PGA Tour

Tony Finau wins first title at Puerto Rico Open; Canadian Nick Taylor ties for fifth

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Nick Taylor (Mike Lawrie/ Getty Images)

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Tony Finau won the Puerto Rico Open on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, beating Steve Marino with a birdie on the third hole of a playoff at windy Coco Beach.

The 26-year-old Finau won with his third straight birdie in the playoff on the par-5 18th, blasting out of the back bunker to 3 feet.

“I think I’m still a little bit overwhelmed,” Finau said. “It probably hasn’t all sunk in.”

Marino was just off the back edge of the green in two, but left his putt from the fringe 4 1/2 short and missed his birdie try to the right.

“I finally played the hole like you’re supposed to,” Marino said. “I hit the fairway and then hit it on the back fringe. I didn’t think that putt was going to be that slow and then I just hit a poor putt on the second putt. Pretty disappointing, played really well.”

Finau and Marino each shot 2-under 70 to finish at 12-under 276. Marino birdied the 18th to tie Finau, and got into the playoff when Finau missed a 6-foot birdie putt.

“In regulation, it was a putt that I kind of dreamed of making my whole life,” Finau said. “It’s a putt that you practice for your first PGA Tour victory or just for any PGA Tour victory, so I was a little bit bummed that that sneaked by the hole because I hit a really good putt. But I was happy I had another chance at it and was able to make the second one.”

Finau and Marino each birdied the 18th on the first two playoff holes.

On the first extra hole, Marino got up-and-down from the left bunker, blasting to 8 feet. Finau pitched to a foot from left of the green. On the second, Marino hit a flop shot over the right-side bunker to 10 feet, and Finau pitched to 6 feet from in front of the green.

Marino is winless on the PGA Tour. He also lost in a playoff in the 2009 Colonial.

Finau birdied four of the first 10 holes to reach 14 under, then dropped back with bogeys on the par-3 11th and par-5 15th.

The long-hitting Finau, a 6-foot-4 former Utah high school basketball star, is in his second full season on the PGA Tour. He’s the cousin of Milwaukee Bucks player Jabari Parker.

“I tried to just stay in the moment really,” Finau said. “That’s what I learned from last year. You can never look too far ahead and you can’t look back, either. You’ve got to focus on the here and now. I did a really good job of that today even though that putt slipped by in regulation for the win, I knew I still didn’t lose the tournament. I needed to refocus and get ready to play 18 again. That’s what it takes out here I feel like to win. And now that I have that feeling, it’s pretty special.”

Ian Poulter and Mexico’s Rodolfo Cazaubon finished a stroke out of the playoff.

Pouler closed with a 72, missing an 18-foot birdie putt on 18. Playing the event for the first time after failing to get into the Match Play tournament in Texas as the first alternate, the Englishman took a one-stroke lead into the final round.

“It’s a shame. Just slightly disappointing,” Poulter said. “I’m continuing to work on the game to try and improve, and I know if I rectify a couple of poor shots, then my game will improve. Obviously, hitting shots slightly too far right at certain times is costly.”

Cazaubon shot a 68. The Web.com Tour player was making his third PGA Tour start.

“I’m really happy,” Cazaubon said. “I guess I feel really comfortable since the beginning. I didn’t have anything to lose because I play on the Web. I just came here to have some fun here.”

Abbotsford, B.C., product Nick Taylor closed with a 70 to finish T5 at 10-under alongside Andres Romero (67) and Scott Brown (71). Puerto Rico’s Rafael Campos, the leader after each of the first two rounds, was another stroke back after a 72.

Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., carded a 71 to reach 8-under and a share of 11th place. Surrey, B.C., native Adam Svensson shot 73 and finished in a tie for 47th.

PGA Tour

Day gets the No. 1 ranking and the Match Play title

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Jason Day (Tom Pennington/ Getty Images)

AUSTIN, Texas – Jason Day made his return to No. 1 in the world feel even sweeter Sunday by winning the Dell Match Play.

Day outlasted Rory McIlroy in an epic battle in the morning semifinals by making a 12-foot par putt on the 18th hole. The championship match against Louis Oosthuizen turned into a victory lap at Austin Country Club.

And to think Day thought about pulling out Thursday morning when his back seized up on him. Three days later, he looked better than ever.

“It’s been a memorable week, not only to win the Dell Match Play but to get back to No. 1 in the world,” Day said.

Day pulled ahead with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fourth hole, stretched his lead to 3 up at the turn and was relentless with his power and short game the rest of the way. He closed out Oosthuizen with a wedge to 3 feet for a conceded birdie on the 14th hole and a 5-and-4 victory.

It was the largest margin in the championship match since Tiger Woods beat Stewart Cink, 8 and 7, in 2008 at Dove Mountain in a 36-hole match.

Day was assured of the No. 1 ranking when Jordan Spieth lost Saturday morning in the fourth round and Day won his quarterfinal match that afternoon. But he said it would have felt hollow without leaving town with the trophy.

Oosthuizen, who knocked out Spieth, won the opening hole with a par and that was it. His only birdie was an 8-foot putt on No. 5 after Day had stuffed his wedge from the rough into 2 feet.

“I couldn’t buy a birdie,” Oosthuizen said. “I played OK, but nothing spectacular. Up against a guy like Jason, you need to play 3 or 4 under to have a chance.”

Day joined Woods and Geoff Ogilvy as the only multiple winners of the Match Play. Along with replacing Spieth at No. 1 in the world, the 28-year-old Australian figures to be the favorite when he goes to Augusta National next week to start preparing for the Masters on April 7-10.

Day, coming off a victory last week in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, has won six of his last 13 tournaments dating to the PGA Championship.

None of this looked possible when he winced and grabbed his back on the final hole he played in his 3-and-2 victory over Graeme McDowell on Wednesday. Day said he thought about going back to Ohio for tests, especially with the Masters around the corner. He went through therapy every day, and stuck it out. And while his back got progressively better, so did his game.

Day played only 101 holes over seven matches – one match was six holes when Paul Casey withdrew with a stomach ailment – and only had one match go the distance.

Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain, who lost to Oosthuizen in the other semifinal, won the last three holes to beat McIlroy in the consolation match. The real consolation for the Spaniard was moving into the top 50 in the world ranking to earn a trip to the Masters for the first time.

Day might have won this tournament in the morning.

His semifinal match with McIlroy – only the second semifinal in the 18-year history of this event that the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds met – lived up to the expectation. The lead changed seven times. They combined for 11 birdies in chilly, blustery conditions.

The match turned on the 11th hole when Day got up-and-down for par with a 12-foot putt, while McIlroy missed a 6-foot birdie. Day got up-and-down eight times in his match against McIlroy. On the par-5 12th, McIlroy was first to hit and played well right of the green, away from the water. Day took on the hazard, and his shot cleared the water by about a foot to set up a two-putter birdie that gave him the lead for good.

Day had never seen the 18th hole in his life until he had to get up-and-down from a tough spot short and left of the pin. He played the slope too hard and the ball rolled 12 feet on the other side of the hole. McIlroy was 6 feet away for par when Day made the putt to win.

Oosthuizen was no match for him in the warmth of the afternoon. The South African hit out of a bunker into the hazard to lose the third hole, missed a 7-foot par putt on the seventh hole to fall 2 down, and Day took control with a 6-foot birdie on the ninth.

LPGA Tour

Top-ranked Lydia Ko takes three-shot lead in Kia Classic

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Lydia Ko (Donald Miralle/ Getty Images)

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Top-ranked Lydia Ko made three straight birdies early on the back nine Saturday in the Kia Classic and finished with a 5-under 67 to take a three-stroke lead.

Ko birdied Nos. 11-13 and closed with five straight pars to reach 14-under 202 at Aviara in the final event before the major ANA Inspiration next week in Rancho Mirage.

“I’d rather be a couple shots ahead than a couple shots behind,” Ko said. “But the girls are playing great golf. The course is tough, but still, the scores are out there. So I’ve just got to focus on my game. Anything can happen.”

The 18-year-old New Zealander saved par with a 10-foot putt on the par-4 18th, and has played bogey-free since her second hole in the first round. She won five times last season and is coming off second-place finish last week in Phoenix in the Founders Cup.

“I struck the ball really well,” Ko said. “I think almost the harder part was that because I was giving myself a lot of opportunities, it almost felt like I wasn’t putting good, but I was stroking good and holing a few putts here and there. I’m really proud with the way I played today. Obviously, I’ve got to take the positives and the confidence going into tomorrow.”

Sung Hyun Park, Brittany Lang and second-round leader Jenny Shin were tied for second.

Park had five straight birdies on Nos. 12-16, made a double bogey on par-5 17th, and closed with a birdie for a 68. Lang had a 70, making three birdies and four bogeys on the back nine. Shin shot 71.

“A lot of up-and-downs on the back nine, which I don’t like doing that,” Lang said. “I wasn’t quite as sharp on the back nine. I don’t know if I got a little tired or a little out of what I was doing. … But to come out with 2 under and still be right there, I’m very happy and excited for tomorrow.”

Second-ranked Inbee Park was 10-under after a 70.

Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson also carded a 70 and sits tied for 30th at 3-under.

PGA Tour

Ian Poulter shoots 68 to take Puerto Rico Open lead

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Ian Poulter (Jared C. Tilton/ Getty Images)

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Ian Poulter shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday at windy Coco Beach to take the third-round lead in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open.

Playing the event for the first time after failing to get into the Match Play tournament in Texas as the first alternate, the Englishman got up-and-down for par from a greenside bunker on the par-5 18th, holing a 15-foot putt.

“It was a big save,” Poulter said. “Obviously it’s a par 5, it’s pretty much reachable in two off of a decent drive and I kind of left myself in an awkward spot. It wasn’t lying very well on the right-hand side just short of the green. I guess I got a little bit too cute, hit it in the front trap, splashed it out to 15 feet, but I rolled that par putt in the middle. Each putt like that obviously makes a difference at the end of the week.”

Poulter bogeyed the par-4 13th and rebounded with birdies on the par-5 15th and par-3 16th. He’s trying to win for the first time since the 2012 World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China.

“We got here very late, early hours of Wednesday morning, but I felt comfortable,” Poulter said. “I like the windy conditions. It kind of takes me back to hitting some old-school shots and I feel comfortable on the course. The ball was kind of boring through that strong wind, so you’re still able to get good distance out there. But I’m happy. I’m happy how I’ve hung in there nicely.”

He had an 11-under 205 total.

Tony Finau, Jonathan Byrd and Steve Marino were a stroke back. Finau shot 67, Byrd 68, and Marino 69.

“It’s windy out there,” Byrd said. “You had to be kind of real purposeful with your shots and I did that for the most part of the day and I made some nice putts and just played really solid. I’ve played the par 5s beautifully for the most part this week.”

Puerto Rico’s Rafael Campos, the leader after each of the first two rounds, had a 72 to drop into a tie for fifth at 9 under with Scott Brown (67) and Aaron Baddeley (69).

Campos didn’t make a par until the eighth hole, opening with three bogeys, a double bogey and three birdies. He played the final 11 holes in 2 under, birdieing Nos. 12 and 16.

“I came off to a really bad start,” Campos said. “I was having some difficulty kind of getting my tempo going and coming over the top on most of the shots at the beginning. But I was fortunate to kind of get a good rhythm afterward, a good tempo especially coming into the back nine. … I really didn’t strike the ball well, as good as I wanted, but was able to at least recover myself a little bit at the end.”

A 5-under 67 performance propelled Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., to T8 at 8-under – three-shots back of the leader. Weyburn, Sask., native Graham DeLaet carded a 70 to move to T12 at 7-under, while Adam Svensson, a product of Surrey, B.C., was 2-under on the day and sits T36.

PGA Tour

Spieth loses match and No. 1 ranking as Day, McIlroy move on

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Jason Day (Christian Petersen/ Getty Images)

AUSTIN, Texas – The Dell Match Play has produced a semifinal that is almost bigger than Texas.

Even without Jordan Spieth.

Jason Day powered his way to two victories Saturday to assure that he will return to No. 1 in the world.

But this is no time to celebrate. His reward is a semifinal showdown against defending champion Rory McIlroy, who ran his unbeaten streak to 12 matches and needs two more to join Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back winners. This is only the second time the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds have met in the semifinals since the Match Play began in 1999. They are the last two winners of this event.

Play away, please.

“I expect it to be very, very tough and very stressful out there,” Day said. “And that’s the stuff I enjoy.”

Day and McIlroy have never met in match play.

“I’ve love to play Jason,” McIlroy said. “I’d really relish it. He’s playing really well at the minute, coming off a win last week. I’d be really up for it. It’s a big match.”

Spieth, who led the Texas Longhorns to an NCAA title in 2012 and had the gallery on his side all week, won’t be around for all the excitement.

He lost his fourth-round match to Louis Oosthuizen, and then he lost the No. 1 ranking when Day advanced to the semifinal. Spieth was more concerned about how his swing got out of sorts than losing the No. 1 ranking.

“To be honest, it could be a good thing for me going into the Masters,” he said.

Day and McIlroy were all square going to the back in their matches. Day won two of the first three holes to pull away from Brooks Koepka, closing him out on the 16th hole. McIlroy ran off four birdies in six holes for a 4-and-3 victory over Chris Kirk.

“It’s been a bit of an up and down week, especially emotionally,” said Day, who considered withdrawing when his back seized up on him after his first match of the week. “It’s been quite amazing to be able to start the week, not really thinking I’m going to be able to play with what happened Wednesday, and then turn around and I’m No. 1 in the world. It’s a strange feeling. I’m glad I stuck it out.”

Oosthuizen, who eliminated Spieth with a 4-and-2 victory in the morning, took advantage of Dustin Johnson’s blunders in the quarterfinals to win, 2 and 1. Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain also advanced to the semifinals by beating Ryan Moore, 2 and 1.

Oosthuizen and Day are the only semifinalists who have yet to play the 18th hole in competition at Austin Country Club.

“I didn’t make it very hard on Louis today, which is unfortunate,” said Spieth, who lost holes with three bogeys and a double bogey. “I was off from when I hit my first 10 shots on the range. I’ve had incredible control of the ball this week and of my wedges. I’m not exactly sure what happened.”

Spieth led a trail of Americans to the airport. There were 11 Americans in the round of 16 at the start of the day, none at the end of it. This is the first time since 2010 that no Americans advanced to the semifinals.

Day has played the fewest holes this week – 69 holes over five rounds – helped by an ill Paul Casey pulling out after six holes on Thursday.

Day squared the match against Koepka on the eighth hole, pulled ahead with a birdie on No. 10 and then hit out of the bunker to about 20 feet for an eagle that was conceded to go 2 up. Koepka never won another hole.

McIlroy’s toughest work came in the morning against Zach Johnson, who battled McIlroy to the very end. McIlroy was leading 1 up when he hit wedge to 3 feet on the 18th that seemingly wrapped up the match, except that Johnson made a 20-foot birdie putt and McIlroy had to roll in his birdie to win.

Oosthuizen reached the semifinals for the first time, and Johnson helped him get there.

Johnson three-putted for bogey on No. 11 to fall behind for the first time in the match. Oosthuizen went into the water on the par-5 12th, only for Johnson to follow with a shot into the water. Oosthuizen was 1 up playing the par-3 17th when he made a 20-foot birdie putt, and Johnson missed his birdie from 6 feet that would have extended the match.

“I just wanted to go through to tomorrow and see if I can get into this final,” Oosthuizen said.

That might be what it takes for anyone to pay attention to him or Cabrera Bello, who picked up one important victory this week. His victory Saturday morning assured him of moving into the top 50 at the end of the week and getting into the Masters for the first time.

PGA Tour Americas

Seth Reeves takes medalist honours at Mackenzie Tour Q-School

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Seth Reeves (Brian Decker/ PGA TOUR)

Suwanee, Georgia’s Seth Reeves finished up a final round 5-under 67 on Saturday morning at Reunion Resort and Spa’s Jack Nicklaus Signature Course to take medalist honours at the first of four Qualifying Tournaments for the 2016 Mackenzie Tour season.

The 25-year old, a former NCAA All-American at Georgia Tech, won by three shots over Sam Love to earn fully exempt status for the upcoming year.

“It’s huge. Not having to worry about the re-shuffle or anything is pretty cool, but knowing what I’m going to do this summer is great. I haven’t been up in Canada very much, so I’m excited to join the tour and have some fun and have a good summer,” said Reeves.

New Hamburg, Ontario’s Cam Burke finished T7 and was the low Canadian thanks to closing rounds of 68-69 and will be exempt through the season’s first four events. A two-time Canadian Men’s Amateur Champion, Burke will have Mackenzie Tour status for the first time in his career.

“It’s really important to have that locked down and to know that I’m going to have a good summer ahead of me and a quality place to play; that’s the most important thing,” said Burke.

In total, 41 players finished T32 to earn Mackenzie Tour status for the upcoming year.

PGA Tour

McIlroy, Day advance in different manners at Match Play

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Rory McIlroy (Tom Pennington/ Getty Images)

AUSTIN, Texas – Rory McIlroy had to go 20 holes. Jason Day only played six. Both advanced Friday to the round of 16 in the Dell Match Play that is loaded with Americans and a Texan who feels right at home.

Jordan Spieth got off to another quick start and sailed into the round of 16 with a 3-and-2 victory over Justin Thomas. The No. 1 player in the world also is the top crowd pleaser at Austin Country Club, where he used to qualify for matches during his brief time wearing the burnt orange of the Texas Longhorns.

The rest of the so-called “Big Three” joined him, even if Day and McIlroy reached the knockout stage in a different manner.

Day was all square in his match when Paul Casey withdrew because of a stomach illness that has been bothering him the last two days. Day was likely to advance, anyway, but the short day at least allowed him extra rest for his back and for the weekend ahead.

Day has played only 31 holes in three days.

“If I can make it all the way through Sunday, that means I’m playing 72 holes on the weekend, which is a lot of golf,” Day said.

McIlroy was in one of the four winner-take-all matches between undefeated players in their groups, and it was struggle from the start against Kevin Na. McIlroy, the defending champion, didn’t take the lead until the 15th hole, gave it right back and both missed birdie putt on 18 to halve their match.

It ended on No. 2, the second extra hole, when Na hooked his tee shot into a hazard and McIlroy holed a 6-foot putt for the win. He now has 10 straight matches dating to his victory last year at Harding Park in San Francisco.

“I was dying after 10 holes, but I knew I’d played the back nine well,” McIlroy said. “It is a sign of relief. It’s nice to get to the weekend.”

What felt like a marathon over three days now turns into a two-day race to the finish, with two sessions on Saturday and Sunday of single elimination. The round of 16 features 11 Americans, the most since there were 12 out of 16 in 2002.

Phil Mickelson also had a short day and was headed home. Patrick Reed holed out for an eagle on No. 10 to go 7 up, and Mickelson did well to get to the 14th hole before Reed closed him out, 5 and 4. Reed has never trailed in any match all week.

McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Chris Kirk and Byeong-Hun An all had to go extra holes.

Kirk and Branden Grace had an easy time winning their matches to finish 2-1 in their group. In a peculiar decision this year, players had to wait until everyone was on the course before the playoff. They were the first match and had to wait nearly three hours to start the playoff. It didn’t last long, as Grace went from a fairway bunker, over the green, and made bogey.

An, who won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last year, lost a chance to win his group when Rickie Fowler birdied the last hole to halve the match. That sent An into a playoff with Scott Piercy, who won the 18th hole to beat Jason Dufner. An hit his approach to 4 feet on the first playoff hole to advance.

Johnson beat Jimmy Walker for the second straight year, then had to birdie the opening hole to win a playoff over Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand.

Motoring right along was Zach Johnson, who has been the most dominant player this week in Austin. Johnson finally played the last three holes – but only for practice. He had an easy time against Shane Lowry, who was eliminated regardless of the outcome, and beat him, 4 and 3.

Johnson has played only 42 holes in three matches, all ending at the 15th or earlier.

“My scorecard, or whatever you want to call it, speaks for itself,” Johnson said. “With the exception of the first hole yesterday, I’ve never been down in a match. I’m not going to take this for granted. It’s not going to be easy no matter who my opponent is tomorrow and the rest of the weekend, hopefully. But I’m seeing my shots, my execution is there. I think I’m picking out good targets and I’ve obviously putting pretty well.”

So is Louis Oosthuizen, who has not lost this week and joined McIlroy as the only players to reach the round of 16 two straight years in the round-robin format. Next up for Oosthuizen is Spieth, and he knows what awaits.

“I think it’s going to be against 10-15,000 people,” Oosthuizen said.

In other groups:

  • Bill Haas and Adam Scott didn’t halve a hole after No. 7. Haas won the last two holes with birdie to advance with a 1-up victory.
  • Brandt Snedeker rallied from an early deficit to beat Charl Schwartzel and win his group.
  • Brooks Koepka lost his match, but won his group when Billy Horschel failed to beat Jaco Van Zyl.
  • Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain halved his match to advance.
  • Ryan Moore beat Lee Westwood to win his group.

PGA Tour

Campos holds onto lead at home in Puerto Rico Open

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Rafael Campos (Jared C. Tilton/ Getty Images)

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Rafael Campos held onto the lead in front of his home fans in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open, shooting a 1-under 71 in windy conditions Friday.

The 27-year-old Campos had a 9-under 135 total at Coco Beach for a one-stroke lead. One of two players to play in all nine editions of the event, he opened with a 64 on Thursday.

“It’s great just having so much support, so many people coming out here and following us,” Campos said. “I love seeing the little kids, I love seeing the parents and all that. They’re the future of golf.”

He’s the first Puerto Rican to lead a PGA Tour event since the 1979 Tallahassee Open, when Chi Chi Rodriguez was tied for the 54-hole lead and went on to win his eighth and final title.

“It really does feel great to be in this position,” Campos said. “I’m really relaxed. Ironically enough, I really feel very relaxed out there. Not really thinking of my swing, I’m not really thinking of the problems out there, I’m actually enjoying it. I like being in this position, I really do.”

George McNeill, the 2012 winner, was second after a 71.

“The wind’s blowing, it’s tricky,” McNeill said. “The greens aren’t very fast and this afternoon they didn’t putt as good as they did yesterday morning, obviously, with a lot of traffic on them.”

Ian Poulter, playing the event for the first time after failing to qualify for the Match Play tournament in Texas, was tied for third at 7 under after a 66 _ the best round of the day.

“The yardage books nowadays are good enough, you don’t need to be here for days and days and days trying to figure out the golf course,” Poulter said. “It’s right in front of you. It’s windy, you can see the bunkers, you can see the hazards.”

The Englishman birdied the first three holes and the last three in his bogey-free round.

“I had to stay patient,” Poulter said. “Opening up with three birdies first thing this morning was nice. It was easy to get a little bit frustrated yesterday not making putts I would have expected to hole. … To close with three birdies there was good and it kind of moves me up the board quite nicely.”

Defending champion Alex Cejka (71) also was 7 under along with Steve Marino (67), Bronson Burgoon (68), Kyle Reifers (70), Mark Hubbard (70) and Will MacKenzie (71).

Graham DeLaet (69) of Weyburn, Sask., was the top Canadian, four shots back of Compos and tied for 15th place.

“It was a little bit trickier today,” Cejka said. “It was a little bit more wind, it was tough to play. I really hit some good shots. … I’m hanging in there, just want to play the next couple days like I did the first two days.”

LPGA Tour

Jenny Shin shoots 65 to take Kia Classic lead

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Jenny Shin (Donald Miralle/ Getty Images)

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Jenny Shin took the lead Friday in the LPGA Tour’s Kia Classic, a stroke ahead of top-ranked Lydia Ko and Brittany Lang.

Shin birdied five of her first eight holes and had a 7-under 65 to reach 10-under 134 at Aviara in the final event before the major ANA Inspiration next week in Rancho Mirage. The 23-year-old South Korean player is winless on the LPGA Tour.

Ko shot a 67, and Lang had a 68. The 18-year-old Ko was second Sunday in Phoenix in the Founders Cup.

Second-ranked Inbee Park and fellow South Korean player Hyo Joo Kim were 8 under. Park had a 69, and Kim shot a 66.

Canadian Brooke Henderson shot up the leaderboard and is tied for 29th after shooting a 70. The Smiths Falls, Ont., native is 1 under for the tournament.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp and Maude-Aimee Leblanc, of Sherbrooke, Que., missed the cut.

 

PGA Tour Americas

Love builds lead with play suspended at Mackenzie Tour Q-School

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Sam Love (Matthew Stockman/ PGA TOUR)

Birmingham, Alabama’s Sam Love built a two-stroke lead midway through the fourth round at Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada qualifying school before play was suspended due to darkness at Reunion Resort and Spa’s Jack Nicklaus Signature Course.

The 24-year old, who made 19 starts on the Web.com Tour last season, was two under for his first nine holes thanks to two birdies and no bogeys, reaching 10-under overall and leading by two over Seth Reeves. The University of Alabama at Birmingham grad said he’ll return in the morning looking for medalist honours and exempt status on the Mackenzie Tour for 2016.

“Any of the Q-Schools that I’ve played, I always figure I’m going to have a better chance of making it through if I’m trying to win than if I’m trying to qualify. If you’re just trying to qualify, you get a little tentative and hit shots scared,” said Love.

Toronto’s Sebastian Szirmak was the low Canadian with nine holes to go, sitting in a tie for sixth at 4-under par for the tournament.

“I’m ready to finish strong tomorrow. Hopefully in the morning there will be some good scoring conditions and some birdies to grab before ending a long week,” said Szirmak.

Round four will resume Saturday morning with players in position at 8:00 a.m.