On moving day at the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic it was Ariya Jutanugarn who made the biggest move of all, carding a nine-under par, 63 to tie the Tournament’s 18-hole scoring record at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Capitol Hill, Senator Course. Her 63 marks the low round of the week and is a career best for Jutanugarn. She holds a three stroke lead entering the final round ahead of Minjee Lee and Ryann O’Toole at 11-under par.
“A little bit excited,” Jutanugarn told the media. “Tomorrow going to be so much fun. I just want to enjoy and have fun tomorrow.”
Jutanugarn got off to a rocky start with a bogey at the par 3, second hole but quickly bounced back with birdies at the fifth and eighth holes. But it was on the back nine where Jutanugarn caught fire, coming home in 28 after making birdie on eight of nine holes, her only par coming at the 15th hole.
“I mean, I just ‑‑ after I make birdie on 10 I feel better, because I miss few putt on the front nine, so after I have birdie I feel like, okay, just make more and, like every ‑‑ when I go at the tee shot I just feel like, okay, just make birdie on this hole, and I did,” said Jutanugarn.
The second year member of the LPGA Tour has twice held the 54-hole lead but has been unable to convert the win. She came close to victory earlier this season at the ANA Inspiration where she stood on the 16th tee with a two-stroke lead on Sunday, but bogeyed her final three holes to finish two-back of champion Lydia Ko.
Click here for highlights from Jutanugarn's third round.
36-hole leader So Yeon Ryu opened her day with a bogey and picked up two birdies en route to a one-under par, 70 to sit four strokes back of Jutanugarn at 10-under par. T-5 at nine-under par are Morgan Pressel and 2012 champion Stacy Lewis, who once again looked comfortable in Alabama, posting her second consecutive round of 68 this week to sit five strokes back of Jutanugarn, a good position considering her struggles on day three.
“Just got on the wrong side of the holes today, had a lot of tough putts, a lot of downhill sliders, and played a lot better than the score, which I guess is a good thing going into the final round; I know a low number is still out there, but definitely left some out there today, I feel like,” Lewis said.
The world No.4 has finished in the top-6 the past four times she’s teed it up in Alabama and is looking to pick up her first win on Tour since 2014 after six runner-up finishes in 2015.
“Yeah, it's been tough the last year and a half. I haven't really ‑‑ I haven't played the way I usually do and haven't played with a lot of confidence, and it's coming, you know. Made about a 20‑footer last week to make the cut and started to pull some shots off even this week, so it's getting closer, and now it's just putting it all together,” said Lewis.
First round leader Laetitia Beck started her day three strokes back of leader So Yeon Ryu and stayed in the mix with a 2-under par, 70 to move to 8-under par as she continues to learn from the experience of being in contention, a first for Beck on the LPGA Tour.
“Today I had much less pressure, obviously knowing that I'm not leading and having to kind of, like, keep that lead, it made it so much easier today,” Beck said. “I wanted to enjoy the day, and I had less pressure than I did yesterday so I didn't have to handle the same nerves, and I was just putting a little better and hitting a little better overall.”
Click here for complete scores from the third round of the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic.
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