So much of being successful in a major, especially one with a setup like at the U.S. Open, is remaining patient. She bogeyed four of six holes to fall out, made eagle-birdie at 16-17 to regain a share of the lead, then bogeyed the final hole to finish one behind In Gee Chun.
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Her odds would figure to be very good.
World No. 1 Ko sunk a tricky birdie on the 18th hole to snatch a one-shot lead after a testing third round at CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin. Maybe, but they’ll likely have to duplicate what they did in the third round, and in some cases, better.
“I’m playing on the Tour that I’ve always dreamt of playing, and this is the biggest championship in the U.S.” said Ko, who won her first major title at last year’s Evian Championship before adding a second at the ANA Inspiration in April. Park looked every bit a player to be reckoned with after a 6-under par 66 that made her the leader by two strokes at the tournament’s halfway point. Her appearance in this year’s U.S. Women’s Open marked the second straight appearance for a Kentucky Wildcat in the national championship, which is open to female amateurs and female professionals across the country and globe. “And that’s what I was doing the majority of the day”, Ko said. “I don’t care how good you strike the ball, if you don’t make a putt you can’t win”. “She does a better job controlling them”.
“I expect her to play well, you know”.
That was back at Blackwolf Run when Ko was 15, but she doesn’t think being nervous really had much to do with her age. You’re ready. It means a lot to you. “All I can do is try my best”.
She had to make a birdie on the second playoff hole to stay alive and then eliminated Shculdt with a par on the third playoff hole to clinch the second qualifying spot.
It was Christmastime in her native South Korea, and Ko joined fellow tour player Su Oh and her sister at a midnight concert featuring Psy, the Gangnam-Style pop singer who kept Ko jumping out of her seat until 5 a.m. “I don’t even think about the winning, I just enjoy the play”.
Ji said it helps that her caddie talks to her a lot throughout her round.
She finished runner-up at the most recent major, the Women’s PGA Championship, when she lost in a play-off to Canadian Brooke Henderson. “I just tried to enjoy it out there”. She won’t be challenging for any titles this time, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t looking forward to it.
The 19-year-old New Zealander was in a four-way tie for the lead heading down the 18th but she drained a nine-foot birdie putt to edge ahead on seven-under 209.
And there was Ko who drove down the middle, hit a tremendous lag putt to set up easy pars, got out of what little trouble she did get into and finished 1-under.
She also would have felt better if her game was stronger these first three rounds.
At seven-under, she leads Park (74) and another South Korean, Eun-Hee Ji (70) by one shot, with a third South Korean, Amy Yang (73), and American Brittany Lang (68) tied for fourth two shots back at five-under.
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John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks), Steve Lowery and Jay Haas were among nine players at 4 under, Frenchman Jean Van de Velde shot 75 in his Champions Tour debut, and Vijay Singh shot 3-under 69.
