Canadian teen keeps lead by stroke at Swinging Skirts

Brooke Henderson of Canada chips the ball onto the third green of the Lake Merced Golf Club during the third round of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic golf tournament Saturday, April 25, 2015, in Daly City, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Brooke Henderson of Canada chips the ball onto the third green of the Lake Merced Golf Club during the third round of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic golf tournament Saturday, April 25, 2015, in Daly City, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

DALY CITY, Calif. -- Canadian teen Brooke Henderson lost some momentum Saturday afternoon. She at least kept the lead in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.

Henderson led by as many as five shots early in the third round at tough, chilly Lake Merced Golf Club. It all changed on the final two holes when the 17-year-old made two bogeys and had to settle for an even-par 72 and a one-shot lead over Morgan Pressel and Min Seo Kwak of South Korea.

"If someone told me at the beginning of the week I would be leading going into the final round, I would've taken it," Henderson said.

Even so, two holes changed the dynamics of the final round.

Henderson had looked unflappable even in conditions so tough -- cold air and soft turf -- that Pressel (67) and Kwak (69) were the only players to break 70. She didn't miss a fairway until the par-5 14th, and she converted that into a birdie from a greenside bunker for a three-shot lead.

But she didn't recover from a tee shot into the rough on the 17th. She pulled her approach left of a bunker and didn't realize there was "something really hard" under her ball until the wedge bounced off the turf and sent her shot over the green. She had to get up-and-down to limit the damage to bogey.

She then pulled her wedge left of the green on the par-5 18th and failed to save par. She was at 9-under 207.

Pressel birdied four of her last six holes for a 67 on a day when the average score was 74.6.

Also very much in the mix is defending champion Lydia Ko, who turned 18 on Friday and now is chasing someone even younger. Ko took a bogey on the par-5 seventh and fell as many as six shots behind until a pair of birdies on the back nine brought her back to a 71. She was three shots behind.

Henderson, who won three times on the Canadian Women's Tour as an amateur, was denied a waiver to the LPGA Tour's minimum age requirement of 18. Commissioner Mike Whan has granted two exemptions to the age requirement -- Ko and Lexi Thompson, both having already won on the LPGA.

Perhaps a victory by Henderson will change his mind, though she has a lot of work left.

Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 71 and is four shots behind Henderson, good enough for a tie for fifth place with Shanshan Fang.

PGA

Rain dampens Classic

AVONDALE, La. -- Erik Compton birdied three of five holes after a nearly six-hour rain delay, giving the two-time heart transplant recipient a share of the lead with Jason Day early in the third round of the rain-plagued Zurich Classic.

Compton and Day were at 13 under, a shot ahead of Justin Rose, Blayne Barber, Jerry Kelly and David Hearn at TPC Louisiana when play was suspended because of darkness.

Compton finished six holes, and Day played three. Before rain halted play at 12:14 p.m., Day finished off a 7-under 65 to take the second-round lead.

A strong storm moved that moved through the area downed at least one tree and toppled tables. Play resumed at 5:57 p.m. and was suspended for the day at 7:32 p.m.

PGA Tour officials said play is scheduled to resume at 6:30 a.m. today. The players will not be repaired for the final round.

Bryce Molder (Conway) completed six holes on Saturday and is tied for 16th at 9 under.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

Woosman, Lyle share lead

RIDGEDALE, Mo. -- Boyhood rivals Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle took a two-stroke lead in the Champions Tour's Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge.

Woosnam and Lyle shot a 6-under 64 in better-play play on Buffalo Ridge's regulation Springs course to reach 13 under. On Thursday, they had the best score at the par-3 Top of the Rock course, a 7-under 47 for nine holes of modified alternate shot and nine holes of better ball. Play will close today on the par-3 course with nine holes of modified alternate shot and nine of better ball.

Woosnam and Lyle grew up about 20 miles apart, with Lyle in Scotland and Woosnam in Wales. They birdied five of the last six holes in windy conditions.

In the Legends Division for players 65 and older, Larry Nelson and Larry Fleisher had a four-stroke lead at 11 under. They had a 66 at Buffalo Springs after opening with a 47 on the par-3 course.

Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were tied for second with Butch Baird and Al Geiberger. The Legends Division will close today with nine holes of better ball on the par-3 course.

EUROPEAN TOUR

Four tied at China Open

SHANGHAI -- Defending champion Alexander Levy of France faltered down the stretch after a strong start at the Volvo China Open, setting up a four-way tie for the lead heading into the final round.

Levy sank four birdies in his opening four holes before mistakes started to creep into his game, allowing England's David Howell and China's Li Haotong and Wu Ashun to catch him at 8-under 208.

Levy, who settled for a 1-under 71 Tomson Shanghai Pudong, won his first European Tour title last year at Genzon in Shenzhen. Howell had five birdies in a seven-hole stretch in a 68, and Li and Wu shot 69.

Sports on 04/26/2015

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