MELBOURNE, Australia – South Korea’s Ilhee Lee took advantage of calm morning conditions at Royal Melbourne to shoot a 5-under 68 and take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Women’s Australian Open.

Lee had four back-nine birdies while Ariya Jutanugarn bogeyed her final hole to finish with a 69. The 19-year-old Thai earned a spot in an LPGA tournament in Thailand at the age of 11, making her the youngest player to qualify for an LPGA tournament.

New Zealander Lydia Ko, playing her second tournament as world No. 1, shot 70 and was tied for third with Canadian Alena Sharp and South Korea’s Kwak Min-seo. The 17-year old Ko’s round included an eagle on the par-5 14th where her 25-foot putt dropped for a three.

Charley Hull and Melissa Reid of England, American Brooke Pancake and Gwladys Nocera of France were among a group of six tied for sixth with 71s, three strokes behind Lee.

American Jessica Korda, who won the 2012 tournament at Royal Melbourne, shot 72.

Defending champion Karrie Webb, a five-time winner, had a 73 while South Korean-born Australian Su Oh, who won last week’s Australian Ladies Masters in only her second start as a professional, birdied her opening hole but then slumped to a 79. English veteran Laura Davies shot 81.

Lee said she only made a late decision to come to Melbourne after her coach, World Golf Hall of Fame member Sandra Haynie, convinced her she had the game to contend on a course where she missed the cut in her only previous sandbelt appearance in 2012.

“It’s good to see how improved my golf is this year . because I was here in 2012 (and) how I see the golf course at that time and now is totally different,” Lee said.

“I see the right thing first, I see how I manage the golf course better and then my drive’s better than then and swing’s got better, putting’s better, everything’s much better than that time.”

Jutanugarn, who had seven birdies and three bogeys Thursday, has had a hot start to the year, finishing tied for 11th in the opening LPGA event in Florida before a playoff loss in the Bahamas two weeks ago.

“I have to keep on that roll. I really want to keep it,” she said. “I have a lot more confidence now.”

Ko said it was important to get a good start on such a difficult course.

“I tried to stay patient,” Ko said. “I didn’t hole that many putts but I didn’t make that many mistakes either, so that’s important.”

The Women’s Australian Open is sanctioned by three tours: the LPGA, Ladies European and Australian Ladies tours.

At 3-under, Hamilton, Ont.’s Alena Sharp is part of a three-way tie for 3rd with world No. 1 Lydia Ko and Min Seo Kwak. Lorie Kane sits T33 at 1-over.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Only 17, top-ranked Lydia Ko says she’s already planning to retire from golf by the time she’s 30, and become a psychologist.

Ko makes her second start at No. 1 in Thursday’s first round of the Women’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne along with Karrie Webb and Australia’s Su Oh, an 18-year-old who won the Australian Ladies Masters last week in her second start as a professional.

The South Korean-born Ko says she will soon start an on-line psychology degree to prepare for life after golf.

“I say my plan is to retire when I’m 30 so I’m not just going to go to the beach and hang out for the rest of my life,” Ko said Wednesday.

“There’s always a second career that comes along with it and I’m trying to build up towards it and, because I’m playing a sport, psychology links well with it.”

Ko finished second in the LPGA’s 2015 tour opener in Florida on Jan. 31 to become the youngest player of either gender to become world No. 1, breaking the record set by Tiger Woods by almost four years.

Ko, who moved to New Zealand from South Korea when she was six, travels from her Florida base with her mother, Tina. Her older sister, Sura, has an architecture degree.

“My mom will get me off my iPad and phone and tell me to work hard and look at the text books,” Ko said.

In her second year as a pro, Ko said she wasn’t putting too much pressure on herself to win a major this year.

“Last year I had two top-10 finishes (in majors) which was better than the year before when I had one,” Ko said. “I’m looking for more consistency in playing majors and then one day that will give me a chance to be around the lead.”

Webb won the Women’s Open at Victoria Golf Club in Melbourne last year for her record fifth title. South Korea’s Chella Choi was second, a stroke back.

“It makes you feel old when your rookie year was before these players were born, but when we’re competing against each other I don’t see age as a difference,” Webb said. “We all have the same goal.”

Following her 40th birthday celebrations in December, Webb said she hit the gym hard in the off-season, and hopes to compete for Australia at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next year.

“I could get away with it when I was younger,” Webb said. “I have to be a bit more diligent now and my body tells me that.”

Also playing on the Royal Melbourne composite course beginning Thursday are South Korean players Na Yeon Choi, who beat Ko in the season opener, and So Yeon Ryu and Kyu Jung Baek, and No. 4-ranked Shanshan Feng of China.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – South Korean rookie Sei Young Kim won the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title, holing an 8-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff with countrywoman Sun Young Yoo and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn.

“Just before the last putt I was super nervous, but I was fine,” Kim said.

The 22-year-old Kim shot a 1-under 72 in the completion of the delayed third round and closed with a 68 to match Yoo and Jutanugarn at 14-under 278 on Atlantis Resort’s Ocean Club course.

“It’s definitely a dream,” Kim said. “I’m really happy. Since 10 years ago, it’s what I’ve dreamed of.”

Kim birdied the par-5 18th in regulation, chipping from the front greenside rough to 3 feet – to earn the last spot in the playoff. She won on the hole a few minutes later.

A five-time winner on the Korea LPGA, Kim tied for sixth at the LPGA Tour’s Q-school to earn a card. She played in four playoffs on the KLPGA, winning four of them.

“I joined the LPGA in hopes of making the Korean Olympics team,” Kim said. “This is one step toward that. So, this means a lot to me.”

She’s projected to move from No. 40 to No. 23 in the world. Q Baek is currently the fourth and final South Korean player in the Olympic rankings at No. 11.

Yoo finished with rounds of 69 and 70, and Jutanugarn shot 70-69.

Brittany Lincicome was third at 13 under after rounds of 68 and 70.

Lydia Ko tied for seventh at 11 under in her first event as the No. 1 player in the world. She shot 70-68.

Second-ranked Inbee Park had a chance to take the top spot back from Ko, but closed with a 72 to tie for fifth at 12 under.

“I saw the news or like the projections and how it would change, but I didn’t really think about it,” Ko said. “To me, it was more important trying to make a lot of good putts and a lot of good birdies.”

Play was delayed Thursday because of rain and slowed Friday by high wind.

Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Brooke Henderson carded a final-round 72 for a share of 33rd. The Smiths Fall, Ont. native earned just shy of $9,000 (U.S.) in her first LPGA start as a professional.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Gerina Piller topped the leaderboard at 10 under Saturday when third-round play in the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic was suspended because of darkness.

Piller was 3 under for the round with nine holes left on Atlantis Resort’s Ocean Club course. She made 40-foot birdie putts on Nos. 3 and 4.

“Just minimize the mistakes, and fairways and greens,” Piller said. “I mean, the wind could switch at any second, it can.”

Play was delayed Thursday because of rain and slowed Friday by high wind.

Lexi Thompson was a stroke back along with Sandra Gal, Brooke Pancake, Kelly Shon, Sei Young Kim and Perrine Delacour. Thompson was 7 under for the round with two holes left. Gal had nine holes to go, Pancake 11, Shon eight, Kim 11, and Delacour six.

Second-ranked Inbee Park and No. 3 Stacy Lewis were in the group at 8 under. Park had 11 holes left, and Lewis three. Top-ranked Lydia Ko was 4 under with three holes left.

“I feel good,” said Lewis, 6 under for the round. “I would have liked to have finished that round off today, but just going to bed with a good number posted so far, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Thompson played alongside Lewis.

“We were talking about that we probably had the best golf going on today, we had so many birdies,” Thompson said. “The first two days we were ball-striking it well, just didn’t make that many putts, but today we were definitely feeding off each other off of birdies.”

Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Brooke Henderson was 3 under with one hole remaining in her third round. This is her first LPGA event as a  professional.

Only two groups finished the third round Saturday.

Michelle Wie missed the cut Saturday morning, finishing at 5 over.

Canadians Rebecca Lee-Bentham (+3) and Alena Sharp (+6) also failed to make the 36-hole cut.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Brittany Lincicome and Sun Young Yoo topped the leaderboard Friday in the wind-swept Bahamas LPGA Classic when second-round play was suspended because of darkness.

In wind gusting to 35-40 mph, Yoo completed a first-round 70 and shot 69 in the second to match Lincicome at 7 under on Atlantis Resort’s Ocean Club course.

“It was very tough, especially with the wind,” Yoo said. “I just tried to stay focused and just tried to make the right putt with the wind.”

Lincicome was 2 under in the second round with 13 holes left. She shot a 68 on Thursday.

“It was kind of just like hit-it-and-laugh kind of mentality,” Lincicome said. “Like we weren’t taking anything really seriously. We knew it was going to be blowing really strong and we’re just thankful we didn’t have to play all day. … There was nothing we could do about it. It’s so ridiculous out there that it’s not even normal. It’s kind of just you’ve got to laugh about it. You can’t get mad.”

After rain delayed play Thursday, only half of the players were able to finish the second round Friday. In May 2013, the inaugural event was reduced to three 12-hole rounds because of flooding.

Second-ranked Inbee Park, Dori Carter, Jenny Shin, Kelly Shon were 6 under. Shin and Shon shot 71, Carter had a 72, and Park was 1 under for the round with 13 holes left.

“My caddie, after we hit our approach shot on the last hole, said, `I’m not going to lie, this is the worst wind conditions I’ve ever seen,'” Carter said. “He told me on the last hole. He didn’t say it middle of the round. But we laughed about that.”

Lydia Ko, playing her first event since taking the No. 1 spot in the world ranking, was 3 under after rounds of 72 and 71. The 17-year-old New Zealander tied for second last week in the season-opening event in Florida, to break Tiger Woods’ record as the youngest player to reach No. 1.

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis was 2 under after rounds of 71 and 73.

Defending champion Jessica Korda was 1 over. She shot 73-74.

Brooke Henderson was in danger of missing the cut in her first LPGA Tour start as a professional. After opening with a 75, the 17-year-old Canadian was 1 over – and 3 over overall – through five holes in the second round. She won a Suncoast Series event last week in Florida in her pro debut and earned a spot in the field Monday in the qualifying tournament.

Michelle Wie also struggled. She opened with a 76 and played the first five holes in the second round in 2 over to drop to 5 over.

Rebecca Lee-Bentham was 4-over and Alena Sharp was 5-over thru four holes.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Brooke Pancake shot a 6-under 67 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead in the suspended first round of the Bahamas LPGA Classic.

Play was suspended for the day at 2:47 p.m. and more than inch of rain fell on Atlantis Resort’s Ocean Club course. In May 2013, the inaugural event was reduced to three 12-hole rounds because of flooding.

Playing in calmer morning conditions, Pancake birdied six of her first seven holes in her bogey-free round.

“I luckily got to get out early this morning,” Pancake said. “I gave myself a lot of birdie looks and I really took advantage of those.”

Second-ranked Inbee Park was tied for second with Natalie Gulbis and Brittany Lincicome. Gulbis is making her first start since having hip surgery in November.

“I hit it good,” Gulbis said. “It’s been like any other getting ready for the season. I didn’t play last week. I wasn’t quite ready last week. I’m just happy to be back.”

Lincicome played in wind gusting around 20 mph.

“It was different out there,” Lincicome said. “Every time I was with a left-to-right wind, I either snap-hooked it way left or blocked it way right. But when the wind was right to left, I crushed it and I did really well.”

Lydia Ko, playing her first event since taking the No. 1 spot in the world ranking, was 1 under through eight holes. The 17-year-old New Zealander tied for second last week in the season-opening event in Florida, to break Tiger Woods’ record as the youngest player to reach No. 1.

“We’ve still got 10 more holes and I know there are birdie opportunities,” Ko said. “The 18th is a par 5, too. We’ve just got to stay patient. Hopefully, I will make a couple more birdies down the stretch.”

Ko played in the rain for the first time since switching from glasses to contact lenses.

“They’re good. No problems,” Ko said. “I was like, `Man, I’ve got nothing. There’s nothing in my way.’ I didn’t mind the rain. It was a good test.”

Toronto’s Rebecca Lee-Bentham carded a 73.

Brooke Henderson opened with a 75 in her first LPGA Tour start as a professional. The 17-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont. native won the Monday qualifying tournament to earn a spot in the field. She won a Suncoast Series event last week in Florida in her pro debut.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont. had a 77.

Michelle Wie shot 76.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Lydia Ko has had a few days to let her historic rise to the No. 1 spot in the world ranking sink in.

“I’m just trying to go back to my normal routine, just get used to the weather here and check out the course,” the 17-year-old Ko said Wednesday, the day before the start of play in the Bahamas LPGA Classic. “I’m very proud to be in that position, but at the same time, I’m trying to just kind of block it out and just be like another golfer, being on the course and just enjoying my time out here.”

The New Zealander tied for second last week in the season-opening Coates Golf Championship in Ocala, Florida, to break Tiger Woods’ record as the youngest player to reach No. 1. She had three LPGA Tour victories last season after winning the Canadian Women’s Open the previous two years as an amateur.

After jumping to No. 1, she got a congratulatory tweet from New Zealand singer and songwriter Lorde.

“I’m a huge fan of her music and she sent me a tweet and she’s like, `Congratulations, very proud.’ And I was like, `Oh, my God.” I’m a huge fan and for somebody of that status to give me a tweet like that, that was pretty awesome. And also I got a Twitter message from Don Cheadle. That was really cool, too.

Last year at Atlantis Resort’s Ocean Club, Jessica Korda birdied the final hole to beat Stacy Lewis by a stroke. Korda also tied for second last week, a stroke behind Na Yeon Choi.

“I saw where my game kind of is and shook off some rust,” Korda said. “I’m sure that there’s going to be some left over rust, it’s going to take a couple tournaments to kind of really get back into playing mode. We’re used to playing week in, week out and you take two months off and you think that you’re going to be in the same spot, you hit some pretty shots and then not so pretty shots.”

Brooke Henderson is making her first LPGA Tour as a pro. The 17-year-old Canadian won the Monday qualifying tournament to earn a spot in the field.

“My schedule this year will be a little bit up and down, but getting into this tournament this week is really exciting, Henderson said.

She won a Suncoast Series event last week in Florida in her pro debut.

“It really helped coming into this week, just a confidence-booster knowing that I got a couple of solid rounds together last week,” Henderson said.

Two other Canadians will join Henderson in the field in Bahamas, including Toronto’s Rebecca Lee-Bentham and Hamilton, Ont.’s Alena Sharp.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -A pair of Team Canada Pro Squad members have Monday-qualified for this week’s Puresilk Bahamas LPGA Classic.

Smiths Falls, Ont. teenager Brooke Henderson carded a 69 to earn qualifying medalist honours and a spot in her first LPGA Tour event as a professional.

Another Team Canada Pro Squad member, Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Toronto, finished a shot back with a 70 to grab the other qualifying spot.

Hamilton, Ont.’s Alena Sharp is also in the field in Bahamas.

The opening-round of the Bahamas event takes place at Atlantis’ Ocean Club Course Thursday.

Henderson turned professional late last year after becoming the first Canadian female to hold the No. 1 spot on the World Amateur Golf Rankings. She just missed out on qualifying for the LPGA’s season-opener in Florida, finishing in a tie for third in the qualifier. Only the top two earned spots.

Instead of playing on the LPGA Tour last week, Henderson played a SunCoast Ladies Tour event in Winter Garden, Fla. She won the event and cashed a $2,200 cheque – her first as a pro.

Unlike Lee-Bentham who has conditional status on the LPGA Tour, Henderson does not have a regular tour to compete on. She is able to accept six LPGA sponsor’s exemptions and also qualifies for the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open in Pennsylvania by virtue of her top-10 finish last year.

Henderson also will try to Monday qualify for events, as she did this week.

OCALA, Fla. – During a closing stretch that featured one of the more tumultuous final hours in recent LPGA Tour history, teen wunderkind Lydia Ko faced a series of tough predicaments. But a query that came after the final round gave her the biggest pause of all.

After reclaiming the lead late Saturday to set herself up for a double payoff of sorts, the 17-year-old double-bogeyed the 71st hole in the inaugural Coates Golf Championship to lose by a shot to Na Yeon Choi.

However, Ko secured a piece of history that could be remembered long after the details of the tour’s season opener are forgotten. The New Zealander became the youngest player of either gender to climb to world No. 1, breaking the record set by Tiger Woods by almost four years.

As the ramifications of the distinction finally took hold, the sting of defeat at Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club wasn’t quite so bad. The notion of celebrating, which first set her back for a moment, didn’t seem so crazy after all.

“It’s going to be good,” Ko said. “I was here to focus on the tournament itself, but I guess I got a great outcome at the end of the day, too.”

After leading by as many as four shots on the front nine, Ko trailed Choi by a shot as they played the par-3 15th. With Choi facing a 6-footer for birdie, Ko slammed in an improbable 60-footer and Choi promptly three-putted for a two-shot swing.

The teenager’s lead didn’t last long. Ko drove into a fairway bunker, then fanned a hybrid shot into a stand of pine trees down the right side of the 17th hole, scrambling to make a double bogey.

As the steadier Choi finished with a 4-under 68 and 16-under total, Ko had to salvage a par on the 18th to finish in a three-way tie at 15 under, but it was good enough to secure a piece of the record book.

Woods, previously the youngest golfer to reach No. 1, was 21 years, 5 months, 16 days when he reached the top in 1997. Ko reached the mark 3 years, 8 months, 14 days earlier. The men’s rankings date to 1986 and the women’s list is nine years old.

“It’s a nice consolation, if you want to call it that,” said Ko’s swing coach, David Leadbetter.

Ko finished with a 71 to match Jessica Korda (66) and Ha Na Jang (70) at 15 under.

Ko, whose pulse rate seems to be frozen at about 75 beats per minute whether she’s making an eagle or double bogey, hardly seemed derailed by the 71st-hole meltdown. Her indefatigable nature is her biggest asset, Leadbetter said.

“We sent her to anger management school to learn how to get angry,” Leadbetter laughed.

Choi, on the other hand, was clearly caught up in the emotion of her first victory since late 2012. The 27-year-old topped the LPGA money list in 2010 and won the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open, but had fallen out of the world top 15.

“I think I was so nervous out there,” said Choi, who recorded her eighth LPGA victory and was fighting back tears. “I was waiting so long for this moment.”

Choi, one of the game’s elite players before the two-year victory drought set in, admitted that the pressure to succeed wore her down to the point that she stopped reading Korean sports websites and considered downgrading her cellphone plan so she could not download stories about her play.

“I think I had a lot of stress from the result,” Choi said. “Even if I was top 10 or top five, not many people said you did a good job if you finish as runner up. They say you are a loser and that hurts me a lot.”

As for Ko, her ascent seemed ordained when she won her first LPGA Tour title as an amateur at age 15, the youngest in tour history.

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” American star Stacy Lewis said of the new No. 1. “It was just a matter of time.”

Ko, a native of South Korea who moved to New Zealand as a youngster, unseated Inbee Park in the top spot.

“She’s probably the straightest player out here,” said Park, who tie for 17th. “The golf gets easier if you hit the ball straight and you can roll the ball in.”

Ko hit a few crooked shots down the stretch, which ultimately cost her the first-place trophy, but once the magnitude of the moment took hold, she was all smiles.

“There was obviously a loss,” Ko said. “But there was a huge positive, too. That’s pretty awesome.”

Canada’s Alena Sharp tied for 55th at 5-over 293 to earn $3,738 (U.S.).

OCALA, Fla. – Lydia Ko is one round from potentially making golf history.

The 17-year-old New Zealander birdied five consecutive holes and shot a 7-under 65 in the third round of the Coates Golf Championship on Friday to take the outright lead in the LPGA Tour’s season opener.

If she hangs on Saturday, she would become the youngest golfer – male or female – to be ranked No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings.

“I really haven’t thought about it,” Ko said. “Like I’ve always said, the rankings come after the results in each tournament. It would be great and it would be a huge honor to be in that position, but we’ve still got another long, 18 holes to go, and you never know what’s going to happen in those holes.”

Second-round leader Ha Na Jang was a stroke back at 13-under 203 after a 1-under 71 Friday. Fellow South Korean Na Yeon Choi shot a 6-under 66 and was two back at 12 under.

Stacy Lewis (70) was 10 under, one stroke ahead of Amy Yang (65), Jessica Korda (69) and Austin Ernst (70).

Michelle Wie and Cheyenne Woods both shot 73 in the third round and fell further back in the 77-player field at Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club.

All of them are chasing Ko, who is chasing history as well as her sixth career LPGA victory.

“There are so many great players that are like one to four shots (back),” Ko said. “You just never know what’s going to happen. I’m just going to concentrate on my game, stay really positive and if somebody else shoots a much bigger score than I do, I can’t really do much about it. I’m just going to focus and hopefully I’ll be able to shoot a good score (Saturday).”

By mid-afternoon Friday, much of the focus had turned to Ko. She three-putted Nos. 10 and 11 to start the back nine, falling four strokes behind leader Jang. Ko slammed her putter into her bag and mumbled to herself, `OK, you’ve got to start working again.”

She outplayed everyone on the course from there, showing the poise of a tour veteran instead of the nerves of a teenager.

“She’s acting more mature than 17 years old, like at least 25,” said Choi, who played a practice round with Ko near Orlando last week. “She’s so mature. Sometimes, when we’re having dinner or lunch, she’s 17 years old. She likes to eat some chocolate or ice cream or that kind of stuff.

“But on the course or on the range, when she has a golf club, I think she totally changes,” Choi added.

It showed when she responded to those consecutive bogeys with a lengthy birdie run.

It started at the par-5 12th, one of eight tribute holes modeled after some of the most famous courses from around the world. It’s a replica of the third and final leg of Amen Corner at Augusta National.

She nearly reached the 12th green in two and then chipped it close. She followed that by hitting a hybrid from the 13th fairway to 3 feet and made the putt.

Ko sank a 20-footer for birdie on the 14th, drained an 8-footer on No. 15 and then notched her 11th one-putt of the round with a 6-footer at the 16th.

She had a chance to make it six in row at after hitting a 6-iron to 8 feet at 17, but her putt came up short. She babied another relatively short putt at 18.

“I just didn’t want to ram it by,” she said. “I was a little tentative there. I just have to stay in that concentrated mood, I guess.”

Ko can finish second or third Saturday and still supplant Inbee Park, who is tied for 17th at 3 under, as the world’s No. 1 player.

It would be the latest feat on Ko’s growing resume, which includes winning the inaugural Race to the CME Globe, which included a $1 million bonus last season, and becoming the youngest to win the tour’s rookie of the year award.

Now, she has a chance to really make a mark.

“It’s never over until you pull the glove out of your pocket and put it in your bag,” Ko said. “You’ve just got to concentrate until the last moment.”

 Canada’s Alena Sharp is tied for 55th after a third-round 78.