CARLSBAD, Calif. – Top-ranked Lydia Ko doesn’t want to get too far ahead of herself at the Kia Classic – a week before the first major championship of the LPGA Tour season.

“I’m going to concentrate on this week first,” Ko said.

The ANA Inspiration is next week in Rancho Mirage.

“To play well in a major, you pretty much got to have your `A’ game,” Ko said. “Hopefully, if I have a good week here, I’ll bring a lot of confidence into next week. But two different courses. So you know, it’s hard to compare them course-management wise.”

Ko has two worldwide victories this year, winning the tour’s Women’s Australian Open and the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open in consecutive weeks. The 17-year-old New Zealander has 10 straight top-10 finishes and has broken par in her last 24 LPGA Tour rounds and 27 worldwide. She has six LPGA Tour victories and 10 worldwide wins in pro events.

Ko will play alongside defending champion Anna Nordqvist and Lizette Salas in the first two rounds at Aviara Golf Club. Last year, Nordqvist won the second of her two 2014 titles. The Swede closed with her second straight 5-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over Salas.

Nordqvist tied for sixth on Sunday in Phoenix in the Founders Cup, finishing with an 8-under 64.

“I feel like my game’s been pretty solid, haven’t really putted very well,” Nordqvist said. “Sunday a couple of them started to drop and all of a sudden I shot a low score.”

Michelle Wie tied for 64th in Phoenix. She has an endorsement deal with title sponsor Kia.

“Kia has been such a great sponsor to me. They’re kind of like family,” Wie said. “They’ve just been so supportive. It’s great to come to a tournament with my sponsor.

Second-ranked Inbee Park took last week off after winning in Singapore and finishing second behind So Yeon Ryu in a Ladies European Tour event in China.

“I took it easy last week, just practiced a little bit and just relaxed at home,” Park said.

Hyo Joo Kim won in Phoenix for her second LPGA Tour victory in 13 career starts. The 19-year-old South Korean player beat third-ranked Stacy Lewis by three strokes.

Kim, now fourth in the world, was the fifth South Korean winner in the first six events this year – and the other champion, Ko, was born in South Korea.

ANA Inspiration winner Lexi Thompson is coming off a two-week break.

PHOENIX – Hyo Joo Kim birdied five of the last eight holes to outlast Stacy Lewis on Sunday at Desert Ridge in the JTBC Founders Cup.

The 19-year-old Kim closed with a 5-under 67, holing a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th to beat Lewis by three strokes for her second LPGA Tour title.

“In the morning I wasn’t concentrating on winning because I was playing with Stacy Lewis and as a rookie, I just felt that by playing with her, I would learn a lot from her,” Kim said through a translator. “I was just trying to make a good impression as a rookie.”

She did.

“She’s just really solid,” Lewis said. “Even when I did make some putts, she made the putts to follow and she put a lot of pressure on.”

The third-ranked Lewis shot a 68. She pulled within a stroke with a birdie on the par-4 16th, but three-putted for bogey on 18.

“The way I played on the front, to think I could still be within a shot coming up those last few holes was pretty amazing,” Lewis said. “I’m proud of the way I hung in there. I was in three divots today in the fairway, so that didn’t really help things.”

Projected to jump from eighth to fourth in the world, Kim finished at 21-under 267 at Wildfire Golf Club. She won the Evian Championship last year in France for first major title and has eight victories on the South Korean tour.

Kim is the fifth South Korean winner in the first six events this year – and the other winner, top-ranked Lydia Ko, was born in South Korea.

Kim bogeyed the par-4 10th after driving under a tree that had a beehive. She was denied relief from the bees, hit her second to the fairway and failed to get up-and-down for par.

“I was just scared of the bees and I didn’t want to be stung,” Kim said. “So I kept asking if I can get relief and I kept asking and they said, `No, you can’t.’ So, I just swallowed my fears and tried to play the slot as best I could.”

She rebounded with birdies on Nos. 11-13 – holing putts of 5, 50 and 3 feet – and matched Lewis’ birdie on the par-5 15th to remain two strokes ahead.

“If anything, I think the situation on hole 10 helped,” Kim said. “After I went through there and I got a bogey, I just realized there’s no time to feel pressure or feel afraid. I just had to go out there and play.”

On the 18th, Kim hit a perfect drive and put her 140-yard approach pin-high to the right of the difficult pin placed over the large left-side bunker and in front of a rear falloff.

Lewis drove into a sand-filled divot on the left side of the fairway, making it nearly impossible to clear the bunker and stop the ball near the pin. She ended up 30 feet away at the back of the green and missed a 4 1/2-foot comebacker.

“I was obviously not happy,” Lewis said. “Just being the third one of the day and, just more than anything, where that pin was. You just needed something with spin on it coming in and it was a sand-filled divot, so you couldn’t get a lot of check on it. For the lie I had, I hit it a really good shot.”

Lewis won the 2013 tournament and has 11 LPGA Tour titles. The 30-year-old Texan finished second for the second time this year and the 17th time in her career.

South Korea’s Ilhee Lee (66) and Mi Hyang Lee (68) and Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum (67) tied for third at 16 under.

Ko had her third straight 69 to tie for sixth at 15 under. The 17-year-old New Zealander has broken par in her last 24 LPGA Tour rounds and 27 worldwide, a streak that started in the first round of her victory last year in the season-ending event.

Ko won the Women’s Australian Open and the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open in consecutive weeks this year. In her other three LPGA Tour starts, she tied for second in Florida in the opener, tied for seventh in the Bahamas and was second in Singapore.

Anna Nordqvist (64), Austin Ernst (65), Sei Young Kim (65), Na Yeon Choi (66) matched Ko at 15 under. Nordqvist, the former Arizona State player from Sweden, had the best round of the day. She birdied nine of the first 15 holes, missed an eagle putt on 15 and bogeyed 17.

Alison Lee, the 20-year-old former UCLA player who matched the course record with a 63 on Saturday, had a 74 to tie for 24th at 11 under.

Canada’s Alena Sharp tied for 29th at 10 under.

Karrie Webb, the 2011 and 2014 winner, finished with a 69 to tie for 34th at 9 under. Michelle Wie tied for 64th at 4 under after a 71.

PHOENIX – A couple of things stood out when Stacy Lewis glanced at a scoring monitor Saturday night at the JTBC Founders Cup.

For one, the leaderboard was packed on a Desert Mountain course known for low scores and Sunday shootouts. And at 30, she’s a lot older than the other leaders.

“I do feel old, yes,” Lewis said. “We knew it was coming. A lot of the young Koreans were coming out, so it’s not surprising. I mean, they are fearless. They don’t have the experience, so that’s hopefully to my advantage.

“But it is a little strange to be 10 years older than some of these girls.”

Hyo Joo Kim, at 19 already a major champion, finished off a 6-under 66 in the dark to take a two-stroke lead over Lewis. The South Korean player holed her 1 1/2-foot par putt on the final hole at 6:51 p.m. – 11 minutes after sunset.

“Been really good with the driver, second, third (shots), totally all the clubs,” Kim said. “If I miss, I save, so I’m playing good. All the putts feel good.”

Kim made three straight birdies – the last with a 25-foot putt on the par-4 16th – and finished at 16-under 200. She won the Evian Championship last year in France.

“I’ve won before and I’ve been playing four or five times a year on the LPGA,” Kim said. “So I have experience, but not much like this in the States.”

Lewis shot a 67. After birdieing six of the first 11 holes to take the lead at 15 under, she had six pars and a bogey – on the par-3 14th – on the final seven holes.

“I feel like I played a lot better than the score,” Lewis said. “Had a bunch of putts, especially early, that I thought I made. The hole locations coming in were pretty tough, so I think to make some birdies, you really had to hit some good shots.”

The 11-time tour winner was relieved to finish the round Saturday in the event that finally caught up after falling behind Thursday when rain delayed the start.

“The worst part is going to sleep thinking about that one shot or that one putt you have to hit,” Lewis said. “Just being able to do the normal stuff in the morning and not having to worry about going to bed so early. You can watch some basketball.”

Alison Lee and second-round leader Kim Kaufman were third at 13 under. The 20-year-old Lee matched the course record with a 63, and the 23-year-old Kaufman had a 70.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko was 12 under after a 69. The 17-year-old New Zealander has broken par in her last 23 LPGA Tour rounds and 26 worldwide, a streak that started in the first round of her victory last year in the season-ending event.

Ko won the Women’s Australian Open and the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open in consecutive weeks this year. She tied for second last year at Desert Ridge, finishing a stroke behind Karrie Webb.

Mi Hyang Lee and Ha Na Jang also were 12 under, and six more players were 11 under.

“I think it almost makes things easier because you have to just go out there and play and see what happens,” Lewis said about the packed leaderboard. “You can’t watch one person or the people in your groups. You’ve just got to go play golf.”

Lee, still a student at UCLA after turning pro in December, tied the course record set by Ai Miyazato in 2013 and matched last year by Webb, Cristie Kerr and Hee-Won Han. Lee also matched the best score of her career.

“I kind of played my own game,” Lee said. “I really didn’t even realize that I was playing that well until the last hole when I finally looked at the scoreboard.”

She finished on the par-4 ninth, hitting a 9-iron to 1 1/2 feet.

“I was hitting all my approach shots really well,” Lee said.

Making her third LPGA Tour start as a professional, Lee won the Pac-12 title last year as a freshman and was co-medalist at Q-school. She finished finals last week and plans to take more classes in the fall

Webb came from six strokes back in each of her two victories in the event, closing with a 66 in 2011 and the 63 last year. The Australian had a 73 on Saturday, leaving her 10 strokes behind Kim.

“It’s going to be a shootout,” Lewis said. “It’s going to be what this golf course sets up for and the leaderboard this year sets up for it even more.”

Canada’s Alena Sharp heads into Sunday’s finale 9-shots off the lead, with a share of 33rd at 7-under 209 (68-72-69).

PHOENIX – Kim Kaufman birdied the par-4 18th for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke lead Saturday morning after the delayed second round of the JTBC Founders Cup.

Kaufman had six holes left when darkness suspended play Friday in the tournament that fell behind Thursday when rain delayed the start four hours. She rebounded after finishing with a bogey Friday, also making a birdie on the par-5 15th.

“Kind of had a rough finish yesterday,” Kaufman said. “It’s kind of hard to split up your round into two days, but I think did I a good job of staying patient. I made some good pars and, fortunately, made a couple birdies.”

Kaufman had an 11-under 133 total at Desert Ridge. From tiny Clark, South Dakota, the 23-year-old former Texas Tech player is in her second full season on the LPGA Tour.

Hyo Joo Kim was a stroke back. She had a 69 on Friday.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko completed a 69 to reach 9 under. The 17-year-old New Zealander birdied Nos. 16 and 17 and saved par on 18 after missing the green.

“You can see by the scores that there’s lots of birdie opportunities out there,” Ko said. “I’ve just got to get aggressive and hole my share of the putts.”

Ko won the Women’s Australian Open and the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open in consecutive weeks this year. She nearly won last year at Desert Ridge, squandering a three-stroke lead with 13 holes left and tying for second – a stroke behind Karrie Webb.

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis, the 2013 winner, also was 9 under along with Austin Ernst, Sei Young Kim and Ariya Jutanugarn.

Lewis played 30 holes Friday. She opened with a 64, making seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch to take the first-round lead, and had a 71 in the afternoon.

Ernst, Sei Young Kim and Jutanugarn finished the second round Saturday. Sei Young Kim and Jutanugarn shot 66, and Ernst had a 67.

Ha Na Jang, the leader at 11 under with seven holes left when play was stopped Friday, finished with a 68 to drop into a tie for eighth at 8 under.

Michelle Wie, paired with Ko, holed a 30-foot birdie putt on 18 to make the cut on the number at 2 under. She also birdied No. 16.

“Those putts are more nerve-wracking than putts to win a tournament,” Wie said. “A lot of putts out there didn’t drop. I needed to get something going.”

She had a 69 after opening with a 73.

Webb, also the 2011 winner, was 7 under.

Canada’s Alena Sharp was 3-under prior to her 12:40pm (local time) tee-off Saturday.

PHOENIX – Ha Na Jang topped the crowded leaderboard Friday when darkness ended play at the LPGA Tour’s JTBC Founders Cup.

Jang birdied her final four holes to reach 11 under with seven holes left in the second round. She opened with a 4-under 68 on Thursday at Desert Ridge.

Fellow South Korean player Hyo Joo Kim was a stroke back.

Kim played 30 holes Friday in the tournament that fell behind Thursday when rain delayed the start four hours. The Evian winner last year in France for her first major title, she completed a 65 in the first round and had a 69 in the second.

“I was sleepy this morning,” Kim said. “I just played relaxed and I just think to myself, `Hit soft.’ That’s the key for me.”

Only half of the 132 players finished the second round.

Stacy Lewis and Kim Kaufman were 9 under.

Lewis, the 2013 winner, also played 30 holes. She opened with a 64, making seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch to take the first-round lead, and had a 71 in the afternoon.

“I didn’t do too much different other than I just got on the wrong side of the hole,” Lewis said. “The first round, I basically gave myself a lot of uphill putts, and then it was downhill, sidehill swingers. You’re not going to make very many of them.”

Kaufman bogeyed her final hole of the day, the par-4 12th.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko was in the group at 7 under with eight holes left. The 17-year-old New Zealander opened with a 66 on Thursday and was 1 under in the second round.

Ko won the Women’s Australian Open and the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open in consecutive weeks this year. She nearly won last year at Desert Ridge, squandering a three-stroke lead with 13 holes left while tying for second – a stroke behind Karrie Webb.

Michelle Wie, paired with Ko, was 1 under overall after opening with a 73.

Webb, also the 2011 winner, shot 67-70 playing alongside Lewis.

“It was a long day, early morning,” Webb said. “I think I made the most of the conditions this morning with the greens being freshly mowed. They got a little slow and bumpy this afternoon, but all in all, I feel like I played pretty solidly.”

Playing partner Yani Tseng, the 2012 winner, struggled with rounds of 75-77. She was 131st, nine strokes ahead of last-place Christine Song.

Canada’s Alena Sharp was much better. She sits tied for 27th at 4-under 140 (68-72) thru her first two rounds.

PHOENIX – Stacy Lewis had seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch Friday morning to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s JTBC Founders Cup.

The 2013 winner at Desert Ridge, Lewis was 2 under through six holes Thursday when play was suspended because of darkness. After opening with a bogey on No. 7, she birdied Nos. 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15 and 16 and finished with an 8-under 64.

“It was just solid,” Lewis said. “The golf course is in such good shape, you get some putts around the hole, you can definitely make them. Just hit a few close. I hit a 4-iron into about 6 inches, so that always helps.”

The start Thursday was delayed four hours because of rain and wet conditions.

South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim was a stroke back. She played her final 12 holes Friday.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko, Tiffany Joh, Sophia Popov, Kim Kaufman and Karine Icher shot 66. Icher played her final 11 holes Friday.

The 17-year-old Ko has six LPGA Tour titles and 10 worldwide victories in pro events, winning the Women’s Australian Open and the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open in consecutive weeks this year. She nearly won last year at Desert Ridge, squandering a three-stroke lead with 13 holes left and ending up tying for second – a stroke behind Karrie Webb.

“I wasn’t surprised Lydia shot what she did,” Lewis said. “Just kind of motivated me to get up there with her.”

The second-ranked Lewis had a 50-minute break before starting the second round.

“If you’ve got to play a lot of holes and you’re on a roll, that’s where you want to be,” Lewis said. “Things feel good. It will be a quick turnaround.”

Webb, also the 2011 winner, had a 67 playing alongside Lewis.

“Very solid,” Webb said. “I feel like 5 under is perhaps the worst I could have shot, so that’s always a nice thing to say. I felt very comfortable out there.”

Michelle Wie opened with a 73 on Thursday. She’s playing in a group with Ko.

PHOENIX – Top-ranked Lydia Ko shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday for a share of the lead in the suspended first round of the JTBC Founders Cup.

The 17-year-old Ko rebounded from a three-putt bogey on the seventh hole with a 12-foot birdie putt on the eighth and finished with a par to join Tiffany Joh, Sophia Popov and Kim Kaufman atop the leaderboard at Desert Ridge.

The start was delayed four hours because of rain and wet conditions on the Wildfire layout. Only half of the 132 players finished before play was suspended because of darkness.

Ko has broken par in her last 21 tour rounds and 24 worldwide, a streak that started in the first round of her victory last year in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

She nearly won last year at Desert Ridge, squandering a three-stroke lead with 13 holes left and ending up tying for second – a stroke behind Karrie Webb.

The South Korean-born New Zealander has six LPGA Tour titles and 10 worldwide victories in professional events, winning the Women’s Australian Open and the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open in consecutive weeks this year. She also tied for second in the opener in Florida and was second two weeks ago in Singapore.

Joh birdied six of the first 10 holes and closed with eight pars.

Popov arrived in Phoenix on Tuesday after spending last week in a Naples, Florida, hospital because of an infection and the flu. In her only other tour start as a pro, she missed the cut in Australia in February.

South Korea’s In Gee Chun and Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn shot 67, and the Netherlands’ Dewi Claire Schreefel also was 5 under with eight holes left.

Webb, also the winner of the inaugural tournament in 2011, was 2 under with 12 holes left in her round with 2013 winner Stacy Lewis and 2012 champion Yani Tseng. Lewis also was 2 under, and Tseng 1 under.

Michelle Wie had a late triple bogey in a 73 playing alongside Ko. Getting over strep throat that hit her in the Bahamas and a sinus infection that bothered her in two events in Asia, Wie has broken 70 only once in 15 rounds this season.

Italy’s Giulia Molinaro had a hole-in-one on the 148-yard 17th hole to win a 2016 Kia K900. The Monday qualifier was 1 under with nine holes left.

Canada’s Alena Sharp only played four holes Thursday but was able to card four birdies to sit 4-under for a share of 8th spot.

PHOENIX – Stacy Lewis had some sound advice for parents Wednesday at the JTBC Founders Cup during a press conference with LPGA-USGA Girls Golf players.

“I always tell parents, `It’s the kids playing. It’s not the parents playing,'” said the third-ranked Lewis, the 2013 tournament champion. “That’s, I think, what kind of some of the big problems are is that they don’t let the kids play. My dad, he sent me off to get lessons with somebody else. There needs to be a line between a golf instructor versus your parent.

“I still tell my dad, even now, I tell him, `Dad, I just want you to be my dad. I want you to be there and give me a hug afterward whether I played bad or whether I played horrible and if I need your help, I’ll ask you.’

“What I do now is technically a job, and my dad doesn’t need to be involved in all of that. I want to keep that relationship good, so just remember that the kids are the ones playing and just let them play.”

Top-ranked Lydia Ko will play the first two rounds with U.S. Women’s Open champion Michelle Wie and Na Yeon Choi. They will open Thursday at 7:55 a.m. on No. 10.

Ko has two worldwide victories this year, winning the tour’s Women’s Australian Open and the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open in consecutive weeks.

Choi won the season-opening Coates Golf Championship in Florida.

Past champions Karrie Webb, Stacy Lewis and Yani Tseng are playing together. They will go off the first tee at 12:51 p.m. Webb won in 2011 and 2014, Lewis in 2013 and Tseng in 2012.

Cheyenne Woods, Tiger Woods’ niece, is from Phoenix and lives in the area. She earned her tour card last season at Q-school.

“You don’t get many chances throughout the season to really be home,” Woods said. “When I can be home and compete at the same time, it feels so good. I feel really comfortable here in Phoenix. This is home for me, get to sleep in my own bed, have my family come out. So I’ve been looking forward to this event for a long time.”

Alena Sharp is the lone Canadian in the field. She tees-off at 1:24pm.

SINGAPORE – Inbee Park claimed her 13th career LPGA title by winning the HSBC Women’s Champions on Sunday, shooting a 2-under 70 in the final round to win by two strokes.

Park, who started the day with the same two-stroke lead, had birdies on Nos. 7 and 11 at Sentosa Golf Club to finish the tournament at 15-under 273, clear of 17-year-old Lydia Ko, who also shot a 70.

Park hasn’t carded a bogey since the third round of the Honda LPGA Thailand, a streak of five consecutive bogey-free rounds.

“This week was just incredible,” Park said. “I don’t think I can even believe myself that I didn’t make any bogeys for 72 holes. I mean, if I thought about bogeys, when am I going to make bogey; if I was afraid of the bogeys, I’d probably make bogeys. But I thought, whatever happens, it’s just meant to be.”

Stacy Lewis had a bogey on the final hole for a 72 that left her in third place, four strokes off the lead.

Azahara Munoz, who was runner-up last year, tied for fourth at 10-under with Shanshan Feng and So Yeon Ryu.

Defending champion Paula Creamer had a 74 to tie for 55th place.

Park, Ko and Lewis played in the final group on Sunday, with Park holding the overnight lead at 13-under and Ko and Lewis tied in second place at 11 under.

Ko made consecutive birdies on the fourth and fifth holes to pull even. They remained tied for the lead at 14 under after both had a birdie on the seventh, while Lewis trailed by two strokes.

Ko stumbled with a bogey on the eighth, allowing Park to make the turn with a one-shot advantage.

But Ko’s chances of a seventh career LPGA victory and her third win in as many weeks were all but erased with bogeys on Nos. 12 and 13.

“On this course, it’s not that hard to lose shots,” Ko said. “There are some lip outs and there are so many close ones. But I finished well with a birdie on 18, and I had a great stretch of three weeks, and I would have never imagined to have one second place and two wins.”

Lewis erased her bogey on the 10th with a birdie on the 13th, only to drop another shot behind with a bogey on the 18th.

SINGAPORE – Inbee Park shot a 4-under 68 to take a two-stroke lead after the third round of the HSBC Women’s Champions on Saturday.

Park had four birdies in a bogey-free round at Sentosa Golf Club to sit at 13-under 203, two strokes ahead of top-ranked Lydia Ko and Stacy Lewis, who both shot 67.

“I gave myself a lot of opportunities,” said Park, who is seeking her 13th LPGA victory. “I didn’t make all of them, but I was able to handle myself out there being patient out there and no bogeys is a really great result.”

Anna Nordqvist had a 68 and was tied for fourth with Suzann Pettersen and Azahara Munoz, four strokes off the pace.

The 17-year-old Ko is bidding for her seventh career LPGA victory and her third win in as many weeks. She won the Women’s Australian Open two weeks ago and the Women’s New Zealand Open last week.

“That would be I guess a dream three weeks,” Ko said. “But I’m just going to try my best. The girls are playing good golf and it’s a tough course. Just one shot can cost you a couple.”

Lewis is third in the world rankings behind Ko and Park.

“The final group on a Sunday is where you want to be, so no matter – doesn’t matter who is in the group,” Lewis said. “This is the position I want to be in tomorrow.”

Defending champion Paula Creamer struggled with her game and shot a 74 to be tied for 50th with money list leader Amy Yang, who had four bogeys in a 78.

Michelle Wie fell into a tie for 38th after a round of 74 that included a bogey, a double bogey and a birdie.

Overnight co-leader Carlota Cinganda also had a 74 and is tied for eighth with Shanshan Feng and Jessica Korda.