Fortunes on the golf course can be as fickle as the wind.

The strong gusts forecast for Friday never showed up on the leeward coast, but a switching breeze still vexed the LPGA Tour pros navigating Ko Olina Golf Club.

The outlook heading into today’s final round also flipped when Brooke Henderson — supremely solid through 45 holes of the Lotte Championship — had a commanding lead nearly whisked away late in the afternoon by a suddenly shaky putter.

Henderson stretched a two-shot lead to five midway through her third round at Ko Olina, but played her final three holes at 3 over par to end the day at 9 under for the tournament and just one shot clear of Mo Martin.

Thus Henderson, who appeared headed for a final-day victory lap for much of Friday afternoon, will have to keep the reins taut over the final 18 in her pursuit of a sixth LPGA Tour victory.

“I hit it so well today that it kind of sucks to walk off the course 1 over when I know it could’ve been so much better,” the 20-year-old Canadian said after signing for her 73.

“But on the plus side I’m still leading, which is always great going into the final round. Hopefully I can hit it just as well as I hit it today and hopefully make a few more putts.”

Henderson needed just 50 putts while playing her first two rounds at 8 under and went 39 holes without a bogey before a tee shot into the bunker on the par-3 fourth led to the first square on her scorecard this week.

She opened up a four-shot lead by rolling in a birdie from about 20 feet on No. 7, but her touch escaped her on Ko Olina’s back nine, where she spent 20 strokes on the greens to get home.

A par putt on the par-3 12th slipped to the right, as did a birdie opportunity on the par-5 14th. But those were just a prelude to a four-putt from the fringe on the par-3 16th for a double-bogey that dropped her to 10 under and chopped her lead in half in a matter of minutes.

A birdie putt from about 7 feet on 17 slid again to the right and her approach shot on 18 skipped through the green and landed in the bunker. Her shot out of the sand left her with a lengthy uphill par putt that stopped a couple of inches short for a closing bogey.

“I’ve been kind of struggling with my putting all year,” said Henderson, who entered the week ranked 14th in the world. “First few rounds I had it going and I felt confident with it; then on the back nine I just kept missing, I just felt like, every single putt and kind of got a little bit down. That’s always a terrible way to be, especially when you’re still leading the tournament.

“I would’ve liked (the lead) to be a lot more, but one shot is good. I know there are still a ton of really talented players really close behind me, so I’ll have to go out and make a lot of birdies and hopefully it’s my day.”

Martin labored just to hold her ground on Friday until she fired a 5-wood into the green at the par-5 13th to set up a 4-foot eagle putt to get to 8 under.

Standing about 200 yards away from the green, Martin considered hitting a 3 wood on her second shot. But with the wind at her back, her caddie advised otherwise.

“He basically said, ‘I’m going to tackle you before you hit a 3-wood here,’ ” Martin said. “So I was laughing actually. So I grabbed a 5, had to step on it just a little bit, and I did — hit it perfect.”

After Henderson’s struggles on No. 16, Martin saved par on 18 with an up-and-down from the rough short of the green to close out at even-par 72.

“It’s much more exciting for me. It’s probably more exciting for the fans,” Martin said of the suddenly narrow gap. “She’s got a lot of support, a lot of fans. So it’s nice that she was playing well in the beginning, and I hope it’s just some good golf all the way around tomorrow. I hope we go on birdie streaks and make it exciting.”

Martin is a proven performer in the wind, evidenced by her victory at the Women’s British Open in 2014, her lone tour win to date. Still, she found Friday’s inconsistent conditions challenging.

“I feel exhausted,” Martin said. “You know, when the winds switch it plays a totally different golf course. … I’ve been here seven years. It’s like I’ve only played a couple rounds with the winds going this way. Mentally you kind of got to get used to a different golf course. It was a little bit tiring.”

Henderson, Martin and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka will tee off at 11:50 a.m. in today’s final group. Hataoka jumped into contention with a 4-under 68 and enters the round at 7 under.

Inbee Park, ranked third in the world, also finds herself within two shots of the lead at 7 under after a 1-under 71 on Friday. Park has three top-four finishes in six Lotte starts and is seeking her first win at Ko Olina. World No. 1 Shanshan Feng and Lizette Salas are another shot back at 6 under.

Hawaii’s Michelle Wie posted her low round of the week, closing with a 3-under 69 with a birdie on No. 18. She enters the final round tied for 18th and will tee off at 10:38 a.m. today.