SYLVANIA, Ohio – Hyo Joo Kim bogeyed her final hole Thursday for a 5-under 66 and a share of the Marathon Classic lead with fellow South Korean player Mirim Lee and Japan’s Haru Nomura.

Celebrating her 21st birthday, Kim had four birdies in a six-hole stretch on her second nine at rain-softened Highland Meadows.

“Last night, it was raining, so it’s little bit more softer green,” Kim said through a translator. “I hit good shots, a lot of good shots, good drives, good putts, but on the last hole I missed a putt. … “Best part of game was tee shot, which is driver shot and iron shot. I’m not complaining about any shot today.”

She won the season-opening event in the Bahamas for her third career title.

“It was long time ago, so I forgot kind of what feel it was,” Kim said.

Nomura won the Women’s Australian Open in February for her first LPGA Tour title and took the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in April in California.

“Today par-putter is good,” Nomura said. “Shots good, second numbers, and everything smooth.”

Ariya Jutanugarn, the long-hitting Thai player who won three straight events in May, was a stroke back at 67 along with American Kelly Shon and France’s Celine Herbin.

“I played pretty good,” Jutanugarn said. “My tee shot was good and I make some putts.”

Top-ranked Lydia Ko birdied her final two holes to join second-ranked Brooke Henderson (Smiths Falls, Ont.) and Maude-Aimée Leblanc (Sherbrooke, Que.) in the group at 68.

“Hopefully, I’ll have a few more birdies tomorrow,” Ko said. “It’s a solid start. I’ll take the 3 under today, but I think because of the weather and if there are no thunderstorms the course will probably play drier. That will make it tougher if the greens get much firmer.”

Ko won in consecutive weeks in Southern California this year, the second the major ANA Inspiration. The 19-year-old New Zealander tied for third last week in the U.S. Women’s Open in California.

Henderson is making her first appearance in the event.

“I knew the course conditions were going to be a little bit softer and easier in the morning with the big rain last night and just because it was in the a.m.,” Henderson said. “So tried to take advantage. Unfortunately, dropped a shot on the last hole. Overall, it was a solid day. Got some really good breaks out there and was able to take advantage for the most part when I had an opportunity.”

The 18-year-old Canadian has two victories this year, beating Ko in a playoff in the major KPMG Women’s PGA and successfully defending her title in Portland, Oregon.

Stacy Lewis and Michelle Wie shot 69.

Brittany Lang, coming off a playoff victory over Anna Nordqvist on Sunday in the U.S. Women’s Open, had a 70. Nordqvist and Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., also shot 70.

Italy’s Virginia Elena Carta, the NCAA champion this year as a Duke freshman, had a 71 in her first start in an LPGA Tour event. Québec native Anne-Catherine Tanguay matched Carta’s round for a share of 47th.

Former Team Canada National Team member Jennifer Ha of Calgary and defending champion Chella Choi recorded 72s. Last year, the South Korean player beat Ha Na Jang with a par on the first hole of a playoff for her first LPGA Tour victory.

Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., and Charlottetown’s Lorie Kane complete the Canadian contingent at 75.

CAMBRIDGE, Ont. – After every LPGA tournament this season Alena Sharp checked the world Rolex rankings with one thing on her mind: the Rio Olympics.

The Hamilton golfer finally qualified to represent Canada on Sunday after finishing the U.S. Women’s Open in a tie for 21st, putting her at 91st in the world and clinching her trip to Brazil for the Games.

“I’ve been watching (thee rankings) every week and knew that maybe a couple of weeks ago that it was probably mathematically impossible to not be on the team,” said Sharp, who will join world No. 2 Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., as Canada’s women’s pairing. “Last night the rankings came out early and it was obviously done that I was the second Canadian.

“I figured it out on my own, but I kind of knew.”

The U.S. Women’s Open was the final tournament to determine who would qualify for next month’s Olympics. The top 15 players in the world rankings – including Henderson -are all eligible with a limit of four for any country. South Korea – which has five – is the only country with more than two players currently in the top 15. The rest of the 60-player field was determined by the world rankings with a limit of two players per country.

The 35-year-old Sharp, as the second highest ranked Canadian, guaranteed her trip to Rio with a career-best showing at a major event. She shot a 72 on Sunday to finish tied for 21st at 1-over.

“I think (the Olympics) is the top of my career thus far,” said Sharp, who flew from San Martin, Calif., to Toronto on a red-eye flight late Sunday night. “Being able to represent Canada in Rio is something that two years ago was kind of in the back of mind. I knew I had to play well to get ahead, and I did that last year.

“To be standing here on July 11, and the day’s finally here, to be on the team is an amazing thing.”

Sharp was in Cambridge as part of a media day for the LPGA’s Manulife Classic which she, Henderson, world No. 1 Lydia Ko and a full field of other pro golfers will compete in Aug. 31-Sept. 4. Sharp also participated in a charity challenge, taking shots across the Grand River, with each ball she hit on target earning the St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation $10,000. Along with three amateurs, Sharp earned the charity $103,000.

“It was a little pressure having people watch me, but I did well on the par-3s this week at the U.S. Open, so I’m like ‘oh, it’s just like a par 3’,” said Sharp, who used a nine iron to make the 135-yard shot from one side of the gorge to another.

Henderson and Sharp will have even more pressure on them in Rio.

Women’s golf was not an event in 1904, but George Lyon of Richmond Hill, Ont., won golf in the men’s individual at the St. Louis Olympics, with Americans winning the other individual medals and all three team medals.

“I know (Brooke’s) only thinking about one thing – the gold medal,” said Sharp. “I think it’s going to be good to play practice rounds together so we can get the course mapped out to win the tournament.

“She has a lot of positive energy. She’s 18, she’s fearless. Seeing that, you kind of feed off of it.”

SAN MARTIN, Calif. – Eleven years after finishing as runner-up as an amateur in her first U.S. Women’s Open, Brittany Lang won her first major title – with help from a playoff penalty on Anna Nordqvist.

Lang made par on all three holes of the aggregate playoff and Nordqvist was given a two-stroke penalty for touching the sand with her club in a fairway bunker on the second playoff hole Sunday, helping deliver Lang the title.

The players were not told of the penalty until they were in the middle of playing the final hole after officials reviewed replays in the latest controversy at a USGA event.

Lang then sealed the win with a short par putt on the final playoff hole, while Nordqvist made bogey to lose by three shots.

At last month’s men’s U.S. Open, eventual winner Dustin Johnson played much of the final round not knowing if he would be penalized one stroke because his ball moved as he addressed it on the fifth green. The penalty ended up proving moot as Johnson won by three shots.

Lang shot a 1-under 71 to finish with a 6-under 282 for the tournament at CordeValle for her second win in 287 tournaments on the LPGA Tour. She survived a bogey on the 17th hole that led to the playoff before recovering in the playoff for a breakthrough win at age 30.

Both players made pars on the first hole of the playoff, which was played on the final three holes of the course. Then things got interesting on the next hole after Nordqvist hit her tee shot into a fairway bunker.

While preparing to hit the shot, Nordqvist’s club barely touched the sand. She did not realize it and both players made par on the hole, heading to the final playoff hole seemingly tied.

But television replays showed the infraction and USGA officials studied the video before determining if the two-stroke penalty was necessary. An official told Nordqvist about the penalty after she hit her third shot on the 18th hole but before Lang did, giving her a possible advantage.

Lang hit her shot onto the green and the two-putted for the win, getting hearty congratulations from many of her fellow Americans on tour after she joined Michelle Wie (2014) as the only U.S. golfers to win the Open in the past six years.

Lang capitalized on a surprising final-round collapse by world No. 1 and 54-hole leader Lydia Ko, who made a double-bogey 7 on the ninth hole and shot 3-over 75 on the day, finishing two shots off the lead in a four-way tie for third with Amy Yang, Sung Hyun Park and 2009 winner Eun Hee Ji.

Lang took sole possession of the lead when she perfectly read a putt from more than 20 feet that broke slightly right before going in the hole to move her to 7-under, with Nordqvist in the clubhouse at 6-under after making an eagle on the par-5 15th.

But Lang followed that up with her first three-putt of the week when she just missed a par from about 5 feet, leading to groans from the crowd. She followed with a two-putt for birdie on the par-5 18th, setting the stage for the playoff.

Lang came on the scene as an amateur back in 2005 when she finished tied for second at the U.S. Women’s Open at Cherry Hills. But in more than a decade as a pro, Lang has won just one tournament, the 2012 Manulife Financial LPGA.

After shooting a 75 in the second round to drop seven shots behind leader Park, this tournament didn’t appear to be the one where she would have her breakthrough.

But she staged one of the best U.S. comebacks in years, with her 36-hole deficit the biggest for any winner at the tournament since Betsy King came from nine shots back after two rounds to win in 1990.

Ko had a two-shot lead heading to the eighth hole and seemed on her way to becoming the youngest man or woman to win three majors. But then she bogeyed the eighth hole before her collapse on nine.

Ko’s tee shot went left into the rough. Instead of just chipping out, Ko decided to try to clear the hazard and get back into position to make a possible birdie.

But her shot from the rough landed in the hazard and Ko could not find it and took a penalty. Then her wedge shot went over the green into the rough before Ko managed to get up and down from there for a double bogey that dropped her out of the lead for good.

“I should have judged the lie a little better and maybe played a little smarter and laid up short of the hazard,” she said. “Then just lay up again and try and make up-and-down for par.”

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp led the Canadian contingent with an even-par final round to finish T21 for her best career result at a major championship. Maude-Aimée Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., earned a share of 26th with a 2-over showing. Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson finished 64th, while Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Sue Kim of Langley,  B.C., tied for 65th.

SAN MARTIN, Calif. – World No. 1 Lydia Ko birdied the 18th hole to cap a 2-under 70 in the third round Saturday that put her in the lead of the U.S. Women’s Open, bolstering her chance for her third major title in less than a year.

The 19-year-old Ko became the youngest woman to win a major last year at the Evian Championship and followed that up by winning the ANA Inspiration this spring. Now she’s in contention for her first U.S. Open title after failing to make the top 10 in her first four appearances.

Ko has a one-shot lead over 2009 winner Eun Hee Ji and Sung Hyun Park. Brittany Lang and Amy Yang are two shots back at 5 under and Angela Stanford is in sixth place at 4 under at CordeValle.

Ko’s week at the Open got off to a somewhat shaky start when she was tied for 52nd after a 73 in the first round in the difficult afternoon conditions.

But Ko got into contention with a 66 in the second round and then got right back to work on Saturday. She made a long downhill putt for birdie on No. 3 before losing a stroke with a bogey at No. 9. She made another birdie at No. 13 before her strong closing hole.

Even though the 18th is reachable in two shots, Ko opted to take three and it paid off when her approach stopped about 9 feet from the hole. She calmly sank the putt to give her sole possession of the lead. She then threw her ball into the stands in celebration.

Ji has been consistent all week. She has broken par all three rounds with a 69 and 71 in the first two rounds followed by the 2-under performance on Saturday. She is looking for her first LPGA Tour win since winning the Open at Saucon Valley seven years ago.

Park, playing her first U.S. Open and second major ever, got off to a solid start with birdies on the sixth and eighth holes to move to 9 under. But fortunes quickly changed at the par-5 ninth when she hit her tee shot into a hazard for a penalty.

She got onto the green with her fifth shot and two-putted for a double bogey that dropped her to 7 under and a tie for the lead with Yang, who birdied three out of four holes during one stretch on the front nine.

Park fell to 6 under when she bogeyed 14 after a drive in the rough but followed with a birdie and then another bogey as part of an up-and-down round.

Lang birdied 14 and 15 and had the low round of the day at 68 to move to 5 under. Lang finished tied for second as an amateur in her first U.S. Open back in 2005 but has only gotten in the top five once since then back in 2010.

“I’ve been here before and I think you really have to just get to work on what you’re doing, because if you spend a lot of time thinking about where you’re going to finish, you’re going to drop down pretty quick,” Lang said. “So just really do like I did today, not look at the scoreboard – it’s easier said than done.”

There are several other golfers lurking close enough to make a push on Sunday. Danielle Kang is at 3 under and fellow Americans Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis and Kris Tamulis are among seven golfers five shots back at 2 under.

“There’s no doubt I have to shoot at least 4 to 6 under, I’d say tomorrow to have a chance,” Kerr said. “It depends on the wind and the weather and the pins. Sometimes they like to set it up easier on Sunday and people get some low scores. I don’t know what they’re going to do, but I have to be prepared for anything. If the conditions are easier, I have to be prepared to go low.”

The highlight of the day might have been Lee Lopez’s ace on the 191-yard, par-3 12th hole. Lopez is at even par for the tournament.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot 75 on the day and is tied for 26th with Maude-Aimée Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., at 1-over 217.

World No. 2 Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Sue Kim of Langley, B.C., are knotted at T58 after matching rounds of 76.

SAN MARTIN, Calif. – When Sung Hyun Park entered her first U.S. Women’s Open, her goals were modest. Halfway through the tournament, Park has put herself in prime position to contend.

Park capitalized on the favorable morning scoring conditions, shooting a 6-under 72 Friday to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the U.S. Women’s Open at CordeValle.

“I didn’t even think about winning because this is the first time for me,” Park said through an interpreter. “I would like more experience with the USGA, LPGA. But I’m trying to enjoy this tournament. That’s why I am just more comfortable, don’t even think about the winning, I just enjoy the play.”

Park, a 22-year-old from South Korea, made her LPGA debut last year when she finished second at the KEB-HanaBank Championship in South Korea. She has played three more LPGA tournaments this year, tying for sixth in her first major at the ANA Inspiration in the spring.

Park had four birdies in a six-hole span to move to 9 under before struggling on the final two holes. She hit her second shot into the greenside bunker at the par-4 17th and then missed a short par putt for her only bogey of the round. Park then drove into a hazard on the par-5 18th for a one-shot penalty before saving par with a 15-foot putt.

Amy Yang shot a 71 to get to 6 under, tied for second with first-round leader Mirim Lee. World No. 1 Lydia Ko bounced back from a 1-over par first round to shoot 66 for a tie for fourth with Haru Nomura.

Lee, who tied a U.S. Open record by shooting 8 under Thursday, birdied three of the final four holes on her front nine in the afternoon to take a one-shot lead over Park.

But things then quickly fell apart. She missed the fairway with her drive on the par-4 10th and her approach shot sailed past the green. Her chip attempt fell short of the green before she three-putted from the fringe for a double bogey.

Lee then drove into the front bunker on the par-3 12th hole before missing an 8-foot putt for par to fall two strokes off the lead.

“I kept trying to hit the fairway and the green, but I couldn’t,” she said. “So score, it’s not bad, but not good, too.”

Ko got off to a shaky start with a bogey on the first hole before stringing together four straight birdies starting at No. 3. She added two more birdies before capping her round with the seventh of the day at the par-5 18th.

“My birdie on 3 kind of turned the round around and making the string of birdies definitely helped,” she said. “Just to know that this is the first time I was under par for the tournament kind of put myself in a positive position.”

While contending in a major is a mostly new experience for Park, Ko is an old hat at it at the age of 19. She won the Evian Championship last September to become the youngest woman ever to win a major and followed that up with her second at the ANA Inspiration this year.

Ko then lost a playoff to Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Washington last month.

“I think the more I play, I think the more I get used to it, especially at these majors where the courses are tough,” Ko said. “You need to stay patient. I think that’s the big key I’ve been learning, just keep my head high and just enjoy it out here.”

Sherbrooke, Que., product Maude-Aimée Leblanc carded a 69 to move into a share of 10th at 3-under. An even-par round has Hamilton’s Alena Sharp tied for 15th.

Henderson, ranked second in the world, and fourth-ranked Lexi Thompson could not match playing partner Ko and both finished the day at 3 over. The 18-year-old Canadian and Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Sue Kim of Langley, B.C., hold shares of 48th.

Among the players who missed the cut at 4 over were Canadian Taylor Kim (Surrey, B.C.), Team Canada National Team member Naomi Ko (Victoria), last year’s winner In Gee Chun, 2014 U.S. Open champion Michelle Wie and 1998 winner Se Ri Pak.

Pak, whose success helped lead to the surge of South Koreans on the tour, double-bogeyed her final hole to finish with an 80 on the day and plus-9 in her final scheduled tournament in the United States.

Some players, including Karrie Webb and Christina Kim, came back to the 18th green to watch Pak’s final shot and congratulate her on a remarkable career.

SAN MARTIN, Calif. – When Mirim Lee walked off the course following her record-tying round, she described her day with words usually not heard when talking about the U.S. Women’s Open.

“So today’s round was easy day – easy round, yeah,” Lee said.

She sure made it look that way when she became the fifth golfer to shoot a round of 8-under par at the U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday, making 10 birdies on the way to a 64 to take the early lead at CordeValle.

With the greens not quite as firm as they likely will be later in the week and the wind not playing a major factor, there were low scores to be had throughout the field – at least for the opening morning of the tournament.

“I definitely expect it to change,” said Christie Kerr, who was three shots behind Lee in a tie for second. “I don’t think the USGA likes when we shoot 8-under on their golf course. You have to expect it to change, and if it doesn’t, then you’ll have opportunities to score.”

Lee is the first woman to shoot that much below par at the U.S. Open since Lorie Kane and Becky Iverson did it in the second round in 1999 at Old Waverly in Mississippi. The lowest total score in a round in U.S. Open history is a 63 by Helen Alfredsson in 1994 at the par-71 Indianwood in Michigan.

Lee capped her record day with birdie from about 8 feet on her final hole at the par-5 ninth to take a three-shot lead over fellow South Korean Minjee Lee and Kerr after the morning groupings.

“The course is perfect now,” Mirim Lee said. “Greens are really fast.”

Kelly Tan, Brittany Lang and Anna Nordqvist were all four shots back at 4-under, while six other golfers finished the morning round at 2-under, including Americans Christina Kim and Lizette Salas.

So Yeon Ryu, the 2011 U.S. Open winner, shot a triple-bogey eight on her final hole at the ninth to fall from 4-under to 1-under.

Defending champion In Gee Chun, followed by about a dozen members of the Flying Dumbo fan club wearing shirts that Chun designed, hit back-to-back bogeys on the front nine and finished 1 over. Chun is seeking to become the eighth player to repeat as U.S. Open champion and first since Karrie Webb did it 15 years ago.

Kerr, playing in the same group with Mirim Lee, nearly matched her stroke for stroke with players standing 3-under through their first 11 holes. But Lee birdied five of her final seven holes, while Kerr had three birdies and a bogey down the stretch as a gap opened between the two.

Despite that, Kerr was quite pleased with how her round went considering the way she has played most of this year. The 2007 U.S. Open winner has not finished higher than 10th all season and missed two cuts in her three tournaments leading into this week.

But with a new shaft on her driver, Kerr found her game in the opening round.

“When you’re struggling to hit fairways, it makes the game a lot harder,” Kerr said. “And then the mental game gets off of it, it’s a whole process like that. But I knew when I found the driver this week that it just felt so much like my old driver and we found the right combination and even if I missed a little bit I could feel what I did wrong, I could feel the difference.”

Alena Sharp carded a 2-under 70 and sits T11 to lead the Canadian contingent. An even-par round has Maude-Aimée LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que., at T38.

Team Canada National Team member Naomi Ko (Victoria) opened with a 74 and holds a share of 67th; she sits one stroke ahead of former Development Squad member Taylor Kim (Surrey, B.C.).

Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson, one week removed from a victory at the LPGA Cambia Portland Classic, and Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Sue Kim of Langley, B.C., shot 76s.

SAN MARTIN, Calif. – There is very little separating the top two women’s golfers in the world in Lydia Ko and Canada’s Brooke Henderson.

The two teenage sensations have won the past three majors heading into this week’s U.S. Women’s Open with the 19-year-old Ko taking two and the 18-year-old Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., following last month with a thrilling playoff victory over Ko in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Washington that could set the stage for a heated rivalry for years to come.

Fittingly, the two will be together when this year’s third major starts at the U.S. Women’s Open at CordeValle on Thursday, less than 100 miles south of San Francisco. Ko and Henderson will play the first two rounds with 21-year-old Lexi Thompson, who is ranked fourth in the world, in the marquee group of the tournament.

“It’s great to watch them both on the golf course and their attitudes and just their demeanours on the golf course,” Thompson said. “They’re aggressive players, and just consistent overall. You can’t really even find a weakness in their game, and that’s why they’re so good.”

The top three ranked players in the tournament – third-ranked Inbee Park will miss the Open because of a thumb injury – will face stiff competition in the 156-player field that includes nine previous champions, including last year’s winner, In Gee Chun.

Other winners include Michelle Wie (2014), Na Yeon Choi (2012), Paula Creamer (2010), Eun-Hee Ji (2009), Cristie Kerr (2007), So Yeon Ryu (2011), Karrie Webb (2000, 2001) and Se Ri Pak (1998).

This will be the final U.S. tournament for Pak before she plans to retire. Her win at Blackwolf Run in Wisconsin 18 years ago helped spark the recent South Korean dominance of the LPGA Tour. Seven of the last 11 winners of the U.S. Open have come from South Korea.

“After I came and after I start winning, I have this great success, everybody was thinking, I can do that,” Pak said. “Giving a lot of confidence, built confidence for them. So they’re here, they make it a dream, they make it possible. So I think I was part of it.”

But when the tournament starts, much of the focus will be on Ko and Henderson, who hope to build off the drama they staged last month when Henderson tracked down Ko in the final round with a long eagle putt and a tough par before winning in a playoff by coolly stuffing her approach into 3 feet.

That gave Henderson her first career major as she tries to match Ko, who had won the previous two with her victory at the ANA Inspiration earlier this year after winning the Evian Championship in 2015.

“Lydia Ko is amazing,” Henderson said. “She’s an inspiration to all of us girls out here, and I think everyone in the world, basically. She’s done amazing things in her career and she’s only a couple months older than I am.”

Henderson followed that up with her third career tour win when she repeated as champion at the Cambia Portland Classic for her third career win and can surpass Ko as the youngest player with two majors with a win this week.

This marks just the third time the U.S. Women’s Open has been played in California and this is the highest-profile event to be played at the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed course that opened in 1999. The course, located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, plays as a par 72 over 6,784 yards, although it could be a bit shorter this week depending on tee locations.

The course finishes with a par-5, 528-yard hole that features a water hazard near the green and the possibility of trying to reach the green in two shots for players looking to close a gap on the final day.

The tournament is also the final one to determine who will qualify for the Olympics next month. The top 15 players in the world rankings will all be eligible with a limit of four for any country. South Korea is the only country with more than two players currently in the top 15. The rest of the 60-player field will be determined by world rankings with a limit of two players per country.

Among the players looking to qualify for Rio de Janeiro this week are Webb, who has extended her Hall of Fame career in hopes of making the Olympics. With Minjee Lee having secured one of Australia’s spots, Webb likely must finish at least in the top 10 to have any chance to pass Su Oh for the other.

SAN MARTIN, Calif. — She’s just 18 years old, but Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., will be teeing it up in her fourth U.S. Women’s Open this week at CordeValle Resort.

She’s had some success: she was low amateur in 2014 at Pinehurst and rode a hot weekend to a tie for fifth last year at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pa.

Now, as the second-ranked player in the world and coming off her third career win last weekend at the Cambia Portland Classic, where she successfully defended her title, Henderson will be one of the favourites this week.

She will be looking for her second major championship to go with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship she won last month at Sahalee Country Club near Seattle.

“I’ve played really well in U.S. Women’s Open’s, and I played really well in major championships, because you really got to take a little bit of a different strategy,” Henderson said. “You really need to stay patient, which is something that I’ve worked on over the last few years. I’m really excited for this week. 

“I think this course sets up really well for my game. You’ve just got to hit it in the right spots and know where to miss it and then just make lots of birdies. I think the back nine plays a lot tougher than the front nine. I think that’s where a lot of things might change, especially on Sunday afternoon. I really love the par-5s around here. I can get close to them or reach a lot of them in two, which is something that I like to think is an advantage over most of the field that I have.”

Henderson tees off at 5:03 p.m EDT time Thursday in the first round with the tournament’s power group with world No. 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand and No. 4 Lexi Thompson of the USA (world No. 3 Inbee Park is injured).

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Brooke Henderson from Smiths Falls, Ont., has partnered with Google to become a brand ambassador for Android Wear. The 18-year-old who captured her first major at June’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is the first LPGA player to partner with a smartwatch platform.

Google’s platform for smartwatches – Android Wear – offers several golf apps to help golfers; they can analyze their swings, keep scores and statistics, and track shots. Android Wear powers smartwatches by brands such as Motorola, Nixon, Michael Kors, TAG Heuer and Huawei.

“Whether I am practicing, working out or staying in touch with my family and friends back home, Android Wear offers me the best technology to be productive and organized while traveling the world,” said Henderson, the No. 2 ranked female golfer in the world. “As my calendar continues to get busier, I feel so privileged to use Android Wear to stay on schedule and make the most of every minute.”

On the golf course, Henderson will wear the Moto 360 Sport, which is built for training and sports. The Moto 360 Sport includes a built-in heart rate monitor, GPS, hybrid display that makes it easy to read outdoors, and a silicone band. In social and formal settings, she will wear the elegant Huawei Jewel, a premium fashionable smartwatch encrusted with 68 1.5mm Swarovski Zirconia.

Henderson, a Golf Canada National Team alum, won the 2015 Cambia Portland Classic as a 17-year-old to earn LPGA membership. In June, she became the youngest-ever winner of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, a major championship on the LPGA Tour. Last week, she won her third LPGA event by defending her title in Portland. In August, she will represent Canada when golf makes its long-awaited return to the Olympic Games.

Having fun with our new @AndroidWear watches – perfect to stay on top of things during #USWomensOpen! #newsponsor pic.twitter.com/BVlH8ngn86

— Brooke Henderson (@BrookeHenderson) July 5, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – Defending champion Brooke Henderson survived some tense moments on the back nine on the way to a four-stroke victory Sunday at the LPGA Cambia Portland Classic.

The second-ranked Henderson – a native of Smiths Falls, Ont., – shot a 14-under 274 after a final round 71 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club, pulling away from American Stacy Lewis, who was 10-under after a 69.

Henderson became the first back-to-back winner at Portland since Annika Sorenstam won consecutive tournaments in 2002 and 2003. The 18-year-old is the first wire-to-wire winner at Portland since the tournament went to a 72-hole event in 2013.

Henderson is the tour’s second wire-to-wire winner this year, joining Ha Na Jang, who won the Coates Championship in February.

It was Henderson’s third career win, all coming in the Northwest. Aside from her two Portland victories, Henderson won the Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee in Sammamish, Washington, three weeks ago.

Stacy Lewis is winless in 53 starts since taking the North Texas LPGA Shootout in June 2014 for her 11th tour victory. She has 11 runner-up finishes during the drought and 24 overall.

Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, the 2011 and 2013 Portland champion finished third at 9-under after a 72. Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe, tied for the lead with seven holes remaining, was 8-under after making double bogeys on her final two holes to shoot 75. Austin Ernst, who won Portland in 2014, was also 8-under after a 73.

Christina Kim posted the low score of the day with a 66 to finish 7-under, as did Lee-Anne Pace, Lee Lopez and Cheyenne Woods. Pace shot 68, while Woods had a 72 for her first career top 10. Lopez, an LPGA rookie, shot 73.

This Portland performance was much different than her runaway victory in 2015, when Henderson rolled to a tournament-record eight-stroke win with a 21-under 267.

Henderson was forced to grind the final two rounds, often having to save pars following wayward drives.

Sunday turned into a two-player race early on the back nine, when Uribe birdied the par-4, 337-yard 11th to tie Henderson for the lead at 14-under.

But Henderson quickly resumed control at the par-5, 546-yard 12th. Uribe hit a poor drive and made bogey, while Henderson dropped a three-foot birdie putt to take a two-shot lead.

The lead melted to one at 13, when Henderson’s tee shot at the 160-yard par-3 went into the bunker and she made bogey. Uribe fell two strokes back at the par-4, 372-yard 15th with a bogey.

The par-4, 397-yard 17th became the tournament’s decisive hole. Henderson and Uribe both drove into a bunker, then blasted their approach shots over the green. But Uribe hit her third shot 50 feet past the hole and made double bogey, while Henderson was able to get up and down to save par, making an eight-foot putt.

Lewis never got closer than three strokes, and might have put some pressure on Henderson but made bogeys at 16 and 18.

Sakura Yokomine (69), Vicky Hurst (71) and Carlota Cignada (73) were eight shots back at 6-under. In-Kyung Kim shot 69 to head a group of five at 5-under.

American Morgan Pressel was 2-under after posting her best round of the week, a 67.