Julieta Granada would probably like to see every LPGA Tour stop be at Royal Melbourne if she could have her way. After falling in a six-way playoff in 2012 here for a tie for second, Granada’s right back in the hunt here at one of the world’s most famous layouts.
Long one of the Tour’s premier putters, Granada showed her wizardry around Royal Melbourne Saturday, needing only 27 putts in a round of 3-under 70. Amazingly, Granada shot 70 despite a double bogey on the par-3 5th hole.
“I just like that we have to think our way through,” Granada said. “You really have to calculate the landings and the lines super good. It just fits my eye, I like the greens, they’re nice and quick and they break a lot so it plays to my strength.”
This isn’t a course that’s easy to chase on. There aren’t a ton of holes that players can be aggressive with their approaches, which makes Granada’s position giving chase tomorrow all the more difficult. But she’s proven she can track down the leaders here before. She trailed by three here in 2012 but fired a 2-under 71 to force her way into the playoff.
“This course, you have to take what it gives you,” Granada said. “You can’t really go after it so when you have those birdie chances, it’s key to make them.”
Long one of the Tour’s premier putters, Granada showed her wizardry around Royal Melbourne Saturday, needing only 27 putts in a round of 3-under 70. Amazingly, Granada shot 70 despite a double bogey on the par-3 5th hole.
“I just like that we have to think our way through,” Granada said. “You really have to calculate the landings and the lines super good. It just fits my eye, I like the greens, they’re nice and quick and they break a lot so it plays to my strength.”
This isn’t a course that’s easy to chase on. There aren’t a ton of holes that players can be aggressive with their approaches, which makes Granada’s position giving chase tomorrow all the more difficult. But she’s proven she can track down the leaders here before. She trailed by three here in 2012 but fired a 2-under 71 to force her way into the playoff.
“This course, you have to take what it gives you,” Granada said. “You can’t really go after it so when you have those birdie chances, it’s key to make them.”
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