RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Lexi Thompson left Michelle Wie behind Sunday – off the tee and on the leaderboard in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

The 19-year-old Thompson closed with a bogey-free 4-under 68 at Mission Hills for a three-stroke victory over Wie. Thompson birdied four of the first nine holes to open a five-stroke lead and parred the final nine.

Wie birdied the final hole for a 71. She used her driver only four times, choosing to hit fairway-metal stingers on the other 10 driving holes – leaving her as much as 60 yards behind Thompson. When both hit 3-woods, Thompson also had the advantage.

Thompson became the second-youngest major winner in LPGA Tour history at 19 years, 1 month, 27 days. Morgan Pressel set the record in her 2007 victory at Mission Hills at 18 years, 10 months, 9 days.

Thompson finished at 14-under 274 for her fourth LPGA Tour victory. She opened with a 73, shot a tournament-best 64 on Friday and had a 69 on Saturday to tie for the lead with Wie at 10 under. The 6-foot Florida player had only one bogey – when she missed a 3-footer on the par-5 18th Saturday – in her last 55 holes.

Thompson won the 2011 Navistar LPGA in Alabama at 16 to become the youngest winner in tour history, a mark broken by Lydia Ko in the 2012 Canadian Women’s Open. Last year, Thompson won the LPGA Malaysia and Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

The 24-year-old Wie made her 12th start in the event. She was ninth in 2003 at age 13, fourth the following year and tied for third at 16 in 2006. She also was sixth in 2011.

Wie has two tour victories, winning the 2009 Lorena Ochoa Invitational and 2010 Canadian Women’s Open. She has been in the top 16 in all six of her starts this season.

Thompson hammered a drive 40 yards past Wie’s 3-wood on the par-4 opening hole and took the lead with a 15-foot birdie putt. Wie pulled even with a birdie on the par-5 second, chipping to 1 1/2 feet after leaving her second shot just short of the green.

Wie bogeyed the par-4 third, missing from 6 feet after a short chip.

Thompson birdied Nos. 4 and 5. She hit a 3-wood 30 yards past Wie’s 3-wood and made a 12-foot putt on the par-4 fourth, and holed a 5-footer on the par-3 fifth.

Thompson picked up another stroke on the par-3 eighth when Wie missed a 2-foot par putt, and pushed her lead to five with an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth.

Wie birdied the first two holes where she used her driver, hitting it past Thompson on the par-5 second and 11th. Wie also hit driver on the par-4 13th, setting up a wedge that she hit to 4 feet. But she left the birdie putt short to remain four strokes back.

She cut it to three on the par-3 14th, holing a 12-footer, but dropped a stroke after hitting well right on the par-3 17th.

Stacy Lewis, the 2011 winner, had a 67 to finish third at 7 under. Cristie Kerr and Se Ri Pak tied for fourth at 6 under. Kerr shot 72, and Pak had a 72.

Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson shot a 2-over par 74 Sunday. The 16-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont. tied for 26th with two others at 1-over 289. She’s currently ranked 6th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, but expect the defending Canadian Women’s Amateur Champion to jump a spot or two next week.

Notes of encouragement for Henderson came in from across the Twitterverse. Here is a brief sampling…

@TheGolfCanada Brooke Henderson @GAOGolf #incredibleperformance #veryproud

— Steve Carroll (@stevecarrollGAO) April 6, 2014

Fantastic day for #BrookeHenderson and so proud of our female Canadian golf star!!! #golf @TheGolfCanada @PGATOURCanada #futurewinner @LPGA

— JEN_M (@savagecookie) April 7, 2014

Congratulations to Brooke Henderson on a great performance! @TheGolfCanada #proud #incredibleperformance #lpgamajor

— Kathy St-Germain (@ckstgermain) April 7, 2014

Minjee Lee, the 17-year-old Australian who tops the World Amateur Golf Ranking, was low amateur. She closed with a 72 to tie for 24th at even par.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson topped the Kraft Nabisco leaderboard, setting up a possible final-round showdown the LPGA Tour has been waiting for.

The 24-year-old Wie shot a bogey-free 4-under 68 on Saturday to match Thomson at 10-under 206 at Mission Hills in the first major championship of the year.

The 19-year-old Thompson settled for a 69 after driving into a fairway bunker and missing a 3-foot par putt on the par-5 18th. She also missed two short birdie putts.

Charley Hull, the Englishwoman who turned 18 last month, was two strokes back along with five-time major champion Se Ri Pak. Hull birdied the 18th for a 66, the best round of the day in perfect afternoon conditions in the Coachella Valley. Pak shot 71.

Brooke Henderson shot a bogey-free 2-under par 70 Saturday to sit tied for 19th at 1-under 215 heading into the final round. The 16-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont. native is playing her second LPGA Tour major, having previously made the cut at the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open where she tied for 59th. The Team Canada member is also the defending Canadian Women’s Amateur Champion.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Lexi Thompson found a putting touch to match her power game Friday in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

The 19-year-old Thompson, already a three-time winner on the LPGA Tour, shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 at Mission Hills for a share of the lead with Se Ri Pak.

“This is my favorite tournament of the year,” Thompson said. “It’s so beautiful, like really nice weather, and the fans are amazing.”

Thompson had only 25 putts after taking 35 in a first-round 73.

“I just had a little bit of speed issues yesterday,” Thompson said. “I didn’t really commit to my lines and I came up short a lot. I just went out today and picked my line and sped up my tempo a little bit and went up to it and said, `I’m going to knock it in.'”

Pak birdied the final hole for a 70 to match Thompson at 7-under 137 in the first major championship of the year. The 36-year-old South Korean player won the last of her five major titles in 2006 and has 25 LPGA Tour victories.

“Everything has just been really solid,” Pak said. “I kept it fairways, greens, always the goal every hole. I had a lot of opportunities, but putting is not as good as yesterday. Still, just really smooth, solid round. I’m really happy about the way I finished.”

Michelle Wie was a stroke back after a 71.

“I’m really excited,” Wie said. “It’s fun being near the top of the leaderboard. But try not to look forward too much. It’s a long way `til Sunday.”

Thompson birdied eight of the last 13 holes after opening with five pars.

“I was just trying to stay in the moment and focus on each shot, not really think about what I was shooting,” Thompson said. “I had the same confidence over every shot, just committing to my line and just being confident.”

She made a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the par-3 17th – her eighth hole – and two-putted for birdie after reaching the par-5 18th in two.

Thompson holed a breaking 30-foot birdie putt on the par-4 first, made a 4-footer on the par-4 third and ran in a 20-foot putt on the par-4 fourth after slashing out from under a tree in the left rough. She added an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-4 seventh and closed with a 10-footer on the par-5 ninth after hitting into the greenside bunker in two.

“I’m really comfortable with the golf course,” Thompson said. “I get to hit a lot of drivers, so I just aim up the right side and hit my little draw.”

Wie opened with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 10th, and dropped a stroke on the par 13th after driving behind a tree in the right rough. She had a three-putt par on 18 – missing a 3-footer – after reaching the water-guarded green in two.

“It felt good to start off with a birdie,” Wie said. “After that, really just couldn’t get anything going. … But it felt good. Par is a good score out here.”

On the par-5 second, she made a 25-foot birdie putt after hitting a snap hook off the tee. Instead of going out of bounds, the ball hit a tree and ricocheted into the fairway.

“It was a pretty lucky shot,” Wie said. “I thought it was for sure OB.”

First-round leader Shanshan Feng bogeyed the final two holes for a 73 to drop into a tie for fourth with Cristie Kerr at 5 under. Kerr had a 70.

Thompson, Pak and Wie played in calm morning conditions, while the breeze picked up as Feng and Kerr finished their afternoon rounds on the overcast day.

“The wind kind of picked up, so it was actually tougher playing compared to yesterday,” Feng said. “I think I actually did pretty well. I did make two bogeys coming in, but I was still concentrating, and it just happens. Sometimes you make good strokes and they don’t fall on this course. I’m still positive.”

Anna Nordqvist, the winner in Thailand in February and Carlsbad last week, was tied for sixth at 4 under after a 69. Playing partner Stacy Lewis, the 2011 champion, had a 70 to join 16-year-old Lydia Ko and Hall of Famer Karrie Webb at 1 under. Ko and Webb, a two-time winner this year, also shot 70.

Defending champion Inbee Park was even par after a 70.

Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson carded a 4-under 68 to climb 46 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 36th at 1 over par. The 16-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont. native had just one blemish on her second-round scorecard – a bogey on the par 4 16th.

Brooke Henderson

Toronto’s Rebecca Lee-Bentham failed to qualify for weekend action. The former Team Canada member shot an even-par 72 Friday to finish 8 over, tying for 92nd.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Canadian Women’s Amateur Champion Brooke Henderson is a little less starstruck as she prepares for her second career appearance at an LPGA Tour major event.

The 16-year-old student from Smith Falls, Ont., says she has more tour experience now than when she competed at the 2013 Women’s U.S. Open, where she made the cut but finished tied for 59th.

Her first major appearance came in just her second career tour event. Henderson will be a little more relaxed at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, which begins Thursday at Mission Hills Country Club.

“This will be my fifth (tour event), so it’s just a lot more comfortable being around the big stars,” she said Wednesday on a conference call. “They know me a little bit better and call me by name, which is pretty cool.

“My nerves have calmed down a little bit and I know what to expect, where I was a little unsure in the beginning at the U.S. Open.”

Click here to listen to the entire conference call

The event comes with a US$300,000 first prize and $2-million total purse although as an amateur, that doesn’t matter to Henderson. She’s one of 10 amateurs invited to compete.

Henderson, the sixth-ranked women’s amateur golfer in the world, will be joined by 22-year-old pro Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Toronto, the only other Canadian in the field.

Henderson has yet to finish high school but has already verbally committed to a scholarship at the University of Florida. She hopes to crack the top three in the world amateur rankings by the end of the summer.

Older sister Brittany will caddy for her at Mission Hills, as she did at the U.S. Open. Henderson credits her sister, who’s also a golfer, for being a role model.

“I grew up watching her play and wanted to be exactly like her,” she said. “I used to follow her around at tournaments … she knows my game very well.”

Henderson is also a member of Team Canada.

Several Canadian golf journalists took to Twitter during and following the teleconference, where they commended Henderson for her calm demeanor during the call… Among other things.

A great job by 16 y/o Brooke Henderson #twitterlessbrooke in her first national media teleconference – handling media questions like a pro

— Scott MacLeod (@Flagstick) April 2, 2014

Teen golfer Brooke Henderson does teleconference from LPGA event in Calif. Says it’s “pretty cool” that some stars know her by name. #golf — Gord Holder (@HolderGord) April 2, 2014

Can’t tell you how impressed I am with the answers Brooke Henderson is giving the national media right now…. @KraigKann would love it.

— Rick Young (@RickSCOREGolf) April 2, 2014

@TheGolfCanada @RickSCOREGolf @KraigKann Consistently shows her maturity can’t be found by looking at her birthdate. #classact

— Mark Donaldson (@TruthBombGolf) April 2, 2014

Ormond Beach, Fla. – National Amateur Team member Brooke Henderson fired a final round 72 to pull ahead of the pack with a 4-stroke victory at the Women’s South Atlantic Amateur Championship – also known as The Sally – in Ormond Beach, Fla.

With the win the Smiths Falls, Ont. native racks up her third consecutive victory. She took home medalist honours at the Spirit International in November, won the Junior Orange Bowl Championship in December and has now won The Sally.

She carded 4 birdies on Saturday’s final round to seal her place atop the leaderboard at 3-under par (67-76-70-72). Coming in second with a 1-over 289 (70-75-71-73) was Annabel Dimmock of Virginia Water, England.

Wales’ Chloe Williams was neck-and-neck with Henderson heading into Saturday’s round, but struggled on during the final round to an 11-over 83. She ended in a tie for third with Brazil’s Clara Teixera at 9-over par.

Canadians Meredith Fairbairn (Orangeville, Ont.) and Kimberly Risulmi (Lloydminster, Alta.) finished T23 and T56, respectively.

For full results, click here.

Ormond Beach, Fla. – Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson fired a 2-under 70 to hold onto a 1-stroke advantage over Wales’ Chloe Williams at the Women’s South Atlantic Amateur Championship.

Williams bogeyed the 18^th to match Henderson’s third round score of 70 heading into the fourth and final round Saturday.

Henderson, 16, has not given up her lead since Wednesday’s opening round of 67. The Smiths Falls, Ont., native will look to win her second straight tournament when play resumes tomorrow – she won the Junior Orange Bowl Championship back in December.

Fellow Canadian Meredith Fairbairn of Orangeville, Ont., sits tied for 24th after a 7-over 79. Kimberly Risulmi of Lloydminster, Alta. slipped to 58^th after carding an 86.

Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson struggled with the windy conditions on Thursday, carding a 4-over 76 at the Women’s South Atlantic Amateur Championship in Ormond Beach, Fla.

The Smiths Falls, Ont., native maintains the lead by one stroke over Chloe Williams of Wales, who shot a 3-under 69 – the lowest score of the day and the only player to break par.

Fellow Canadian Meredith Fairbairn also struggled with the conditions on Thursday, slipping to T24 on the leaderboard after a 10-over 82. Kimberly Risulmi of Llyodminster, Alta. sits at T55 with a 174 (87-87) through two rounds.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. established a 3-stroke lead Wednesday after shooting an opening round 67 at the Women’s South Atlantic Amateur Championship in Ormond Beach, Fla.

Henderson, a Team Canada member, didn’t get off to the greatest start at Oceanside Country Club as she carded a bogey on the 4th hole. But the 16-year-old turned things around not long after, closing out her front nine with birdie to make the turn at 1-under (35).

Henderson heated up on the back 9, birdying five of the next six holes. She finished the day three strokes ahead of England’s Annabel Dimmock and Harin Lee of Bayside, N.Y., who scored matching 2-under 70’s.

Fellow Canadian Meredith Fairbairn (Orangeville, Ont.,) sits tied for 16th at 4-over after shooting an opening-round 76. Kimberly Risulmi of Lloydminster, Alta. is tied for 59th at +15.

Toronto – The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) has announced Graham DeLaet, Rebecca Lee-Bentham, Corey Conners and Brooke Henderson have been voted 2013 GJAC Players of the Year by the organization.

DeLaet was voted as the Male Professional of the Year after his a breakout season on the PGA Tour. With seven top-10 finishes, DeLaet was 34th on the FedEx Cup standings and a career- high 32nd in the Official Golf World Ranking. He was the first Canadian since Mike Weir to represent Canada on the International Team at the biennial Presidents Cup competition.

Rebecca Lee-Bentham was named the Female Professional of the Year. She was the top- earning Canadian on the LPGA Tour with just over $118,000 in 19 events. Her best finish was a T-11 at the Evian Championship, now a Major on the LPGA Tour.

On the amateur side, Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners were named Female and Male Amateurs of the Year.

Brooke Henderson, at just 16 years old, is the No. 6 ranked female amateur in the world. She captured the Canadian Women’s Amateur – leading to an appearance at the Canadian Women’s Open on the LPGA Tour – and also the CN Future Links Pacific Championship. She made the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open and the LPGA Manulife Financial LPGA Classic. Henderson captured the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl in Florida December 30th to close out her year.

Conners, in his final year at Kent State University in Ohio, is a member of Team Canada’s National Amateur team. He finished the year 40th on the World Amateur Golf Ranking thanks to a slew of top-10 finishes at various amateur events in 2013 including a runner-up finish at the Canadian Men’s Amateur and a semi-final appearance at the U.S. Amateur.

CORAL GABLES, Florida – Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson saved her best round for last at the Junior Orange Bowl, firing a final round 4-under 67 in Coral Gables, Fla., on Monday to take home individual honours.

The Smiths Falls, Ont., native’s final round on the Biltmore Hotel course was highlighted by six birdies and a closing 2-under 34 back nine. Her 4-under 280 total (68-72-73-67) left her five strokes ahead of Megan Khang of the USA who finished at 1-over for the championship after a 3-under 68 final round.

“It’s an awesome feeling,” Henderson said about her win to media in Florida. “I came here with this in mind and I’m really pleased. Today I was finally able to get my putting working, compared to the first three days. I felt very comfortable on the greens all day.”

The victory marks the 16-year-old’s fifth title of 2013 after she captured the South American Amateur, CN Future Links Pacific Championship, Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship and Spirit International medalist honours earlier in the year.

In the junior boys division, Team Canada Development Squad member Tony Gil of Vaughan, Ont., finished in 26th place at 12-over par. Italy’s Renato Paratore took home individual honours at 9-under 275.

For complete scoring from the Junior Orange Bowl click here