“I did, so I’m very proud of myself”.
Advertisement
“I hit a really wayward tee shot”, said Ko after losing her ball at the 18th. But she rebounded with a birdie at the par 3, 17 by draining a putt for almost 20-feet to take a two-stroke lead heading to the final hole.
Lee, Jutanugarn’s nearest challenger on 14 under heading into the final round, carded 13 under for the tournament, alongside Mo Martin, whose two-under 70 was enough to draw level.
“This is really important for me and for golf in Thailand”, said Ariya, whose next stop is the Olympic Games in Rio.
Lee birdied three successive holes from the 10th and when Jutanugarn had two nervy chips and double-bogeyed the 13th the advantage was down to one and it was all set for a thrilling final five holes. Jutanugarn closed with a par, and Lee made a bogey for a 73.
Lee matched the tournament record Thursday with an opening 62 and also led after the second round. Green said he pushed the wrong button on what was meant to be a private message. “I think it’s no pressure for me because only thing I want to do is have fun, so one more day, I want to have fun”.
“That was my heart and my soul out there”, Martin said. “I gave it everything I could”.
Ariya Jutanugarn shot a bogey-free 66 on Saturday to take the third-round lead at the RICOH Women’s British Open, while Lee-Anne Pace leapfrogged Ashleigh Simon to lead the South African charge at Woburn Golf Club in Milton Keyes, England.
Jutanugarn is projected to jump from sixth to third in the world rankings Monday.
She first played in a LPGA event in her homeland as an 11-year-old – nine years later and she is now a household name and the country’s first major champion.
“Feels great”, Jutanugarn said. “I can’t wait. I’m really excited about that”.
The top-ranked Ko tied for 40th at 1 under after a 74.
Martin’s compatriot Stacy Lewis was two strokes further adrift in fourth, while Scotland’s Catriona Matthew faded after a bright start on her way to tying for fifth along with seven-time major victor Karrie Webb of Australia.
The shoulder injury came about when she was larking about with her older sister, Moriya, with a water bottle. The American won in 2013 at St. Andrews.
Advertisement
Matthew, who started the day six behind Jutanugarn, started well with birdies at the 2nd and 4th, but inconsistency dogged her round thereafter.
