RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Lydia Ko missed a chance to break the LPGA Tour record for consecutive rounds under par, closing with a bogey for a 1-over 73 on Friday in the second round of the ANA Inspiration.

Needing a birdie on the par-5 18th to extend her streak to 30, the 17-year-old New Zealander hit her second shot into the water after catching a flyer out of the right rough on her layup attempt. After a penalty drop, her fourth shot rolled 15 feet past and she missed the putt.

On Thursday, Ko shot a 71 to tie the record set by Annika Sorenstam in 2004. Ko’s worldwide streak, counting her victory in the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open, ended at 32.

Ko was seven strokes behind leader Sei Young Kim.

Canada’s Alena Sharp had a 73 to sit 5-over and miss the cut.

Tough week on the greens. I see light at the end of the tunnel thou. Have it figured out. Rest and relaxation for a week and off to Hawaii

— Alena Sharp (@AlenaSharp) April 4, 2015

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif.  –

Lexi Thompson figured young friend Lydia Ko was dead in the woods to the left of the seventh fairway.

“I didn’t know she had that kind of shot because she was on an upslope,” Thompson said. “I didn’t know she could keep it under the trees.”

Trying to tie Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour record for consecutive rounds under par, the 17-year-old Ko was even par with three holes left Thursday in the first round of the ANA Inspiration. And she was stuck behind five large trees.

“It was a pretty nasty place to be,” Ko said.

To escape, she needed to a hit a sweeping, low hook.

She did, with the ball scampering onto the green and stopping pin-high 25 feet to the right.

“I said, `I’m going to try to hit the biggest hook,'” Ko said. “It would have probably looked really bad, that swing on camera, but it ended up being OK. … I had to hit it low enough and had to hit a slinging hook, so I didn’t end up in the bunker.”

The New Zealander two-putted for par, then hit a 6-iron to 18 inches on the 158-yard eighth to set up the birdie she needed to get under par. She closed with a par on the par-5 ninth for a 1-under 71 to match Sorenstam’s record of 29 straight rounds under par.

Ko was tied for 10th, four strokes behind first-round leader Morgan Pressel in the first major championship of the season. Pressel won the 2007 tournament to become the youngest major champion at 18 years, 10 months, 9 days.

“I kept the ball in play,” Pressel said. “I was never really in terrible position.”

Ai Miyazato was second at 68, and Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, So Yeon Ryu, Alison Walshe and Gwladys Nocera shot 69. The 54-year-old Inkster won in 1984 and 1989.

“I actually have been hitting the ball fairly well the last couple of weeks and I’ve been out with a bulky putter,” Inkster said. “Today, I made a few putts and I made great par on 16.”

The top six played in the afternoon, long after strong wind tested the morning starters on their opening nines at tree-lined Mission Hills.

Thompson, the defending champion, had a 72 playing alongside Ko in the morning.

“I knew she would salvage the round,” Thompson said. “She might have been a little bit off today, but she has an amazing short game and hit some incredible shots.”

The top-ranked Ko started the streak in the first round of her victory last year in the season-ending event. Her worldwide streak is 32, counting her three rounds in her victory in the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open.

Sorenstam set the LPGA Tour mark in 2004.

With the wind gusting to 20 mph, Ko opened with a 14-foot birdie putt on No. 10 and made an 8-footer on 12. She bogeyed 13, hitting into the front right bunker and leaving a 25-foot putt.

After Thompson hit into the front water on the 133-yard 14th with the wind gusting to 25-30 mph, Ko hit pin-high to the right and made the 15-footer.

“I had to play like 12 yards (for the wind), so I went up a club and a half,” Ko said.

Ko bogeyed three of the next four holes to make the turn at 1 over.

Playing into a right-to-left crosswind on the par-4 15th, she drove into the front of the left fairway bunker. A half-foot from the lip, she chipped 30 yards to the fairway and hit her 6-iron third to 35 feet.

On the par-4 16th, she drove left into rough on the front edge of a bunker. Her fairway wood with the ball below her feet was short of the green in the left rough and she hit her third to 20 feet.

She was fortunate to drop only one shot on the par-5 18th. After going from the right to left rough and sending her third through the green, Ko hit a flop shot that ticked a palm tree and stopped in the fringe. Her downhill putt raced 15 feet past, but she holed the comebacker.

“I would have never thought I would hit the tree that was like 3 yards away right on my target,” Ko said. “But holed a good putt, so maybe that was the turning point.”

Ko got back to even par on the par-5 second, chipping to a foot. She also chipped to a foot on the par-3 fifth after missing to the left.

She was too busy scrambling to worry about the record.

“A record was the last thing I was thinking about,” Ko said.

Ko won in Australia in February – the week before her New Zealand victory – for her sixth LPGA Tour victory. She has 10 worldwide titles in professional events.

Canada’s Alena Sharp opened with a 76 and was tied for 85th after the opening-round.

COQUITLAM, BC – Canadian Pacific (CP) and Golf Canada have announced that BC Children’s Hospital has been chosen as the charity partner for the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open (CPWO). The CPWO will see the top LPGA Tour players in the world compete for the national title at The Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam from August 20-23, 2015.

Funds raised will be dedicated to the pediatric cardiology research program for BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH) Heart Centre. Last year alone, BC Children’s cardiac surgeons performed 337 heart procedures, including 201 open heart surgeries.

“We are seeing incredible work being done in the area of pediatric cardiac care and research at BC Children’s Heart Centre,” said Canadian Pacific CEO E. Hunter Harrison. “By leveraging our CP Has Heart community program and the generosity of our employees, golf fans and supporters of the hospital, we have set a $1,000,000 fundraising target that I know we’ll achieve – but let’s work together to exceed it.”

“We are delighted to be the official tournament charity for the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open,” said Teri Nicholas, president and CEO of BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. “CP’s support for our pediatric cardiology treatment and research programs will ensure that children with heart disease, whether they are from BC, the Yukon or elsewhere in Western Canada, will always receive outstanding care and benefit from the latest research when they turn to BC Children’s Hospital for help.”

CP announced that, beginning today, it will match all online donations made to BCCH until the end of the CPWO tournament. Other fundraising initiatives will involve LPGA Tour players, club members and fans through CP’s Birdies for Heart challenge, something LPGA athletes, including CP ambassador Lorie Kane, embraced at the 2014 CPWO.

“CP does a tremendous job of creating an exciting atmosphere over the week and certainly a huge draw for players and spectators alike is the Birdies for Heart Challenge on the 17th hole,” said LPGA Tour player Lorie Kane. “Feeling the energy from the CP Fan Zone when you’re standing on the tee gives you even more incentive to play the hole well and get a birdie, especially knowing you are directly contributing to the funds available for helping sick children.”

Golf fans attending the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open can upgrade their general admission tickets for the CP Fan Zone, which includes premium seating, healthy treats, player meet and greets and giveaways. Proceeds from CP Fan Zone tickets will go directly to BCCH and CP has also pledged to match funds from all Fan Zone ticket sales as part of its commitment.

CP is also extending its fundraising efforts off the course and into the community to promote the importance of keeping fit. The railroad will also match all donations made to Grouse Mountain’s annual fundraiser Grind for Kids which already benefits BC Children’s Heart Centre.

“Canada’s National Women’s Open Golf Championship is about making this great sport, and the professionals who play it, accessible to the host communities and leaving a legacy,” says Scott Simmons, CEO of Golf Canada. “CP is a tremendous partner, and they continue to show their heart and commitment to the communities we play in. We are looking forward to a great week in Vancouver, a market that has always supported golf. The Vancouver Golf Club is an outstanding course and will provide a stiff test to the best golfers in the world. ”

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan has agreed to a six-year contract extension through 2020.

Mike Trager, the chairman of the tour’s board of directors, announced the deal Tuesday in a letter to players and staff.

The 50-year-old Whan took over the tour in January 2010, replacing Carolyn Bivens. She resigned in July 2009 after a group of players wrote a letter to the board of directors calling for her to quit.

Whan has helped the tour grow from 23 events and $40 million in total purses in 2010 to 33 events and more than $60 million in purses.

The tour’s first major championship for the year, the ANA Inspiration, starts Thursday at Mission Hills.

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Cristie Kerr closed with a 7-under 65 on Sunday and won the Kia Classic for her first LPGA Tour title in nearly two years.

Kerr made four straight birdies on the back nine at Aviara to pull away from Mirim Lee and 17-year-old Lydia Ko. It was her 17th career win, and her first since May 2013 at the Kingsmill Championship.

Her victory ended a streak of South Korean-born players winning the last seven LPGA events.

Ko didn’t make another birdie after the 14th hole and closed with a 67 to finish third. It was her 28th consecutive round under par on the LPGA Tour, one short of Annika Sorenstam’s record set in 2004.

Kerr finished at 20-under 268 to break the tournament record by six shots.

Canada’s Alena Sharp tied for 50th at 3-under 285.

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Mirim Lee took the Kia Classic lead Saturday, while top-ranked Lydia Ko easily increased her LPGA Tour under-par streak to 27 rounds but dropped two late strokes and ended up four shots behind.

Lee shot a 6-under 66 to reach 16-under 200 at Aviara, leaving her a stroke ahead of former UCLA player Alison Lee in the final event before the first major of the season next week at Rancho Mirage.

“I think comfortable,” Mirim Lee said about the final round. “I just think patience, patience, patience.”

The 17-year-old Ko shot a 67 to move within two rounds of matching Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour record for consecutive rounds under par of 29 set in 2004. Ko pushed her worldwide streak to 30.

“It’s definitely a little frustrating, and especially finishing off with a bogey,” Ko said. “But I had an 18-yard putt, and you just don’t want to be in that position in the first place. It’s just, I think, everything balances out. I chipped in for eagle and all that. It could have been a worser day, could have been better. But I know that I’m hitting the ball well, so hopefully I can take this to tomorrow and just give myself a lot of opportunities.”

Mirim Lee had five birdies and a 6-foot par save on the par-4 18th in a back-nine 31. The 24-year-old South Korean player won LPGA Tour events last year in Michigan and China.

“I think putting was best,” Mirim Lee said. “It was better than yesterday, so score was good.”

The 20-year-old Alison Lee had her second straight 66. She’s making her fourth LPGA Tour start as a professional. Last year, she won the Pac-12 title as a freshman at UCLA and was co-medalist at Q-school.

“I feel like I’ve had a lot of experience and played in a lot of tournaments to know that I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself,” Alison Lee said. “So, over the last stretch of holes, I just played my own game, stayed in the moment, and to be honest, I didn’t even know what I shot until I signed my scorecard.”

Ko eagled the par-4 seventh with a 10-yard chip and birdied Nos. 8, 11, 13 and 14 to take the lead at 14 under, but hit into the water and made a bogey on the drivable par-4 16th and lost another stroke on 18.

“Overall, the last couple days, I felt like my irons were really solid,” Ko said. “I was kind of on and off with the long clubs, but I felt like I hit the ball well, and that means I could be a little bit more positive about it. The only really loose shot was that tee shot on 16 and my second shot on 18. But it’s good that I’m confident enough that I can go for these tough pin positions.”

The New Zealander 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. She has 10 straight top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour. Ko has six career LPGA Tour victories, has never missed a cut in 48 career tour starts and has 10 worldwide wins in pro events.

Cristie Kerr and Japan’s Sakura Yokomine were 13 under. Kerr bogeyed the final hole for a 68, and Yokomine eagled the 16th in a 67.

Se Ri Pak matched the course record with a 64 to join Ko, Paula Creamer and Jennifer Song at 12 under. Creamer closed eagle-birdie-birdie for a 66. Song also had a 66.

Lexi Thompson, preparing for her title defense in the ANA Inspiration, was 11 under after a 65.

Morgan Pressel, tied for the second-round lead with Mirim Lee after matching the course record with a 64, had a 72 to fall into a tie for 10th at 10 under.

Second-ranked Inbee Park also was in the group at 10 under after a 68. She took last week off after winning in Singapore and finishing second in a Ladies European Tour event in China.

Canada’s Alena Sharp is tied for 35th at 4-under, 12-shots off the lead.

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Morgan Pressel matched the course record with an 8-under 64 on Friday for a share of the second-round lead in the Kia Classic with Mirim Lee.

Pressel had eight birdies in her bogey-free morning round at Aviara to match Lee at 10-under 134. The American won the last of her two LPGA Tour titles in 2008.

“It was kind of stress-free golf out there today. It was nice,” Pressel said. “I had a lot of opportunities, and still, even with eight birdies, opportunities that I left out there, I missed or lipped out. But I just played really, really solidly. I’m happy with the result.”

Top-ranked Lydia Ko was tied for ninth at 7 under after a 70, her 26th straight LPGA Tour round under par – three short of Annika Sorenstam’s record set in 2004 – and 29th worldwide.

“I didn’t know that the record was 29 until I saw it on Twitter,” Ko said. “But to have a record that’s already set by a legendary player like Annika, it’s pretty awesome that I’m like only three rounds away. But like I said, I’m going to try and take one round at a time. This is a tough course.”

The 17-year-old New Zealander 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. She has 10 straight top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour.

Pressel matched the course record set last year by Dori Carter.

“I’ve been fighting the cut for a little while, so it’s nice to be in a different position heading into tomorrow,” Pressel said. “I feel comfortable with the way that I’m hitting it. I’ve got to keep working on the things that I’ve been doing. I was really good at staying patient, even though I was playing well, not getting too far ahead of myself.”

Lee, the first-round leader after a 65, had six birdies and three bogeys in a 69. The 24-year-old South Korean player won LPGA Tour events last year in Michigan and China.

Alison Lee and Cristie Kerr were 9 under. Alison Lee had a 66, and Kerr shot 68.

The 20-year-old Alison Lee is making her fourth LPGA Tour start as a professional. She won the Pac-12 title last year as a freshman at UCLA and was co-medalist at Q-school.

“I was striking the ball really well,” Alison Lee said. “I did miss a couple putts here and there, like on the last hole, I missed like a 4-footer, but overall I played really solid.”

The 37-year-old Kerr won the last of her 16 LPGA Tour titles in 2013.

“It’s just a matter of putting four solid rounds together,” Kerr said. “I’ve managed to do two of those so far. … Just have to be consistent with my rounds the next couple days, and I’ll have a shot.”

Fourth-ranked Hyo Joo Kim birdied her final hole for a 68 to join Brittany Lang (68), Maria Hernandez (66) and Yokomine Sakura (67) at 8 under. The 19-year-old Kim, from South Korea, won the Founders Cup on Sunday in Phoenix for her second LPGA Tour victory in 13 career starts.

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis was 7 under after a 69 in the final event before the first major of the season, the ANA Inspiration next week in Rancho Mirage. She was second last week in Phoenix.

“The ball-striking wasn’t exactly where I wanted it, so to shoot 3 under on this golf course is pretty good,” Lewis said. “It was nice getting out early, getting the better greens.”

Second-ranked Inbee Park was 6 under after a 70. She took last week off after winning in Singapore and finishing second in a Ladies European Tour event in China.

Defending champion Anna Nordqvist had a 69 to reach 3 under.

Yani Tseng, a stroke back after an opening 66, had a 76 to drop into a tie for 46th at 2 under. She won the 2012 event at nearby La Costa for the last of her 15 LPGA Tour titles.

Michelle Wie was 1 under after a 74, as is Canada’s Alena Sharp who had a 74. The pair have a share of 59th.

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Mirim Lee birdied all four par-5 holes and finished with a bogey-free 7-under 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Kia Classic.

Lee took the outright lead with an 8-foot putt on the par-5 fifth – her 14th hole in her afternoon round at Aviara – and hit a wedge to 3 feet to set up her final birdie on the par-5 eighth. The 24-year-old South Korean player won LPGA Tour events last year in Michigan and China.

Yani Tseng, winless in 70 starts since her victory in the 2012 event at nearby La Costa, had a 66.

Tseng finished with a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th after hitting a 150-yard shot from near a fairway bunker with the ball well above her feet. The Taiwanese player birdied Nos. 7-9, made a 20-foot eagle putt from the fringe on the par-5 10th, dropped a stroke on the par-4 14th when she missed a 3-foot par putt and rebounded with a 3-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko was two strokes back at 67 along with Karrie Webb, Cristie Kerr and China’s Lin Xiyu. The 17-year-old Ko has 10 straight top-10 finishes and has broken par in her last 25 LPGA Tour rounds and 28 worldwide.

Alena Sharp – the lone Canadian in the field – sits T17 after opening with a 3-under 69.

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.