GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Anna Nordqvist gave her visiting mother the perfect gift Sunday, which also happened to be Mother’s Day in Sweden.

The 27-year-old Nordqvist birdied the 16th and 17th holes to break out of the pack and win the ShopRite LPGA Classic by a stroke. She closed with a 2-under 69 in windy conditions to finish at 8-under 205 at Stockton Seaview’s Bay Course.

The former Arizona State player has five career LPGA Tour titles, winning twice each in 2009 and 2014. And none of those victories could have been any sweeter than Sunday’s, with mother Maria in the gallery.

“It’s the first time I’ve won on the LPGA Tour and one of my family members were there with me, so it’s definitely special,” Nordqvist said. “It’s Mother’s Day in Sweden, so I couldn’t have given her a better present than to spend the day with her.

“I’m just speechless right now. I fought hard today and I can’t believe I’m sitting here with the trophy.”

A stroke behind leader Morgan Pressel entering the round, Nordqvist made her move on the closing three holes – a stretch she played in 5 under the first two days.

She sank a 12-foot birdie putt at the par-4 16th to break a tie with Christel Boeljon of the Netherlands and get to 8 under. Nordqvist hit her tee shot on the short par-3 17th to 8 feet to the left of the hole and drained that putt as well to move to two strokes in front.

“I thought I hit a lot of good putts” all day, Nordqvist said. “Just knowing that I hit good putts helped me. I hit a real good putt on 16 and even on 17 to give me a little bit of space there at the last. I felt like I played really well and I put myself in a position to win.”

With Boeljon, winless in five years on the LPGA Tour, missing an 18-inch birdie putt at the 18th while playing in the group ahead, Nordqvist was not hurt by a bogey at the last. She finished her round, played in steady afternoon wind, with five birdies and three bogeys.

After she putted out, she was sprayed with champagne by some fellow players, and then looked for her mother.

“I tried to find her but it was quite a bit of people,” she said. “I saw her after 17 after I just made two straight birdies. And then on 18 I had a short putt to win and just in my line I saw my mom.”

Boeljon, who played for Purdue and was the second in the 2007 NCAA tournament, was a career-best second after a 68. Pressel, who fell out of the lead following a bogey-double bogey stretch on the front nine, tied for third at 5 under after a 73. Rookie Kelly Shon got within one stroke of the lead, but a tough finish dropped her to a 70 and a tie with Pressel.

Nordqvist picked up her first birdie of the day at the par-4 fourth with a 5-foot putt. She moved into a tie for first after Pressel bogeyed the sixth hole and lost the lead to Boeljon after she missed the eighth green and made bogey.

Nordqvist picked up two shots with birdies at the par-5 ninth and short par-4 10th, draining putts of 8 and 6 feet. She dropped back into a tie for first after a three-putt bogey on the difficult par-3 15th but surged into the lead for good with her birdie at 16.

Pressel, who birdied the par-5 third, ran into her worst stretch of the weekend at the sixth and seventh holes. After her approach at No. 6 ran into the collar, she chunked her chip shot and made bogey. Then at the par-3 seventh, she came up well short with her tee ball, hit a bad pitch and three-putted.

The three lost shots dropped her from 8 under to 5 under, trailing by two, and she never held as much of a share of the lead the rest of the day in her bid for her first LPGA Tour win since 2008.

“I just didn’t make anything today,” Pressel said. “I didn’t hit it quite as well. I certainly made a mess of 6 and 7 and got behind the 8-ball early, and these greens are just a little bit too bumpy to make a ton of putts out here, even with good strokes.

“I just had way too many putts and you’re not going to win a tournament hitting 2 over on Sunday.”

Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson of Smiths, Falls, Ont., tied for 23rd at 1 under after a final round 67.

Alena Sharp finished 2 over after a final round 72. The Hamilton, Ont., native tied for 51st.

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Morgan Pressel said she knew Saturday that it was going to be a tough day in the second round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic. The wind was strong and steady, the greens were bumpy and she failed to convert some early birdie chances.

But Pressel showed some veteran patience throughout the day and effectively battled the elements well enough to shoot a 2-under 69 and maintain a one-stroke lead.

Pressel had three birdies and a bogey to reach 7-under 135 on Stockton Seaview’s Bay Course. The 27-year-old American won the last of her two LPGA Tour victories in 2008.

“I think my patience was kind of tested on the first few holes where I had a few good birdie opportunities and didn’t even sniff the hole,” Pressel said.

“Rock (caddie Barry Cesarz) said to me, `Keep giving yourself birdie opportunities.’ And I ended up making a few. When you’re missing four or five putts on the front nine from 10 feet for birdie, it can wear on you. You’ve just got to say, `Hey, I made a good stroke, the greens bounced this way.'”

Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist was second. She birdied the last three holes for a 69.

Gerina Piller, Kelly Shon, Pernilla Lindberg, Catriona Matthew and Christel Boeljon were tied for third at 4 under. Shon had a 68, and Piller, Lindberg, Matthew and Boeljon shot 70.

The start was delayed an hour by fog. After the fog lifted, the breeze that usually blows at the Bay Course confounded many players trying to pull the right clubs. In addition, players noted that bumpy greens affected their putting.

Pressel didn’t allow the conditions to bother her. She did card a pair of birdies on her front nine – a 2-putt at the par-5 third hole and on the difficult par-4 sixth.

Her only bogey of the day came at the par-4 13th hole, where she lost her drive into the trees on the right and had to punch out from high grass into the fairway. After her third shot rolled over the green, she got up and down from 6 feet for a good bogey.

“I think that once that went in, my patience was fine,” Pressel said. “I’m like, `OK, I got out of there with a bogey and didn’t make double, and I know that I’ve just got to keep plugging along with pars coming in, and ended up making a good birdie on 16.”

She got the shot back at No. 16, hitting a 7-iron approach from 170 yards to 20 feet, and sinking the putt.

Pressel came close to winning last month, but lost a playoff to top-ranked Lydia Ko in the Swinging Skirts in California.

Nordqvist, a four-time tour winner who had four straight top-10 finishes earlier this year, rallied from bogeys at Nos. 11 and 12.

She began her hot stretch with a 5-foot birdie putt at the 16th, followed by a 6-footer at the short 17th and a 10-footer at the par-5 18th.

“I tried to give myself chances for birdies or play for pars on some holes,” Nordqvist said. “But knowing it’s a three-day event, you’re really going to have to try to shoot low scores every day. I tried to stay patient, and I think it paid off with three birdies there at the end.”

Defending champion Stacy Lewis and 17-year-old Canadian sensation Brooke Henderson struggled, but made the 36-hole cut right on the number at 3-over 145. Lewis had a 73, and Henderson, who had eight birdies in her opening round, went without a birdie Saturday in her round of 77.

Canada’s Alena Sharp also made the 36-hole cut. The Hamilton, Ont. native carded a 76 to sit tied for 35th at 1-over.

Michelle Wie, who withdrew from the Kingsmill Championship for what was diagnosed as bursitis in her left hip, missed the cut with a 72 and 4-over 146 total. She said her hip was sore and that she was considering withdrawing from the Manulife Classic next week in Cambridge, Ontario.

 – Morgan Pressel wasn’t thrilled with the first 16 holes she played Friday in the first round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Her final two holes really improved her demeanor.

A birdie-eagle finish gave her a 5-under 66, good enough to top the leaderboard in near-perfect conditions on Stockton Seaview’s Bay Course.

“I really didn’t put myself in a whole lot of trouble,” Pressel said. “I wouldn’t say that I certainly had the best game out there. I guess I just made a few mistakes, and I didn’t play all that well, but then I came down birdieing eighth and eagling the last hole. That definitely helps.

“I only made two bogeys. They weren’t great bogeys by any means. I shouldn’t have really made them, but hopefully I can eliminate those kinds of mistakes and can keep giving myself opportunities.”

The 27-year-old Pressel, seeking her first LPGA Tour win since 2008, held the advantage over Anna Nordqvist of Sweden, Alena Sharp of Canada, rookie Min Lee of Taiwan and American Ryann O’Toole.

Brooke Henderson, the 17-year-old Canadian playing on a sponsor exemption, was among nine players at 68. The group included Women’s British Open champion Mo Martin, Catriona Matthew and Gerina Piller.

Pressel, ninth on the money list with more than $443,000, hit a wedge close to set up a birdie on the par-4 eighth and hit a 5-hybrid from 225 yards to 3 feet for the closing eagle on the par-5 ninth.

“I didn’t honestly know where it was,” Pressel said about her second shot at No. 9. “I thought it might be short of the green. I couldn’t see it and nobody clapped so I had no idea. Then we came up far enough over the hill to where we could see it and I was like, `Oh, it’s right next to the hole. OK, I’ll take it.'”

Pressel became the youngest player to win a major in the 2007 Kraft Nabisco at 18 years, 10 months and 9 days old. But she has won just one other victory on the tour, the 2008 Kapalua LPGA Classic.

She came close to breaking that drought last month at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in California, but lost on the second hole of a playoff with top-ranked Lydia Ko.

Nordqvist, who had a streak of four top-10 finishes earlier this season, birdied her final hole, the par-5 ninth, with a 4-foot putt.

“Morgan is a very good player,” Nordqvist said. “Her short game is amazing, and she’s a very feisty player. Once she gets hot, she gets really hot. I think she is riding some confidence. She’s been playing great.”

Lee, who entered this week coming off three straight missed cuts, had an eagle and three birdies on the front nine to make the turn at 5 under.

O’Toole birdied her last two holes to get to 4 under, and Sharp’s round was highlighted by an eagle.

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis, the tournament winner in 2012 and 2014, chipped in for eagle at No. 9, her last hole, and finished with a 72.

Michelle Wie had a 74. The U.S. Women’s Open champion is playing after withdrawing from the Kingsmill Championship two weeks ago because of a left hip injury. She went through a series of evaluations and MRIs and was diagnosed with bursitis.

Calgary (Golf Canada) – For the second consecutive year, Michelle Piyapattra has won the season-opening event on the Canadian Women’s Tour. The Corona, California native fired a final round 3-under par 69 and tournament total 4-under par 140 at the Glencoe Golf and Country Club in Calgary to claim her second career Canadian Women’s Tour victory.

With the victory, Piyapattra earns the $10,000 winner’s cheque as well as the coveted exemption into the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, August 17-23 at The Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C.

Piyapattra, who began the final round at 1-under par in the second last group, carded three birdies in a bogey free round to win by two shots over opening round co-leader Seul-Ki Park of Northbrook, Illinois.

In 2014, playing as an amateur, Piyapattra won the Canadian Women’s Tour stop at Morningstar Golf Club in Parksville, B.C. in a playoff, eventually making her pro debut at the 2014 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open at the London Hunt and Country Club in London, Ont.

“I played about [the] same as yesterday, but near the end my putts we’re going in; really a lot more putts were falling today,” said Piyapattra, a LPGA Symetra Tour regular who was playing in her fifth career Canadian Women’s Tour event. “Last year I won as an amateur so it’s nice to come back and win as a professional and get the exemption into the [Canadian Pacific] Women’s Open.”

Park, who began the day with a share of the lead, shot a final round 2-over 74 and tournamenttotal 1-under 143 to finish alone in second, while Lauren Mielbrecht of Gulf Stream, Florida and Kristen Park of Buena Park, California finished tied for third at even-par 144.

Kirby Dreher of Fort St. John, B.C. finished tied for fifth (1-over 145) to claim low Canadian honours, while Doris Chen of Bradenton, Florida finished tied for eighth (2-over 146) to capture the Low Amateur Award.

The shot of the day Wednesday went to Erica Rivard of Tecumseh, Ont. who used a 9-iron to ace the 140-yard third hole on the Bridges course.

With the victory, Piyapattra vaults to the top of the 2015 Canadian Women’s Tour Money List as well as the Jocelyne Bourassa Player of the Year Order of Merit.

Only two players (Michelle Piyapattra at 4-under and Suel Ki-Park at 1-under) finished below par for the championship at The Glencoe Golf and Country Club.

The most difficult hole of the championship was the 393-yard par-4, 18th hole (10 birdies, 79 pars, 54 bogeys, 18 double bogeys, 6 other – scoring average 4.60) while the 533-yard, par-5 1^st hole played the easiest (34 birdies, 105 pars, 22 bogeys, 6 double bogeys – scoring average 5.00). Complete course stats are available here.

A total of 84 players including 42 international golfers competed in the season opening Canadian Women’s Tour stop in Calgary.

The next Canadian Women’s Tour event will be contested at the Smiths Falls Golf & Country Club in Smiths Falls, Ont., from June 15-17. The final stop on the Canadian Women’s Tour will be the PGA Women’s Championship of Canada at Burlington Golf & Country Club in Burlington, Ont., from July 20-22.

The winners of each stop on the Canadian Women’s Tour will earn exemptions to compete in the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. Also receiving exemptions will be the top two competitors on the 2015 Canadian Women’s Tour Order of Merit. To be eligible, participants must play in at least two of the three events on the 2015 schedule.

At season’s end, the five highest ranked players on the Canadian Women’s Tour Order of Merit will be awarded direct entry into the second stage of LPGA Qualifying School.

Click here for complete scores.

For the third time in the tournament’s history, the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open and the stars of the LPGA Tour will return to Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in Calgary, Alberta, August 22-28, 2016.

“We are excited to announce the return of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open to Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in 2016,” said Canadian Pacific Women’s Open Tournament Director Brent McLaughlin. “The venue is outstanding; the city of Calgary is a world-class hosting community; and we are confident that Alberta golf fans will once again rally around the LPGA Tour’s return to Western Canada.”

The championship, which typically draws arguably the strongest field on the LPGA Tour, will once again make a significant charitable contribution to the host community through the CP Has Heart campaign.

“CP and our 2,000 Calgary-based employees and their families are thrilled to bring world-class LPGA Tour golf back to our hometown,” said CP’s VP Corporate Affairs Mark Wallace. “In addition to some great golf, we look forward to working with the tournament as we raise funds for pediatric cardiac care and research at Alberta Children’s Hospital.”

The 44^th playing of Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship will return to the formidable venue which had previously hosted in 1999 and 2009. The 2009 edition of Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship saw Norway’s Suzann Pettersen card a final-round one-under par 70 and tournament-total 269 (15-under) to claim the title. Among those in the five-way tie for second that year was World Golf Hall of Fame member Karrie Webb, who claimed victory in 1999 when Priddis Greens hosted the LPGA Tour for the first time.

“It is an honour to welcome back the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open to Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club, Calgary and the province of Alberta,” said Rod McBride, President of Priddis Greens. “Hosting the CP Women’s Open provides us with another opportunity to showcase our course as one of the premiere golfing experiences in Canada and to further demonstrate Calgary’s love of the game.”

The Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C., will play host to the 2015 edition of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship will be contested August 17-23. First conducted in 1973, Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship has allowed the brightest stars of the LPGA Tour to shine on Canadian soil and inspire the nation’s next generation of female golfers.

Additional information regarding tickets, volunteer opportunities and corporate hospitality for the 2015 or 2016 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open can be found at www.cpwomensopen.com.

BELEK, Turkey – England’s Melissa Reid won the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open on Wednesday, leading wire-to-wire for her fifth career Ladies European Tour victory.

The 27-year-old Reid closed with an even-par 73 at Carya Golf Club for a four-stroke victory over France’s Gwladys Nocera. Reid also won the 2010 tournament at National Golf Club.

Nocera finished with a 71 in the unique Sunday-Wednesday event.

England’s Laura Davies tied for third at 6 under with Scots Kylie Walkerand Sally Watson. The 51-year Davies finished with a 72. Walker also shot 72, and Watson had a 75.

Canadian Amateur Christina Foster of Concord, Ont., has qualified for this year’s U.S. Women’s Open hosted at the Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pa., July 9-12.

The 19-year-old stamped her ticket to the major championship with a two-round score of 145 at her sectional qualifier on Monday held at the Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette, Ill. Foster’s score gave her a one shot edge as she beat out the competition to claim one of two spots.

The golfer’s best finish came at the GAO – Women’s Match Play Championship, when she was runner up to Robyn Doig.

Foster joins fellow Canadian Brooke Henderson, as the only Canucks in the field to date. There are sectional qualifiers running until June 15^th.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Minjee Lee shook off a three-putt bogey on her first hole with two finishing pars and won the Kingsmill Championship by two shots Monday, her first victory on the LPGA Tour.

Lee, an 18-year-old Australian, finished at 15-under 269. She surged into the lead on Sunday with a round highlighted by a five-hole stretch that she played in 5 under and returned to the Kingsmill Resort’s River Course on Monday morning with a four-stroke lead.

She three-putted her first hole, the 16th, but rallied with a pair of pars.

So Yeon Ryu started her day with three consecutive birdies and finished second, with Alison Lee another shot back.

Third-round leader Perrine Delacour of France finished fourth after a closing 71.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson tied for 25th at 3 under par.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – France’s Perrine Delacour took advantage of Alison Lee’s late two-hole meltdown to take the third-round lead Saturday in the Kingsmill Championship.

The 21-year-old Delacour birdied three of the final five holes for a 4-under 67. She had an 11-under 202 total on Kingsmill Resort’s River Course.

“I think tomorrow I will be nervous because that’s the first time in the lead,” Delacour said. “So, I’m going to be nervous, but I’ll try to do my best and we’ll see after 18 holes.”

She’s comfortable on the River Course.

“It’s good,” said Delacour, winless in 19 career starts in two seasons on the LPGA Tour. “Pretty similar to European golf courses. It’s good for my game.”

After opening a four-stroke lead, the 20-year-old Lee dropped back with a bogey on the par-4 16th and a four-putt double bogey on the par-3 17th. She finished with a 70, leaving her a stroke behind.

“Poor putting. That was a huge mistake,” Lee said. “That first putt, I didn’t think I would leave it that short. The second putt, I thought it would break right to left. I hit a really firm stroke, felt confident, and ended up breaking to the right and I had a poor putt coming back.”

Still a student at UCLA after turning pro in December, Lee tied for fourth in the Kia Classic in March in California and has three top-25 finishes.

“I’m not too disappointed with my round,” Lee said. “Obviously I am disappointed with those two holes, and definitely affects where I am in position going into tomorrow. I mean, one stroke is a lot out here, and unfortunately I lost two strokes on this hole. Just need to go into tomorrow with confidence and remind myself I’m hitting it well and not think about that hole or putt too much.”

Delacour birdied Nos. 14, 16 and 18 to take the lead.

Paula Creamer, So Yeon Ryu and Minjee Lee were 9 under. Creamer shot 66, Ryu 68, and Minjee Lee 69.

“It was kind of a grind,” Minjee Lee said. “I mean, I didn’t really stuff it up and just play amazing golf. I was just kind of in between. I had a good couple birdies and I had good scrambles.”

Lexi Thompson was 8 under after a 67.

Kelly Tan had a 64, the best round of the week, to move into a tie for 11th at 6 under. She had seven birdies in her bogey-free round.

“My putter was just so hot,” Tan said. “I was hitting my iron shots really good, too. This is a great golf course. Tough to really stick the ball really close to the hole, so I mean, I get a lot of 15-, 20- footers and even 10-footers, and I just didn’t seem to miss them.”

Top-ranked Lydia Ko was tied for 20th at 3 under after a 70.

Youngster Brooke Henderson shot a round of 74 today, placing her 12 shots back of Delacour.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Alison Lee shot a 4-under 67 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead in the LPGA Tour’s Kingsmill Championship.

The 20-year-old Lee, still a student at UCLA after turning pro in December, had a 9-under 133 total on Kingsmill Resort’s River Course.

“Anything can happen. This tournament is only halfway over,” Lee said. “I’m going to try my best to stay focused and stay in the game.”

Lee tied for fourth in the Kia Classic in March in California and has three top-25 finishes.

“Coming into today, I felt really confident, especially after my round yesterday,” Lee said. “I was striking the ball well, was putting well and got it rolling on the front nine.”

She birdied the par-4 first to reach 4 under for the day, dropped a stroke on the par-4 sixth, rebounded with a birdie on the par-5 seventh and closed with two pars.

“Too bad on the back,” Lee said. “I started to kind of lose a lot of the focus and a lot of my concentration and I was kind of struggling with my approach shots. Thankfully, I was able to make a lot of good saves and par saves coming down the stretch.”

Australia’s Minjee Lee and France’s Perrine Delacour were tied for second. The 18-year-old Minjee Lee had a 67, and Delacour shot 68.

Minjee Lee turned pro in September after leading Australia to victory in Japan in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship. She eagled the par-5 third, hitting a 4-iron about 200 yards to 7 feet.

“This is my rookie year and kind of the first time I’ve been in this situation, so it’s going to be a whole new experience,” Minjee Lee said. “My mindset? I just want to have fun with my caddie and play some really good golf. Nothing too serious.”

Delacour eagled No. 7, hitting a 3-wood to 10 feet

“I got a lucky bounce and hit the green in two,” Delacour said.

So Yeon Ryu was 6 under after a 69.

“To be honest, my shot is not that really great,” Ryu said. “But really good thing is when I had a chance I made pretty much everything.”

Suzann Pettersen, Christina Kim, Jing Yan and Catriona Matthew were 5 under. Pettersen shot a 65 for the best round of the day, Kim had a 68, and Yan and Matthew shot 67.

“As far as I know this is a four-day tournament,” Pettersen said. “It’s always nice to get a good start. Played OK yesterday, just didn’t get anything out of my round. Scored well today. Course is in great shape. The greens are really, really good.”

Second-ranked Inbee Park was 3 under after a 67. She won the North Texas Shootout two weeks ago for her second victory of the year.

First-round leader Joanna Klatten followed her opening 65 with a 75 to drop into a tie for 22nd at 2 under.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko and Canadian teen Brooke Henderson also were in the group at 2 under. Ko, a two-time winner this season, and Henderson, playing on a sponsor exemption, each shot 69.

Fellow Canadians Sue Kim, Rebecca Lee-Bentham, Jennifer Kirby and Alena Sharp missed the cut.

Third-ranked No. 3 Stacy Lewis had a 74 to drop to 1 over.

Defending champion Lizette Salas missed the cut with rounds of 74 and 73. Three-time Kingsmill winner Cristie Kerr also dropped out, shooting 73-76.