Despite the weather, Purdue women's golf alum Paula Reto looked like the happiest player coming off the course at the Cognizant Founders Cup. Reto managed to stay a few strokes behind leading scorers Minjee Lee, Madelene Sagstrom, Lexi Thompson, and Angel Yin by shooting 1-under par 68.
Tied for fifth place at the end of day three with Megan Khang and Ally Ewing, Reto will have to battle tomorrow to secure a top-10 finish. Since 2016, Paula's only top-10 result was at the 2021 ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer.
"I was not hitting as many fairways and then trying to battle for par. Sort of a slower start in that sense, and I made a couple of birdies here in the back nine, which saved my round for 1-under," she said.
Paula was optimistic throughout the entire round which helped her hold on to a secure place on the leaderboard.
"I just told myself, you know what? There are plenty of holes left. Let me see if I can get one or two back, then come back tomorrow, and hopefully, with a little bit better weather, I can make more birdies. I was trying to be real patient and calm with myself, and it paid off. Two birdies back-to-back," Reto said.
With the rain taking a toll on the course, Paula said she hit more club in the rough and adjusted to the weather by taking it one shot at a time. She went one over on the front nine but came back under par to finish out the round.
"I was trying to get a birdie on ten which was like, okay, and then 11 was sort of a tough par save," she said.
So far this year, Paula has had some pretty consistent results, which she attributes to off-season training.
"I've been babysitting some of my bad habits in my game. I think that's maybe paying off, keeping me straighter off the tee, more on the green, that kind of thing.”
Reto recently was medalist at her U.S. Women's Open qualifier, and she made it into the field at the year's second major. She said working on flaws with her swing that come out when she's under pressure has helped her recent scores.
Coming off yesterday's momentum with 5-under 68 and this evening's consistent play, Reto will be in a competitive position tomorrow.
"It was nice to play well yesterday, so I could kind of ease into today,” she said. “But not many birdies out there today. With the rain here and there, you know, trying to battle with some pars, but we'll see. Tomorrow is another day, and hopefully, we'll drop more birdies tomorrow.”
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