Danielle Kang, Haru Nomura and Jenny Shin are tied for the lead at 9-under entering the final round of the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.
“I think that this golf course puts so many different types of game into play,” Kang said. “There’s a lot of good people on the leaderboard. Everyone is right there so you’ve just got to go out and see what happens. Be patient and play your game.”
Jenny Shin held the lead for a majority of the day before closing with a bogey at the 18th to fall into a share of the lead with Nomura and Shin.
“I definitely played better than yesterday,” Shin said. “The score looks the same but playing-wise I did a little bit better, I didn’t hit it into too many bad ones like I did the last few days. I misread a lot of the putts today. I feel like I could have scored a little bit better. I did a good job on the greens but I’m pretty content.”
Nomura had the opposite finish to end the day making a birdie at the last to find herself in the final group with Kang.
“I was calm today and if I can do that tomorrow, I’ll be fine,” Nomura said.
The trio, who are all looking for their first victories on the LPGA Tour, will be looking to hold off a pair of greats in 41-time winner Karrie Webb and 10-time LPGA winner and defending champion Lydia Ko, who each sit a shot back at 8-under par.
“I wanted to shoot in the 60 at least one of the times,” Ko said. “It’s kind of a goal accomplished but it puts me in a good position for tomorrow. You can see by the scores that a lot of the girls are making birdies and great scores, nobody’s out of it. Five or six shots behind, that can still put you in it at the end of the day. So I’ve just got to focus on my game tomorrow and have fun out there.”
Webb will be looking to capture her unprecedented sixth Aussie Open title tomorrow in front of her home fans.
“Oh sure,” Webb said on if she’ll feel any nerves. “If I wasn’t nervous about having a chance to win a golf tournament, let alone the Australian Open, then I probably shouldn’t be sitting in this chair, so no it’s like an excited nervous I guess. It’s been quite a while since I gave myself a chance to win on Sunday and a legitimate chance, so you know I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”
Family Affair for Kangs
This week at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open has been a family affair for co-leader Danielle Kang as her brother Alex is on the bag.
“My brother keeps saying “Be Patient. Be Patient. You can’t get too ahead of yourself.” Having him on my bag really helps,” Kang said.
While Alex has been terrific on the bag there are still some drawbacks to traveling as a brother-sister combo.
“It’s funny,” Kang admitted. “He snores at night so I have earplugs now. I went a bought earplugs but it’s ok he keeps me relaxed. I’m usually really intense and uptight and I have a strict schedule but then he just goes “chill”. It’s really nice just because I’m way more relaxed on the golf course or at home so it’s good.”
The Kang’s seem to be enjoying the week even though they haven’t found much time to explore the area.
“I wanted to show my brother a kangaroo and koalas and that kind of stuff but we haven’t quite had the time to get there yet,” Kang said. “Yesterday I said “do you want to go to the zoo?” and he’s like “No. I’m too tired. I’ve been carrying your bag!”
Lydia Ko Makes Her Move
efending champion Lydia Ko shot a third round 68 to climb into a tie for fourth heading into the final round at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.
“I mean, it wasn’t as breezy as yesterday but with the contours of the greens and the firmness and everything, it’s tough,” Ko explained. “I’m pretty pleased with my round today. It’s the best round I’ve had in the last few days so I’ll take it for sure.”
Ko will enter Sunday with a shot to added to her impressive resume which already includes 10 LPGA Tour victories.
“It’s going to be fun, I’ll try to enjoy it, obviously in the final groups there might be a bit more tension, but I’m going to try and enjoy it,” Ko said. “All the girls are lovely; it’s not like there’s going to be sparks going on.”
)
)
)
)
