HALL, JUTANUGARN LOOK TO OVERTAKE KIM
While In-Kyung Kim’s six-stroke lead may seem insurmountable, Georgia Hall and Moriya Jutanugarn know that nothing is over until the final putt drops.
“Six shots is quite a lot but on this course, you can make a lot of birdies,” said the 21-year-old Hall, who played with Kim on Saturday and is paired with 2015 Ricoh Women’s British Open champion Inbee Park in Sunday’s penultimate pairing. “I think I’m going to have to go quite low tomorrow but it’s definitely scorable.”
“There’s a lot of good players out here and I’ll just try to do my best tomorrow and play my game and keep enjoying on the course,” added Jutanugarn, who will join In-Kyung Kim in the final pairing on Sunday.
YOUNG AMERICANS MAKING SPLASH IN WOMEN’S BRITISH OPEN
On a leaderboard peppered with famous name after famous name, two fresh American faces with decidedly different golfing backgrounds are making their marks on this week’s Ricoh Women’s British Open.
Ally McDonald, 24, of Fulton, Miss., excelled in her four years at Mississippi State University and represented the USA on the victorious 2014 Curtis Cup Team. McDonald, who grew up playing golf on a nine-hole course with only seven bunkers, spent 2016 on the Epson Tour and finished second in the Volvik Race for the Card to earn her promotion to the LPGA Tour.
Angel Yin, 18, of Arcadia, Calif., was runner-up at the 2015 U.S. Girls’ Junior and turned professional at age 17. She finished 11th on the 2016 Ladies European Tour’s Order of Merit, and tied for third at that year’s LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn LPGA status for 2017.
Now, these two up-and-comers find themselves in the top 10 going into Sunday’s final round, and have even moved into the USA Solheim Cup team conversation.
“I just know that I’m close (to the Solheim Cup Team). I’m up there,” said Yin, who played on the Junior Solheim Cup Team in 2015. “So I just need to play well this week.”
McDonald added, “I feel like any time you’re in a position where you can make your way up the leaderboard or chase somebody that you know might kind of, to most people be out of reach, you can kind of play kind of freely and know that something low is probably going to be what has to win it.”
Yin tees off Sunday at 2:10 p.m. with European Solheim Cup potential Jodi Ewart Shadoff, while McDonald is off at 2:40 p.m. with USA Solheim Cup Team stalwart Stacy Lewis.
USA SOLHEIM CUP UPDATE
This week’s Ricoh Women’s British Open marks the final week for players to secure precious Solheim Cup points ahead of Sunday’s final team selections. Players in the top 20 will receive double points, with the winner receiving 120 points.
The top six players in the USA standings are locked in – No. 1 Lexi Thompson, No. 2 Stacy Lewis, No. 3 Gerina Piller, No. 4 Cristie Kerr, No. 5 Jessica Korda and No. 6 Danielle Kang. But behind that lead group, several players are fighting for the final two automatic qualifying spots, two Rolex Rankings qualifiers and two at-large picks for Captain Juli Inkster.
| Position | Player (Rolex Ranking) | Points | First Round Result | Second Round Result | Third Round Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Michelle Wie (No. 35) | 251.5 points | 1 (64) | T21 (140) | T13 (209) |
| 8 | Brittany Lang (No. 37) | 247 points | T94 (73) | MC (146) | --- |
| 9 | Brittany Lincicome** (No. 42) | 237 points | T50 (71) | T48 (142) | T48 (213) |
| 10 | Angela Stanford (No. 48) | 232 points | T94 (73) | MC (146) | --- |
| 11 | Austin Ernst (No. 53) | 227 points | T94 (73) | MC (144) | --- |
| 12 | Lizette Salas** (No. 45) | 216.5 points | T17 (69) | T14 (139) | T40 (212) |
| 13 | Marina Alex (No. 60) | 182.5 points | T109 (74) | T48 (142) | T59 (215) |
| 14 | Mo Martin (No. 54) | 178 points | T33 (70) | T5 (137) | T22 (210) |
Other players making a case for a captain’s pick include Ally McDonald (T4) and Angel Yin (T7), as well as six-time USA Team member Paula Creamer (T31).
“I have to say I’m in a good position as far as a quality of play that I have to pick from,” Inkster said during Saturday’s Golf Channel telecast. “I’m in a really bad position of how many quality golfers that I’m going to tell that aren’t going to make the team.”
QUICK HITS
In-Kyung Kim’s 54-hole score of 17-under 199 breaks the record of 200, set by Ariya Jutanugarn en route to victory in 2016
The 72-hole championship scoring record is 19-under 269, set by Karen Stupples in 2004 at Sunningdale; Kim is at 17 under going into the final round
Kim holds a six-stroke lead over Georgia Hall and Moriya Jutanugarn, which ties the largest lead through 54 holes held by Lorena Ochoa in 2007
The biggest come-from-behind victory at the Ricoh Women’s British Open was Se Ri Pak’s four-stroke comeback in 2001
Inbee Park’s third-round 64 ties the Kingsbarns women’s course record, set by Michelle Wie on Thursday; it also ties her career low at a major, joining the second round of the 2011 Ricoh Women’s British Open at Carnoustie
Stacy Lewis’ third-round 65 is the lowest round she has ever returned at a major championship
Moriya Jutanugarn is trying to join her sister Ariya as a LPGA and major champion; Annika and Charlotta Sorenstam are the only set of sisters to win the LPGA Tour
QUOTABLE
“Honestly I didn’t know I was in this tournament until like a few days before. So I haven’t really treated it like a major. I’ve just treated it like, you know, just another normal round of golf. So I’m just going to do what I feel is right, and that’s pretty much it.” - Jaye Marie Green, who eagled No. 18 on Friday to make the cut and now sits tied for seventh after a third-round 67
“My mom told me I needed to take my putter straighter back. Mom apparently was right. I hate to give her credit but she was right.” - Stacy Lewis, on the putting advice she received from her mother, Carol
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