lead after one round and shared it with Hurley after two, struggled. Playing his first event as a professional, the 21-year-old former Arizona State star from Spain had four bogeys in a 70 that left him three strokes behind Hurley.

Hurley, who grew up in Leesburg, Virginia, has been able to take advantage of favourable conditions at Congressional this week for Tiger Woods’ annual tournament.

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is tied for 14th after a 69 and is 5 under. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., is 4 under after shooting a 72.

MADISON, Wis. – Jean-Francois Remesy had two eagles in an 8-under 64 on Saturday to take the second-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ inaugural American Family Insurance Championship.

The last alternate to get into the field after losing a playoff in a Monday qualifier, the 52-year-old Frenchman holed out for eagle from 92 yards with a 52-degree wedge on the par-4 first. He also eagled the par-5 11th, and had four birdies in the bogey-free round to reach 13-under 131 at University Ridge.

“If I can afford the bogeys, game is OK, putting is OK,” Remesy said. “I feel great. It is a dream to come and play in the States.”

Making his seventh start on the 50-and-over circuit, the two-time French Open champion is one of the tour’s smallest players at 5-foot-8 and 148 pounds.

Gene Sauers and Bart Bryant were a stroke back. Sauers, tied for the first-round lead with Estaban Toledo after an opening 63, had a 69. He’s is in contention two weeks after withdrawing from the Constellation Senior Players Championship because of a bulging disk.

“I’m still right there, so I’m OK,” Sauers said. “I put a lot of pressure on probably all parts of my game today, driving, all irons. I wasn’t making the putts, leaving them all short, leaving myself 3-, 4-, 5-footers for par. Hopefully, things will be a little different tomorrow, I can relax and calm down and get into the zone again like I was the first day.”

Bryant birdied the final hole for a 66. He won his lone tour title in 2013.

“I actually did not drive the ball great today, which is usually my strong point,” Bryant said. “But I made a boatload of putts, and I think whenever you have a great tournament you look back, that’s usually what the catalyst is. I made a huge putt on No. 8, probably a 40- or 50-footer, then I made another 20-footer there on the last hole and a couple other 15-footers.”

Large crowds again followed the players in the event that hometown PGA Tour player Steve Stricker helped launch and hosts. He turns 50 in February and will be eligible to play next year.

Mike Goodes (66) was 11 under, and Kirk Triplett (66), Billy Andrade (67) and Kevin Sutherland (69) were 10 under.

Bernhard Langer was 8 under after a 69. The 58-year-old German star is coming off a victory two weeks ago in the Constellation Senior Players Championship, his second major win of the year. He has three overall victories this year to push his senior total to 28.

Wes Short Jr. also was in the group at 8 under, following an opening 72 with a 64. He was 7 under in a six-hole stretch on the back nine, making a hole-in-one on the 12th and five birdies.

“The back side was a lot of fun,” Short said. “There’s a lot of birdie holes out there. You can get it going on that back side. You know, get 2 or 3-under on the front, and then the back side is where you can kind of take advantage of the course.”

He used a 7-iron on the 194-yard 12th.

“It started a little bit left and the wind drifted it back,” Short said. “I thought it was going to be close, but then it disappeared. Only second hole-in-one I made in competition, so that was pretty fun.”

Toledo shot a 79 to drop into a tie for 47th at 2 under. He had a quadruple-bogey 9 on No. 9.

John Daly had a 72 to remain 1 under. He’s making his sixth tour start since turning 50 in late April.

BETHESDA, Md. – The PGA Tour announced Saturday that the Greenbrier Classic scheduled for next month has been cancelled because of the devastating flooding in West Virginia.

The tournament had been scheduled for July 7-10 at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, which was inundated with floodwaters after heavy storms rolled into the state Thursday. Tour officials say the Old White TPC, the host course, suffered extensive damage and “is beyond reasonable repair to conduct the tournament.”

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said officials were heartbroken by the devastation in West Virginia and offered their thoughts and prayers.

“Cancelling the Greenbrier Classic is certainly the most prudent course of action as our foremost concern is the well-being of those who are having to live through this tragic situation,” Finchem said.

Greenbrier County claimed 15 of the 23 deaths attributed to the flooding.

This is the first time a PGA Tour event has been washed out since the Viking Classic in Madison, Mississippi, in 2009. Unplayable conditions also led to the cancellation of the 1996 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

More than 150 players had committed to playing the Greenbrier, which was set to follow the World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational. The PGA Tour is at Congressional this weekend for Tiger Woods’ Quicken Loans National.

The Greenbrier was supposed to be the final chance to qualify for the British Open at Royal Troon on July 14-17, with one spot available to the highest finisher who was not already eligible. Andy Pazder, the tour’s chief of operations, said the Royal & Ancient Golf Club, which runs the British Open, was deciding what to do with that spot.

One possibility is to award it to the Barracuda Championship, to be played next week opposite the WGC-Bridgestone.

At the Greenbrier, owner Jim Justice said the focus is on helping the people of West Virginia.

“So many have lost loved ones, their homes, and have no place to go,” Justice said. “All of us are united with only one common goal: to help the people through this terrible time.”

The Greenbrier Classic began in 2010. The PGA Tour is committed to holding the event through 2021.

“We know we will have the opportunity to return again next year, and we look forward to that time,” Finchem said. “But for now, that is of secondary concern. The priority is safety of the residents and their recovery from this disaster.”

Whitecap, Sask. – Co-leaders Max Rottluff of Dusseldorf, Germany and Carter Jenkins of Raleigh, North Carolina completed one hole of the third round at the SIGA Dakota Dunes Open on Saturday when play was suspended due to dangerous weather.

After Jenkins and Rottluff recorded opening pars at the first hole, play was initially suspended for 3 hours and 57 minutes at 9:48 a.m. due to dangerous weather in the area. Though play resumed at 1:45 p.m., storms returned and the round was suspended again four minutes later, eventually wiping out play for the day.

“Unfortunately, a number of storm cells producing lightning passed through the area today, preventing us from getting players back out on the course,” said PGA TOUR Tournament Director, Jamie Wiles. “Having made the 36-hole cut, we are confident that without any further delays we’ll be able to get 72 holes completed by tomorrow.”

With players having as many as 35 holes to complete, Sunday promises to be a grind for players in contention.

“It’s more of a mental challenge than anything, staying prepared and being ready for tomorrow,” said Brad Clapp, who had played one hole and was in a tie for fifth at 10-under when play was suspended. “Weather permitting, hopefully we’re going to get the two rounds in tomorrow. I know the Tour does everything it can to get it in, and we’ll try for that tomorrow.”

One shot behind Jenkins and Rottluff were Orlando, Florida’s Ross Beal and Calgary, Alberta’s James Love, who both also opened with pars at the first before play was suspended. 

Round three will resume with players in position at 8 a.m. on Sunday. Players will not be re-grouped for round four.

EDMONTON – Jack Wood, a Banff Springs Golf Club phenom, needed one extra hole in the final match to claim victory at the 2016 Alberta Match Play Championship. The UBC Thunderbird and No. 10 seeded player took down the No. 1 seed University of Houston Cougar, Matt Williams.

Williams held a 1-up advantage on the final hole when play was suspended due to dangerous weather conditions with players in the fairway. When play resumed, Wood was able to save par while Williams bogeyed, sending the match to extra holes. Wood made a solid par three on the extra hole while Williams again bogeyed, leaving Wood victorious after four gruelling matches over the past two days at RedTail Landing Golf Club.

Wood went 1 up, 2-and-1, 3-and-1, 1 up (19 holes) in his victories over Max Sekulic, Brett Pasula, Jared Nicolls, and Matt Williams, respectively.

By virtue of competing in the final match both Wood and Williams have earned quota positions into the 2016 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship taking place at The Royal Ottawa Golf Club, August 8-11th. Wood has also punched his ticket into the 2017 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship. He becomes the second member selected to Team Alberta after Emmett Oh of Calgary earned the first spot last week at The Glencoe Invitational where he finished as the low Albertan.

Dusseldorf, Germany’s Max Rottluff and Raleigh, North Carolina’s Carter Jenkins reached 12-under par through two rounds on Friday at Dakota Dunes Golf Links to share the 36-hole lead at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s SIGA Dakota Dunes Open.

Rottluff and Jenkins, who both turned professional earlier this year after concluding their college careers, played together the first two days and carded identical rounds of 67-65 over the first two days to lead by one over Calgary, Alberta’s James Love and Orlando, Florida’s Ross Beal.

“He bombs the ball and it’s fun to watch, so we were having a good time for sure,” said Rottluff, a 2015 1^st team NCAA All-American at Arizona State, of his high-octane grouping with Jenkins.

Jenkins, a 20-year old who turned pro following his junior season at the University of North Carolina this spring, said he enjoyed treating the pairing like match play and fuelled his own solid play by watching Rottluff.

“He got off to a great start and eagled No. 2, which was our 11th hole. That put him to 10-under, and I had a 4- or 5-footer for birdie on that same hole to get to nine, so I definitely tried my hardest to catch him, and it was great to have someone to feed off of,” said Jenkins.

With both players heading straight from the conclusion of their college seasons to the Mackenzie Tour last month, a week off after the GolfBC Championship was a welcome sight, bringing a chance for a refreshed approach this week in Saskatoon.

“It was nice to have the off week and to settle back down and think about what happened in the first two weeks. I missed the cut in both events with good opening rounds, so that was definitely disappointing, but I didn’t feel like my game was very far off,” said Rottluff, echoing similar comments from Jenkins.

“It was nice to have an off week, especially coming straight from college and having three weeks in a row. It was nice to get home for a few days and see the family, see my coach and get a little work done,” said Jenkins.

One shot behind were Beal and Love, with Harare, Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent and Chilliwack, British Columbia’s Brad Clapp a shot further behind at 10-under.