Brooke Henderson led by as many as five shots Saturday at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic, but a pair of closing bogeys allowed Henderson’s pursuers to pull much closer. The 17-year-old has only a one-shot cushion on Morgan Pressel and Min Seo Kwak entering the final round at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, Calif.

Henderson, the Canadian teen who isn’t old enough to join the LPGA without special permission, didn’t miss a fairway until the par-5 14th, but she still made birdie there by getting up-and-down from a greenside bunker.

From a bad lie in the left rough on the 17th, she worried about going right and down a steep slope and instead went short and left. Then, she didn’t realize until making contact on her pitch that “something really hard” was under the turf. Her club bounced and the ball shot over the green, and only a tough up-and-down from there allowed her to get away with no more than a bogey.

On the par-5 18th, she thought her third shot was good until she didn’t hear anyone clap. It was long and in the rough, and she couldn’t get up-and-down.

Henderson, who opened with rounds of 70-65, posted a third-round 72 at Lake Merced played as tough as it has all week. Her third-round score changed the dynamic of the tournament, letting several players into the race for Sunday.

Defending champion Lydia Ko, who turned 18 on Friday and now is chasing someone even younger, salvaged a 71 and was three shots behind. Ko was as many as six shots behind and was happy to be that close to Henderson.

“I saw the leaderboard, and every time it’s there, even though we played a couple tough holes, she wasn’t losing shots. She was gaining shots,” Ko said. “Shows how strong she is in her mental game, too.”

Pressel birdied four of her last six holes, including a 5-iron hybrid to 15 feet on the 15th hole, for a 67 on a day when the average score was 74.6.

Stacy Lewis and Shanshan Feng of China each had 71 and were four shots behind.

Henderson was denied permission by LPGA commissioner Mike Whan to join the LPGA early, but a victory on Sunday could go a long way in helping her secure status. Whan has made two exceptions to the 18-year-old age requirement – Ko and Lexi Thompson – and both had already won on the LPGA.

Henderson would also become the first Canadian winner on the LPGA since Lorie Kane in 2011.

“If you have pressure, it means you’re doing something right,” Henderson said. “I try and use it to my advantage and try and use it to help me get better.”

Information from the Associated Press used in this report