Lydia Ko and Candie Kung will share the lead heading into the final round of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.
“Overall I played really solid today, so I’m happy with the way I’m hitting it and the way I’m putting it,” Ko said. “I think every round, unless I shoot 18-under par, I’m probably going to say, hey, I knew it could have been better. But no, I’m playing solid, and that’s the mind-set I’ve got to have and just have fun out there tomorrow.”
Ko recorded four birdies against a lone bogey on 18 to shoot a 69, while Kung’s play was more up-and-down with four birdies and three bogeys.
“Feeling pretty good today,” Kung said. “I hit the ball good and it was actually one of the best ball-striking days I had all week. Just missed a couple putts here and there. Those were all wrong reads. But I’m hitting it good, putting it good.”
Ko will be looking to become just the third golfer to win three CP Women’s Opens, joining Meg Mallon and Pat Bradley.
“There’s been cases where I’ve been a couple shots leading and then end up winning and a couple shots behind or co-leader,” Ko explained. “I think at the end of the day, it all depends on how focused I am out there. If some other player shoots 10-under, 6-under, it’s really out of my hands. I’m just going to focus on my game. It’s hard enough that way.”
Kung, a four-time winner on the LPGA Tour, is coming off of her best finish of the year with a tie for second at the Cambia Portland Classic last week and will be looking for her first victory since the 2008 Hana Bank-KOLON Championship.
“I’m actually very relaxed,” Kung admitted. “After what I went through last week, I’m actually feeling quite comfortable where I’m at right now.”
Chasing Ko and Kung in the penultimate group will be Alison Lee, who shot a third-round 65 to sit two shots back and Karine Icher who is three back at 9-under.
BIRDIES FOR HEART RAISES $60,000 ON DAY THREE OF CP WOMEN'S OPEN
One of the unique parts of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open is the Birdies for Heart initiative. On Saturday, 12 birdies were made on the par-4 17th raising $60,000 for the pediatric cardiology research program at BC Children’s Hospital. Through the first two rounds of the tournament Birdies for Heart has raised $205,000.
After a successful 2014, CP has once again committed to donating $5,000 for every birdie made on the 17th hole at Vancouver Golf Club during CP Women’s Open LPGA tournament play and $2,500 for each birdie made during the pro-am on Wednesday. In 2014, Birdies for Heart raised more than $320,000 for charity during tournament week.
FEELS LIKE HOME?
Lydia Ko is proud to call herself a New Zealander but she has told the story many times that her family nearly moved to Canada before deciding to call New Zealand home. It certainly seems like Ko is comfortable in Canada with two wins already to her name at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, including her first LPGA victory here at Vancouver Golf Club two years ago.
The huge crowd following Ko over the past few days makes it seem almost like a home event for Ko, who was given membership to the golf course following her win here. And Ko certainly loves the amount of people that have come out to cheer on her and the rest of the LPGA this week.
“In 2012 when we were here, both left and right on the 18th, it was packed full of people,” Ko said. “If I was in the gallery, I don’t think I would have been able to move around. There’s been a lot of people out here, even on the practice days and Pro-Ams.
“It’s been a great crowd, lots of Korean fans out here, Canadian, New Zealanders and I’m sure from everywhere. So it’s great to see a lot of people out here and I think they get really excited when we play well, too.”
ALISON LEE EARNING HER SPOT
Alison Lee finds herself two shots back of the lead shared by Lydia Ko and Candie Kung entering the final round of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open after shooting a 5-under 67 on moving day.
“I’m really happy with my round,” Lee said. “I was striking the ball really well. I had a lot of opportunities for birdie out there today, so definitely no complaints there. But yeah, overall I’m really happy with how I played and hopefully I can continue; I can play for tomorrow and hopefully the next few weeks.”
Earlier in the week, Lee moved up to 34th in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings which would be enough to get her on the U.S. Solheim Cup team.
“Oh, for sure,” Lee said when asked if she was aware of where she stood in the rankings and its effect on Solheim. “It’s been everywhere. I’ve been checking the rankings every second of every day. I have been since I turned pro this year, just to see where I am. So it’s definitely been on my mind, and it has definitely put some pressure on me. But I feel like I’ve used that pressure to my advantage, because I love playing under pressure. So yeah, just the thought of potentially being on the team and hopefully now it’s kind of getting more clear that I might be on the team. So it’s really exciting for me. It’s just great.”
The 2015 Solheim Cup will be held at Golf Club St. Leon-Rot in Germany September 18th -20th.
Below is a breakdown of when players will be announced to their respective teams.
European Team
August 9: First four players confirmed from LET points list following the conclusion of the Tipsport Golf Masters in the Czech Republic.
August 24: Next four players confirmed from the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
August 25: Captain Carin Koch announces her four captains’ picks live on the Sky Sports Sportswomen TV show, from 11.30am-12.00pm BST.
United States Team
August 24: Captain Juli Inkster will announce her team, including the 10 qualifiers and her two captains’ picks, during a one hour Golf Central special on Golf Channel from 7-8 p.m. EST (12am-1am BST) live from Golf Channel’s Orlando studios.
EAGLES FOR A CAUSE
Four total eagles were made on Saturday at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open and players raised $4,000 toward the Wounded Warrior Project as part of the season-long Wounded Warrior Project® Weekends.
The four eagles today brings the total for the year to 189 and $189,000 raised.
Wounded Warrior Project® Weekends is a season-long charity program that will be tied into the Race to the CME Globe. Each Saturday and Sunday at LPGA tournaments, CME Group will donate $1,000 to Wounded Warrior Project® for each eagle that is recorded. This amount will increase to $5,000 for each eagle during the weekend of the CME Group Tour Championship and a formal check will be presented to the Wounded Warrior Project® during the trophy Ceremony at the CME Group Tour Championship. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.
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