MORIYA JUTANUGARN TAKES ONE STROKE LEAD INTO FINAL ROUND IN SCOTLAND
The Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open trophy may have the name Jutanugarn engraved on it for the second straight year. 2018 champion Ariya Jutanugarn’s older sister, Moriya, fired a 4-under par 67 on Saturday in North Berwick, Scotland to take a one-stroke lead into the final round over Jeongeun Lee6 and Mi Jung Hur.
Through the first three rounds Moriya Jutanugarn has hit 48 of 54 greens in regulation, but she said the key for her is to be patient and keep doing what she’s doing. “I'm just trying to play my game and have fun out there,” she said. “Don't really focus on anything.”
Moriya became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2018 HUGEL-JTBC LA Open and on Saturday she said she would love to follow in her sister’s footsteps and capture a win in Scotland. “Well, it would be, of course, like any win, you always feel great with it and especially like Scotland is Home of Golf, of course.”
On Friday, Hur needed just 24 putts to tie the 18-hole tournament record with a second-round 62. While the putts didn’t drop as easily for her during the third round, needing 34 putts, she will be trying for her first LPGA victory in five years by avoiding thinking about the outcome on Sunday.
“I just want to enjoy my game,” Hur said. “Like I don't want to get stress from my game because this is my 11th year on the Tour, and never helps when you get stress from your game. I'm just going to enjoy my day and talking with a lot of things with my caddie.”
Lee6 has been consistently in contention during her rookie season, with 11 top-16 finishes including a major win at the U.S. Women’s Open. Playing for the first time in her career on a links style course, at The Renaissance Club, Lee6 said she was surprised with how easy she’s settled in.
“This is my first time, and I thought it would be really hard, but actually my shots and my putting strokes were pretty good,” Lee6 said after a third-round 66. “So that's why I've been starting playing a lot better than before. But the most part I'm worried about is tomorrow's weather, because it seems like the forecast, it's going to rain all day. So we'll see how that goes.”
2017 champion Mi Hyang Lee is in solo fourth at -12, while Scotland’s Carly Booth, Ariya Jutanugarn, Jane Park and Chella Choi are tied for fifth at 10-under par heading into Sunday’s final round.
2018 champion Ariya said that Moriya, even though she’s holding the 54-hole lead, will be in charge of cooking the dinner Saturday night and Moriya joked, “I would never want to try her [Ariya’s] food.”
WITH A WIN
Moriya Jutanugarn would earn her second career LPGA title joining the 2018 HUGEL-JTBC LA Open
Moriya Jutanugarn would join Jasmine Suwannapura and Ariya Jutanugarn as the only Thai players with more than one LPGA Tour victory
Moriya Jutanugarn would earn $225,000, and would project to move from 21st to 12th on the Season Money List with $873,356, and from 76th to 73rd on the LPGA All-Time Career Money List with $4,489,944
Mi Jung Hur or Mi Hyang Lee would become the seventh different 2019 winner from the Republic of Korea
Jeongeun Lee6 would join Jin Young Ko (3), Sung Hyun Park (2), Sei Young Kim (2) and Brooke Henderson (2) as players with multiple wins in 2019
Carly Booth would join Catriona Matthew (4), Janice Moodie (2) and Kathryn Imrie (1) as LPGA winners from Scotland
TEAM EUROPE PROJECTIONS
Team Europe Captain Catriona Matthew will name her four picks for the 2019 Solheim Cup on Monday at The Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, the day after the completion of the final qualification event, the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club.
The European team consists of the top three from the LET Solheim Cup points list, followed by the next five from the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and four captain’s picks.
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, who is not playing at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open, has locked in her position as one of the qualifiers from the LET Solheim Cup points list. Caroline Hedwall and Anne van Dam currently hold the remaining two spots, but it will depend on their finish in Scotland this week with a few other players in the mix.
Georgia Hall, Charley Hull and Azahara Munoz are all confirmed to make the team based on their positions on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Projections show Caroline Masson, Anna Nordqvist and Celine Boutier have the best chance for the final two Rolex Rankings spots depending on their finishes in Scotland.
Here’s how a few players on the bubble for Team Europe sit heading into the final round in Scotland: Carly Booth (T5, -10), Anne van Dam (T5, -10), Anna Nordqvist (T14, -8), Caroline Hedwall (T32, -4), Madelene Sagstrom (T32, -4) and Celine Boutier (T41, -3).
PLAYER NOTES
Rolex Rankings No. 23 Moriya Jutanugarn (64-66-67)
- She hit 11 of 13 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, with 28 putts
- Jutanugarn is in her seventh year on the LPGA; she became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2018 HUGEL-JTBC LA Open
- This is Jutanugarn’s 20th event of the 2019 LPGA season; she has made 19 cuts with a best finish of T3 at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational where she teamed up with her sister Ariya
- She is competing in her third Ladies Scottish Open (since it was co-sanctioned by the LPGA); with a T35 finish in 2018
Rolex Rankings No. 79 Mi Jung Hur (66-62-70)
- She hit 10 of 13 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, with 34 putts
- Hur is in her 11th year on the LPGA; she has two career victories at the 2014 Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic and the 2009 Cambia Portland Classic
- This is Hur’s 15th event of the 2019 LPGA season; she has made 13 cuts with a best finish of T6 at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
- Hur is competing in her third Ladies Scottish Open (since it was co-sanctioned by the LPGA); with a runner-up finish in 2017
Rolex Rankings No. 9 Jeongeun Lee6 (67-65-66)
- She hit nine of 13 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, with 29 putts
- Lee6 is a 2019 LPGA Tour rookie; she earned her Membership by taking medalist honors at the 2018 LPGA Q Series
- Lee6 became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open
- This is Lee6's 17th event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; along with her major win she has six additional top-10 finishes
- She uses a 6 at the end of her last name as she is the sixth player named Jeongeun Lee6 in KLPGA history; her fan club in Korea is called "Lucky 6"
- Lee6 is also a member of the KLPGA Tour, where she has six career victories
- Lee6 currently leads the Rolex Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year standings with 1,065 points
Rolex Rankings No. 38 Mi Hyang Lee (63-70-68)
- She hit seven of 13 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 29 putts
- Lee is in her eighth year on the LPGA; she has two career wins at the 2017 Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open and the 2014 Mizuno Classic
- This is Lee’s 20th event of the 2019 LPGA season; she has made 17 cuts with a runner-up finish at the ANA Inspiration
QUICK HITS
- Defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn enters the final round tied for fifth, six shots behind her sister Moriya
- Three players were bogey-free in the third round: Carly Booth, Minjee Lee and Su Oh
- Rolex Rankings Projections show that no player can overtake No. 1 Jin Young Ko and No. 2 Sung Hyun Park this week
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