U.S. Women's Open conducted by the USGA
The Broadmoor, East Course
Colorado Springs, Colo.
July 10, 2011
Third-round notes
Rolex Rankings No. 2 Cristie Kerr, So Yeon Ryu and Angela Stanford finished in a three-way tie atop the leaderboard at 1-under-par after three rounds of the U.S. Women's Open conducted by the USGA. Kerr and Ryu both shot 2-under rounds of 69 in the third round and Stanford fired a 1-under 70 to take a one-shot lead into Sunday afternoon's final round.Third-round play at The Broadmoor's East Course resumed at 6:45 a.m. MT on Sunday morning after being suspended due to inclement weather on Saturday night. Only 19 of the 72 players who made the cut had recorded scores in the third round when play was halted.
Kerr is searching for her second U.S. Women's Open title, having won the event back in 2007 at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club. A 14-time winner on the LPGA Tour, Kerr has captured two major championships: the 2007 U.S. Women's Open and the 2010 Wegmans LPGA Championship.
Stanford, who has won four times on the LPGA Tour, is still searching for her first major championship victory. Stanford's best career finish in the U.S. Women's Open was a tie for second in 2003. It's one of two top-10 finishes that Stanford has recorded in 10 previous appearances at the U.S. Women's Open.
Ryu, who is a member of the KLPGA Tour, is playing in her second U.S. Women's Open. Last year she finished in a tie for 25th. This is her second event on the LPGA Tour this season, having finished in a T41 at the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship. She has played in eight LPGA Tour events and her best finish was a T12 at the 2010 LPGA Hana Bank Championship.
Second-round leader Mika Miyzato shot a 5-over 76 in the third round to fall back into a tie for fourth with Hee Kyung Seo at even-par. Miyazato is playing in her third U.S. Women's Open and her best finish in an Open was a T57 in 2009.
Miyazato is one of four players who have posted top-10 finishes in the first two majors of 2011. She finished in a T8 at the Wegmans LPGA Championship two weeks ago and a T7 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship back in early April. The other three players to post top-10s in both majors so far this year are Yani Tseng (1st LPGA Championship, 2nd Kraft Nabisco), Stacy Lewis (T6 LPGA Championship, 1st Kraft Nabisco) and Morgan Pressel (2nd LPGA Championship, T3 Kraft Nabisco).
For the fourth round, the USGA will not re-pair the groups. Instead the groups will remain in the same threesomes and tee off, using both the 1st and 10th tees, shortly after the completion of their third round in hopes of completing the tournament on Sunday.
All Grown Up: They haven't played golf together since they were teenagers, but Taiwan's Yani Tseng, the world's top-ranked woman, and LPGA Futures Tour rookie pro Jean Chua of Malaysia, are paired together today for the third and final rounds of the U.S. Women's Open Championship.
As amateurs and juniors, the two represented their respective countries in tournaments throughout Asia. And even back then, Tseng was turning heads.
"One time I played with her and she shot 66 on a really difficult course," said Chua, 23, of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "Yani was 16 and she hit it long, even back then."
The teens' paths eventually split. Chua went to North Carolina in the United States to play college golf at Wake Forest University. Tseng turned professional early, qualifying for the LPGA Tour at age 18.
This week, the two players are together again at the Open. Tseng is gunning for her fifth major championship at the Women's Open and the career Grand Slam. Chua, who is gaining experience in her rookie season on the LPGA Futures tour, is hoping for a solid finish in her first Open.
"We've known each other for a long time, so I'm happy to see her on tour," said Tseng, 22. "It's always fun to have friends out here. And just like my rookie year, you have so many things to learn, so that's what she is doing now."