CARLSBAD, Calif. – Dori Carter might have gotten a bit ahead of herself late in the second round of the Kia Classic. She still left everyone else behind Friday.

After birdieing six of the first seven holes on the back nine, Carter bogeyed the final two holes for an 8-under 64. The round was her lowest in competition and broke the Aviara course record.

Winless on the LPGA Tour, the former University of Mississippi player had 11 birdies and three bogeys. At 10-under 134, she had a two-stroke lead over Stacy Lewis and Cristie Kerr.

Lewis shot 66, and Kerr had a 68.

Toronto’s Rebecca Lee-Bentham carded a 2-over 74 Friday. The former Team Canada member is tied for 37th at even-par 144. She was the lone Canadian to make the 36-hole cut.

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Paula Creamer easily overcame tricky morning wind conditions Thursday in the Kia Classic for a share of the first-round lead with Mariajo Uribe.

Creamer and Uribe shot 5-under 67 at Aviara to finish a stroke ahead of Cristie Kerr, Shanshan Feng, Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Mi Hyang Lee.

“It was swirling a lot,” Creamer said about the wind. “It was pretty inconsistent at spots out there, but you just kind of have to trust your wind map or trust and see what’s going on out there.”

A playoff winner March 2 in Singapore, Creamer had six birdies and bogeyed the par-4 15th – her sixth hole of the day – after her approach plugged in the face of a bunker.

“I played pretty solid,” Creamer said. “I had one bogey, but I gave myself a bunch of opportunities and putted really well, made some good two-putts. I think it’s an advantage playing early in the morning and I wanted to take that advantage.”

In Singapore, she made a breaking, downhill 75-foot eagle putt on the second extra hole to beat Azahara Munoz. The victory ended a 79-event drought dating to the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open.

“It’s beneficial any time to win, but for me, it definitely has made this season, a lot sweeter, that’s for sure,” Creamer said. “It’s made me believe even more in what we’re doing with my golf swing. All those hard times that I’ve been struggling with the last couple of years, it just kind of puts a cap to it and all and just shows what perseverance is all about.”

Uribe, from Colombia, birdied Nos. 2-5 and 11 in her bogey-free afternoon round. The former UCLA player won the 2007 U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Top-ranked Inbee Park, preparing for her title defense next week in the Kraft Nabisco Championship in Rancho Mirage, was two strokes back at 69 along with Munoz, Lexi Thompson, Lizette Salas and Tiffany Joh.

“My ball-striking was great,” Park said. “I hit almost probably every fairway and every green and I probably hit everything inside 15 feet. Didn’t hole anything. …

“Today was like the day I could have gone 10 under, but still in the 60s. That’s all right. Three more days, keep the ball-striking like this week and next week and I think it’ll be good.”

Thompson had four birdies and a three-putt bogey.

“It was a pretty consistent day,” Thompson said. “Could have dropped a few more putts coming in, but overall I played very solid, so I’m happy with it.”

Rebecca Lee-Bentham lead the Canadian charge. The Toronto native shot a 2-under 70 and is tied for 12th. The other Canadians didn’t fare as well.

Alena Sharp, Jennifer Kirby and Maude-Aimee LeBlanc are tied for 100th at 4-over 76. Sue Kim is a stroke back after a 77 and is tied for 127th.

Lorie Kane rounds out the Canadian contingent.

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis shot 73, and 16-year-old Lydia Ko had a 74. She carded a 7-over 79 and is tied for 134th.

Karrie Webb, coming off a victory Sunday in Phoenix in the JTBC Founders Cup, had a 75. The 39-year-old Hall of Famer also won the Women’s Australian Open last month.

DIVOTS: Kia endorser Michelle Wie shot 70. … Defending champion Beatriz Recari had a 71. … Yani Tseng also shot 71. She won the 2012 tournament for the last of her 15 tour titles and has dropped from first to 46th in the world in a year.

PHOENIX – Karrie Webb flew up the leaderboard with a course-record 9-under 63, then waited about 90 minutes to see if anyone could catch her in the JTBC Founders Cup.

No one could, giving the 39-year-old Australian her second victory of the season and second in four years at Desert Ridge. She won the Women’s Australian Open last month and has 41 LPGA Tour victories.

For the second time in the event, Webb overcame a six-stroke deficit in the final round to win. In 2011, she closed with a 66 for a one-stroke victory.

The World Golf Hall of Famer birdied five of the last six holes, making a 20-footer on the 18th.

Third-round leader Lydia Ko parred the final three holes to finish a stroke back along with 2013 winner Stacy Lewis, Azahara Munoz, Amy Yang and Mirim Lee.

Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont. was the lone Canadian to make the cut. The former Team Canada member shot 69 and tied for 36th at 9-under par 279.

PHOENIX – Lydia Ko topped the crowded leaderboard in the JTBC Founders Cup, pulling ahead with two late birdies.

The 16-year-old New Zealander shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday to reach 16-under 200 at Desert Ridge. She tapped in for birdie on the par-5 15th after missing an 8-foot eagle putt and took the outright lead with a 10-footer on the par-3 17th.

Ko won the Canadian Women’s Open as an amateur the last two years and took the Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters in December in Thailand in her second start as a professional. She has five victories in pro events, also winning in Australia and New Zealand.

Jessica Korda and Mirim Lee were a stroke back, and a dozen players were within four shots. Korda had a 66, and Lee shot 70.

Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont. carded a third round 70. She tied for 42nd spot at 6-under-par.

PHOENIX – Mirim Lee remained atop the JTBC Founders Cup leaderboard in her third LPGA Tour start.

The 23-year-old South Korean player shot a 5-under 67 on Friday to take a two-stroke advantage over 16-year-old Lydia Ko into the weekend at Desert Ridge’s Wildfire Golf Club.

A three-time winner on the Korean LPGA, Lee played the final eight holes in 5 under, making an eagle and three birdies to reach 13-under 131. She opened with a 64 on Thursday for a one-shot lead.

Ko, the Canadian Women’s Open winner as an amateur the last two years, shot 66. The first-year pro played a late six-hole stretch in 6 under with an eagle and four birdies.

Sun Young Yoo was third at 10 under after a 65.

Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont. was the lone Canadian to survive the 36-hole cut in Arizona. Kirby carded a second round 1-under 71 and sits in a tie for 38th at 4-under 140 heading into the weekend. Toronto’s Rebecca Lee-Bentham sat in a tie for 18th after the opening round but struggled on Friday carding a 5-over 77 to finish three strokes outside of the cut line alongside Sue Kim of Langely, B.C. at 1-over par.

PHOENIX – Golf’s magic number of 59 in range after she played the first 11 holes in 9 under, Pressel bogeyed the next two holes and closed with five pars for a 7-under 65.

“I don’t know if I was necessarily thinking 59, but I probably just got a little bit excited, because I had never been that many under par in that short of a span,” Pressel said. “I just got a little bit quick and came back to earth.”

She ended up a stroke behind Mirim Lee at Desert Ridge.

After birdieing Nos. 1 and 2 – her 10th and 11th holes – to reach 9 under, Pressel pulled her drive left on the par-4 third. Her ball lodged at the base of a short bush, with the bulk of the branches between the right-hander and the ball. There were burrowing animal holes near the ball, but they didn’t interfere with a possible swing or stance.

“I could have hit it left-handed and there were a couple of burrowing animal holes around,” Pressel said. “I brought them (rules officials) over to ask, but I didn’t honestly think that I was going to get relief and I don’t think that I deserved it.”

Pressel took an unplayable lie and missed the green to the right, chipped to 7 feet and made the putt to save bogey. She also dropped a stroke on the par-3 fourth, missing a 15-footer after hitting another iron to the right.

“It wasn’t the finish that I would have hoped for, but it gives me a little bit of confidence knowing how many birdies I can make and I’m capable of,” Pressel said.

She was 6 under after six holes, birdieing the first four and making a 50-footer for eagle on the par-5 15th. She also birdied the par-3 17th and made the turn in 7-under 29.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever gotten off to that hot of a start,” Pressel said.

Annika Sorenstam shot the only 59 in LPGA Tour history in the 2001 Standard Register Ping at nearby Moon Valley. Ai Miyazato holds the record in the 4-year-old Founders Cup, shooting a 63 in the first round last year.

A tour regular since she was 17, the 25-year-old Pressel won the 2007 Kraft Nabisco to become the youngest women’s major champion. She also won the 2008 Kapalua LPGA.

“I definitely feel like I have the ability to win again,” Pressel said.

Lee also started on No. 10 and nearly matched Pressel’s start, playing her opening nine in 6-under 30. She had three birdies and a bogey on the front side for a 64.

“Everything was good,” said Lee, making her third LPGA Tour start.

Defending champion Stacy Lewis, top-ranked Inbee Park and Michelle Wie were two strokes back at 66 along with 2011 winner Karrie Webb, Eun-Hee Ji, Catriona Matthew, Gerina Piller and Pernilla Lindberg.

“A lot of tee shots set up well for me,” Lewis said. “They fit my eye.”

Coming off a victory two weeks ago in China in a Ladies European Tour event, Park birdied the final three holes. She closed with a tap-in birdie on the par-4 ninth after nearly holing a full pitching wedge.

“It was a very solid round,” Park said. “Very good irons.”

Wie eagled the par-5 fifth.

“I hit 3-wood, 5-iron over the green and then chipped in,” Wie said.

Sixteen-year-old Lydia Ko opened with a 67. Playing alongside Park, Ko closed with a bogey after driving left into the desert.

“I forgot to bring my food and my protein bars,” Ko said. “That’s my excuse.”

Park had six LPGA Tour victories last season, sweeping the first three majors, and became the first South Korean to win the player of the year award. She took a break after the season and skipped the first two events this year, returning with a second-place finish in Thailand and a tie for fourth in Singapore.

“I was a little bit exhausted last year after all the things happened,” Park said.

Paula Creamer, a playoff winner three weeks ago in Singapore in the last LPGA Tour event, shot 70. She had a double bogey on the par-4 eighth, her 17th hole.

“Just one bad swing on the tee shot and hit in the hazard,” Creamer said.

Canada’s Rebecca Lee-Bentham (Toronto) opened with a 4-under 68. She’s tied for 18th.

The Toronto native was late to her pro-am tee time yesterday, but not late enough to be disqualified.

The other Canucks in the field had varied results.

Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont. was a stroke back of Bentham at 3-under 69, which is the lowest round of her season on tour. She’s tied for 33rd.

Langley, B.C.’s Sue Kim opened with a 2-over par 74 (T110th) and Hamilton, Ont.’s Alena Sharp shot a 4-over 76 (T125th).

WATERLOO, Ont. – Defending champion Hee Young Park, Brittany Lang, world ranked #3 Stacy Lewis, and Canadian up-and-comer Jennifer Kirby, top the list of early commitments for the 2014 Manulife Financial LPGA Classic.

The third annual LPGA event will be held from June 4 to 8 at Grey Silo Golf Course.

Hee Young Park, from South Korea, defeated American Angela Stanford in a three-hole playoff at the 2013 Manulife Financial LPGA Classic to capture her second professional victory. Park birdied the par-5 18th hole four straight times to take the win and earn the $195,000 first-place cheque. Park shot a career-best 61 on the par-71 course to finish the week at 26-under par 258.

”The Canadian fans are so nice. Boys, girls, people of every age, they always cheer for us players and motivate us to play our best,” said Park. “I am excited to come back in June to see everyone again!”

Brittany Lang became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the inaugural Manulife Financial LPGA Classic in 2012, capturing a victory in a four-way, three-hole sudden death playoff. Brittany had a busy year in 2013: 28 events, 22 cuts made, seven top-20 finishes including a season-best tie for seventh at the U.S. Women’s Open. Lang competed on her third U.S. Solheim Cup Team and posted a record of 3-1-0.

Manulife Financial recently announced multi-year partnerships with 2013 Women’s British Open Champion Stacy Lewis and Canadian professional Jennifer Kirby. Both Lewis and Kirby will represent Manulife globally during the 2014 LPGA Tour season. Lewis, currently ranked #3 in the Rolex World Rankings, had an extremely successful season, winning three events in 2013, including one Major Championship at the Women’s British Open, contested at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

Kirby turned professional following graduation from the University of Alabama in the spring of 2013. That same year, Kirby emerged victorious in her professional debut at the Canadian Women’s Tour in Quebec and earned her full 2014 LPGA Tour Card by finishing 5th at the LPGA Q-School qualifying event.

While Park, Lang, Lewis and Kirby are scheduled to play in the tournament, the remaining field is not yet set.

“As we get to the end of this cold winter, it is exciting to start talking about the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic and some of the familiar faces we are expecting to see back in Waterloo Region,” Tournament Director Richard Kuypers. “We have the best fans in the world and this year’s event is guaranteed to impress all spectators, new and returning!”

For more information, including ticketing and volunteer opportunities, visit www.manulifeclassic.ca.

PHOENIX – Juli Inkster, the most prolific American in Solheim Cup history, has been selected captain of a team that has lost the last two times to Europe.

Inkster is to be introduced Tuesday night at the JTBC Founders Cup, the first domestic event of the LPGA Tour season. She holds the U.S. record for most Solheim Cup appearances (nine), most points won (18 1/2) and most matches won (15).

The Solheim Cup will be in September 2015 at St. Leon-Rot in Germany.

“It’s not do or die. You’re still going to be the same person when get on that plane and fly home, but it will be a lot more enjoyable flight if we have that cup with us,” Inkster said Monday during a conference call.

“It’s not rocket science,” she said. “You just go over there and play some golf, and I think the girls just … believe me, if they just play the way they should play, we’re going to have fun, and we’re going to win. The Europeans, they’re hungry. They always seem to play their best golf as a team during Solheim Cup. And we’ve just got to find a way to play to match their intensity and match their golf.”

Europe won in Ireland in 2011, and then steamrolled the Americans in Colorado last summer for its first win in the U.S.

Golf World first reported Inkster’s selection Monday.

Inkster is among the most respected players of a career that covers 30 years, 31 victories, seven majors and the career Grand Slam. She was the first woman to win three straight U.S. Women’s Amateur titles, and she won two majors as an LPGA rookie in 1984. She last played the Solheim Cup in 2011. Inkster had a 6-1-2 record in singles.

Inkster grew up in the era of Nancy Lopez, Pat Bradley and Betsy King. She relates just as easily to a younger generation, some of whom are younger than her two daughters.

“When we see all the highlight videos, Juli is in most of them, and she’s usually dancing around the green and having fun,” Stacy Lewis said. “And I think that’s what she’s going to bring to his. Like she said, we’ve played tight the last few years. We’ve played to not lose instead of just going out there trying to win. I think she’s going to help us relax a little bit and hopefully have a little bit more fun.”

Inkster said longtime friend Pat Hurst would be her assistant. They have played and traveled together for years. Inkster is all about instincts. Hurst is geared toward the details, which will be fewer as the visiting team in Germany.

Along with the respect from her Hall of Fame career and Solheim Cup career, Inkster said having daughters the same age as some players won’t hurt.

“I think I kind of know where they’re coming from and know what they’re thinking,” she said. “Hopefully, I don’t get any roll of the eyes, but you never know. But I do think it’ll help. No one wants to be micromanaged, and I don’t micromanage my kids, and I’m not going to micromanage the team. They know what they’re doing. It’s not like their first rodeo.

“I’m just going to be there to help them, guide them and lend an ear,” she said. “That’s pretty much what parenting is – helping them make the right decision. And, hopefully, I can do that with the kids.”

SINGAPORE – Paula Creamer sank a 75-foot eagle putt on the second playoff hole against Azahara Munoz to win the HSBC Women’s Champions on Sunday for her first LPGA title since the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open.

Creamer’s putt curled across the 18th green and then rolled slowly down the slope and directly into the hole. She ran across the green, then fell to her knees and put her head on the ground, laughing and pounding the grass.

“It’s one of those putts where if you just get it in the right spot, it’s going to fall down,” she said. “But I could stand there all day long and putt that and I don’t think get it within six, seven feet.”

Creamer and Munoz finished 72 holes tied at 10-under 278, one stroke ahead of Karrie Webb, who led after every round but bogeyed three of her last six holes to give up a three-shot lead and finish third.

Creamer captured eight titles early in her career before getting her breakthrough win at a major at the U.S. Women’s Open.

After that title, though, Creamer found it tough to win again. She came close on a number of occasions, only to fall short every time.

Two years ago, she lost an LPGA record nine-hole playoff against Jiyai Shin at the Kingsmill Championship. She was also third here in Singapore last year and finished in a tie for third twice to start this season.

“I just was struggling. I was enjoying what I was doing, but I wasn’t loving it,” she said. “My expectations were way too high.”

In December, Creamer got engaged to Derek Heath, which she said put some of her past difficulties in perspective. Then came Sunday’s victory against one of the toughest fields outside the majors, featuring 19 of the top 20 ranked players.

“It might be one of my favourite wins. … It’s been almost three years and so much has happened,” she said. “Holding that trophy, gosh, it was so nice.”

For much of the day, it appeared as if Webb, not Creamer, would take the trophy home. But after avoiding trouble on a tricky Serapong course at Sentosa Golf Club for much of the week, the veteran Australian stumbled late.

First, Webb’s three-foot par putt on the 13th caught the edge of the hole and curled away. Then she hooked her tee shot left on the 15th, grimacing as it dropped into the water. She settled for bogey on both.

She came undone on the 18th when another errant tee shot ended up in a bunker. She took a big swing at the ball and it hit the lip of the bunker, plopping back down into the sand to lead to another bogey.

“I’m a bit in my head right now,” Webb said after the round. “Just not a lot of good decisions.”

Creamer and Munoz, meanwhile, were steady in the closing holes.

Creamer, who trailed Webb by four strokes at the start of the day, made a difficult 12-footer for birdie on the 15th to pull even with Webb at 10 under. Then, after hitting into the bunker herself on No. 18, she recovered to save par and headed to the clubhouse to wait for Munoz to finish.

The Spaniard, who had trailed by five strokes early in the round, came out of nowhere to join the leaders by sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on the 17th. She had a chance to win it on the 18th but pulled her birdie putt wide.

Webb wasn’t the only one who had a disappointing day. Defending champion Stacy Lewis saw her streak of 13 consecutive top-10 finishes broken with her joint-40th place. She had been closing in on Webb’s LPGA record of 16 straight top-10 finishes, set in 1998-99.

“I played terrible all week,” she said. “I didn’t hit the ball well or make any putts.”

World No. 1 Inbee Park shot a 68 to finish in joint fourth place at 7-under 281 with No. 2 Suzann Pettersen, So Yeon Ryu, Angela Stanford and Morgan Pressel.

Michelle Wie and Teresa Lu were two strokes back in a tie for ninth.

SINGAPORE – Karrie Webb and Angela Stanford were so close down the stretch Saturday at the HSBC Women’s Champions, matching each other birdie for birdie, that Stanford only sees one way to get the advantage in Sunday’s final round.

“I’m going to send Webbie a six-pack (of beer) tonight,” she said.

Webb wasn’t sure that would help. “I’ll probably drink wine coolers,” the Australian veteran said.

The two players set up a showdown between former HSBC champions after finishing off their third rounds with identical birdies over three of the last five holes Saturday to separate themselves slightly from the rest of the crowded leaderboard.

Webb, the 2011 winner, shot a 70 to move to 11-under 205, one stroke ahead of 2012 champion Stanford, who had a 69.

They both have a chance to be the first repeat champion of the tournament, although on two different courses. Both players picked up their first HSBC crown at Singapore’s Tanah Merah Country Club and this year’s event is being played at the Sentosa Golf Club.

Still, Stanford said, there are enough other quality players within striking range after a momentum-shifting day that anybody could claim the title.

“It’s really not worth looking at (the leaderboard),” she said. “You just know a lot of people are going to be at the top.”

Among those chasing Webb and Stanford are Spain’s Azahara Munoz, who fired an eagle and four birdies for a 5-under 67, the low round of the day; and Taiwan’s Teresa Lu, who gave up her LPGA membership in 2010 to concentrate on playing in Japan. Both are tied for third at 8-under 208.

America’s Paula Creamer, who briefly held the lead with Webb and Munoz on Saturday, had six birdies to go with three bogeys to sit in fifth place at 7 under.

Morgan Pressel of the United States was at 6 under, Norway’s Suzann Pettersen was another stroke back at 5 under, and Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall and South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi were in joint eighth at 4 under.

Webb, a seven-time major winner, led the first two rounds in Singapore, but started out slowly on Saturday. She played her front nine at even par and then bogeyed the 10th hole to go to 1 over, allowing the rest of the field to close the gap.

“Even when I was not giving myself a lot of good birdie opportunities early on, I had to tell myself it’s Saturday, there’s plenty of golf left to be played and just to be patient,” she said. “And fortunately I listened to myself for a change.”

Webb turned it around on the 153-yard, par-3 14th hole, where she struck her tee shot to within a couple feet of the hole for an easy birdie putt. Next came a chip shot from the fairway on the 16th which rolled in for birdie to give her a two-stroke lead again.

Stanford stayed with Webb, though, as the other challengers fell back. Not to be outdone on the 14th, the American placed her tee shot even closer than Webb’s – a mere inches – leading to birdie. She matched Webb’s birdie again on the 16th, and both players closed the round with birdies on the 18th.

If either veteran slips in the final round, however, Munoz and Lu are right behind them.

Both players are looking for their second LPGA titles. Munoz captured her only tournament at the 2012 Sybase Match Play Championship, while Lu won hers at last year’s Mizuno Classic.

Defending champion Stacy Lewis’ disappointing week, meanwhile, looks likely to end her streak of 13 consecutive top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour. Lewis shot a 73 on Saturday, leaving her far down the leaderboard in joint-42nd place.

Lewis, the reigning Women’s British Open champion, is only three away from matching Webb’s LPGA record of 16 consecutive top-10 finishes, set in 1998-99.