McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola
Bulle Rock Golf Course
Havre de Grace, Md.
June 13, 2009
Third-round interviews: Anna Nordqvist | Lindsey Wright | Jiyai Shin | Irene Cho
Third-round notes
Lightning delays round. Scattered thunderstorms developing above Bulle Rock Golf Course created lightning that suspended third-round play of the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola for 2 hours, 19 minutes. Twenty-four players were removed from the course at 4:40 p.m. Eastern and resumed play at 7 p.m.
Golfers moved around the course until 8:10 p.m. Eastern, when officials suspended the round due to darkness; players were allowed to finish a hole, if they started it. Third-round competition is scheduled to resume at 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning. The field will be repaired by score and the final round will start at approximately 9 a.m. with twosomes going off the first tee.
Nordqvist nabs lead as dusk falls. LPGA Tour rookie Anna Nordqvist sank a birdie putt on her final hole of the day - the 15th hole - before the round was called for darkness at the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola. At 10-under-par, she will return to Bulle Rock Golf Course early Sunday morning to finish her third round and start the final round - hoping to hang-on to become just the sixth Rolex First-Time Winner at this event. Australian Lindsey Wright finished the round as Nordqvist was still on 15 and is at 9-under-par with three holes to go. Wright had had the best round of the duo thanks to a trio of birdies on holes six through eight. She faltered with a bogey on the ninth hole just before play was suspended due to lightning in the area. When play resumed, Wright rattled off two more birdies on holes 10 and 11 before a bogey on hole 13 dropped her to 9-under-par.
Nordqvist - whose best finish on Tour is tied for 17th - started building on her 36-hole lead with birdies on holes three and four. She was playing steady until the weather delay and, when play resumed, she made par on hole 10, but carded a bogey on hole 11. She's hoping to continue the wave of momentum built after she sank a 24-foot putt from the 15th green fringe to close out the day for birdie and the outright lead.
Cho cards career low. Irene Cho, of California, nearly matched a tournament course-record, but settled for a career-low 7-under-par 65 in the third round of the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola. Cho's round was nearly perfect with birdies on holes one, three, nine, 14 through 16, and a 25-yard chip-in for eagle on the par-5, 481-yard eighth hole. The 2008 McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola was Cho's career-best finish on the LPGA with a tie for sixth.
Wie cards first LPGA career hole-in-one. LPGA Tour rookie Michelle Wie carded the first hole-in-one of her LPGA career during the third round of the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola. Wie used a knock-down 8-iron on the 151-yard seventh hole for the Tour's 11th ace of the season. It is also the first hole-in-one recorded by a rookie this season. After she finished her round, the tournament also presented her with a $1,000 bonus check, which any player making a hole-in-one will receive this weekend.
Attendance keeps jumping. Prior to the third-round suspension at the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, tournament officials announced Saturday attendance as 27,050. On Thursday, 10,650 people ventured out to Bulle Rock Golf Course, despite drizzly conditions, and nearly 20,000 (19,900) attended the LPGA's second major championship of the year on Friday.
WD: Suzann Pettersen, the 2007 McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola champion, withdrew from the 2009 event after the third round of competition.
Anna Nordqvist, 66-70=136; 10-under-par overall through 15 holes (2-under-par for the day)
Hole 3, 160-yard par 3: birdie - 8-iron to nine feet
Hole 4, 380-yard par 4: birdie - 4-iron to 15 feet
Hole 11, 596-yard par 5: bogey - punch out of the rough, pitching wedge to 15 feet, two putt
Hole 15, 493-yard par 5: birdie - 58-degree wedge to 24 yards
Hole 16, 330-yard par 4: TBD
Hole 17, 171-yard par 3: TBD
Hole 18, 422-yard par 4: TBD
DANA GROSSRHODE: Anna, you are the thirdround leader in the clubhouse. We obviously are going to resume play tomorrow at the McDonald's LPGA Championship. It was tough, I assume, coming in for two hours, but then on your last hole you make the birdie to take the outright lead again. How is that going into tomorrow (to finish)?
ANNA NORDQVIST: Obviously finishing with the birdie brings me some good momentum for tomorrow. The rain delay, I think everyone just made the best out of it.
Q. Do you at all feel unlucky that you did not finish, so tomorrow, you've got to come out and kill some time in the middle of the day before you get your fourth round underway?
ANNA NORDQVIST: No, we are not the only group out there and I'm glad we got to finish 15 holes today.
Q. Can you talk about your putt on the 15th, where you were, how far you had, and what you saw in the break and all.
ANNA NORDQVIST: Well, I mean, I've been putting real well these last couple days, and I thought I rolled a lot of good putts today. I was on the fringe; I think it was maybe eight yards or so. I mean, you just pick the line and it went in.
Q. You had quite a few of your countrymen playing for the Stanley Cup; are you a follower of hockey, and do you follow it all because of those guys?
ANNA NORDQVIST: Yeah, I mean, I grew up watching hockey. Obviously it was a big match yesterday. I followed it and I mean, I was - of course, I was rooting for the Swedes. But I think they did a good job, even though they lost.
Q. When you watch a sporting event like that and it's so exciting and it comes down to one game for everything, can that inspire you, even though it's a different sport, for what you're trying to do here?
ANNA NORDQVIST: I mean, definitely, I think it's - I mean, no matter what kind of sporting event, that kind of atmosphere, I think that brings a good feeling. That's something you can take out of it.
Lindsey Wright, 70-68=138; 9-under-par through 15 holes (3-under-par for the day)
Hole 6, 387-yard par 4: birdie - 56-degree wedge chip in from 30 feet
Hole 7, 170-yard par 3: birdie - 8-iron to 15 feet
Hole 8, 481-yard par 5: birdie - 52-degree chip to six feet
Hole 9, 413-yard par 4: bogey - chip from the side of the green to 10 feet, two putt
Hole 10, 373-yard par 4: birdie - 9-iron to 15 feet
Hole 11, 596-yard par 5: birdie - 9-iron to four feet
Hole 13, 415-yard par 4: bogey - chip out of the bunker to seven feet, two putt
Hole 16, 330-yard par 4: TBD
Hole 17, 171-yard par 3: TBD
Hole 18, 422-yard par 4: TBD
DANA GROSSRHODE: So today has been a long day, you're mentally tired and you're coming back tomorrow morning; how do you prepare?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: I've done it before but I can't remember the last time. Yeah, it just - what time is it, 20 past eight? So I'll probably go back to eat and go to bed, to get up at 4:30 or 5:00 or whatever time. So it's kind of a - yeah, I don't really have much to prepare, just kind of get ready for tomorrow. Hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow.
Q. How did you occupy yourself during the delay?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: I left my iPod back at the house. I brought it every other day except today, I needed it. I just sat there and talked to random people, not really doing anything. It kind of went quick.
Q. Were you looking out the window going, 'Gee, it's not raining, why don't we play?'
LINDSEY WRIGHT: I could have kept going. And then when we came in, and then I saw the rain and thought, 'Oh, it's not looking good.' But the course is in good shape. When we went back out, it wasn't affected too much by the rain.
DANA GROSSRHODE: Is there some kind of advantage to just going out and playing tomorrow and not really having time to think about it?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: I think so, yeah. I mean, obviously there's a disadvantage not finishing today. But it just goes all day, so it's not like - I mean, I would love to be sleeping in tomorrow. But the day, it's going to be a big day regardless. So I've been waking up at 4:30 every morning, anyway, so just another day really.
Q. Did your experience (Michelob ULTRA Open) at Kingsmill come into play at all during the course of the day?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: Yeah, it always does. Any time I have a good finish, I always draw upon what I've done in the past and what I've learned. I'm always learning. And it's just a matter of putting yourself in these positions really. Just going with it, and that's what I did today. I stayed patient and was fairly relaxed.
Even after the delay, like I've been pretty relaxed, because at the end of the day, you know, there's good players up there on the leaderboard, and it comes down to Sunday every week.
You know, it's a big one tomorrow.
Q. Jiyai, you just finished your round before they called it due to darkness. How was your day?
JIYAI SHIN: Well, when I was on number 13 play was delayed. When we had to go back out to the course, I felt that I had to warm up. But, I just tried to make no mistakes. I made two birdies on the back after the delay. The last hole, my second shot was not good, so I made bogey, but, I am just glad that I finished. Today, I was lucky I think because I finished before it got dark. Some players couldn't finish, so I think I'm lucky. It was a long day; I am tired.
Q. How was the beginning part of your day before they blew the horn the first time?
JIYAI SHIN: Well, I was playing with Lorena today, so it was exciting to play with her. She hits long drives. I am not long, so it put a little pressure on me. My putter is hitting really well, so I am playing well. I think I was just ready to play.
Q. When you play with Lorena Ochoa, does that make you play better?
JIYAI SHIN: Well, the last three times, not really, but today I was making it good. She is a great player, on driving and chipping. She is a great chipping player I think, so I am more learning from her, so I enjoy.
Q. Great round Irene. Can you talk about how the course played out there today?
IRENE CHO: You know, it's hard. I just tried my best on every shot. You know, good luck was going with me today, which is unusual because it never really goes with me. The golf Gods are definitely helping me.
Q. Have you changed your strategy up any coming into the weekend, or is your plan pretty much the same?
IRENE CHO: No, not at all. I was happy I made the cut, anyway. I just never gave up, I guess. So, just that strategy has been going with me for a while.
Q. Can you talk about your eagle on number 8?
IRENE CHO: Yeah, I was like 15 yards off of the green, and I just chipped in.
Q. This is your new career-low (65). What do you think about that?
IRENE CHO: Oh yeah, that's not bad. That's really cool.
Q. Were you trying to get to a certain number today?
IRENE CHO: No. I actually forgot how many under I got today, and I was just trying to make more birdies. I was just trying to get real low numbers, and I did.