Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn replaces her ball on the ninth green during second round action at the LPGA Canadian Open tournament in Priddis, Alta., Friday, Aug. 26, 2016.
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The 20-year-old Thai player won nine days after withdrawing from the Rio Olympics because of a left knee injury, a problem that nearly forced her to skip this event.
South Korea’s Sei Young Kim fired a 65 to finish second at 19-under, while compatriot In Gee Chun carded a 69 to place third at 18-under.
South Korean Chun In-Gee, the victor of the 2015 US Women’s Open, finished a shot further back in third after a 69, while crowd favourite Alena Sharp, of Canada, wound up a career-best fourth after a 67 left her 16-under.
Ko shot a two-under par third round of 70 but Jutanugarn built on her lead with five-under par 67 to end the round at 17 under.
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., tied for 14th at 11-under for the tournament. She will play in her home province next week in the Manulife LPGA Classic in Cambridge, Ontario. “After that, it seems like it looks easier and easier for her because she’s more comfortable with that position”.
In front: Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn has a two-stroke lead going into the final round of the Canadian Open.
“Today was a really good test because I came out and wasn’t as nervous as yesterday”, Sharp continued. Ariya stands to win $337,500, about 11.7 million baht.
Ariya blitzes field to win Canadian Open was posted in Sports of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on August 30, 2016 and was last updated on August 30, 2016.
“So just know there are expectations, but I’m not going to think about it”. I mean, I had two bogeys the last three holes, but I still shot 5 under, so its still good.
“I’m going to just focus on my game against the golf course and see where I am later”, she said.
She has five victories in 10 events a year after missing 10 straight cuts.
Then there’s the winningest golfer on the planet in 2016, Ariya Jutanugarn.
“I played pretty solid the past few days”, said Ko, who has won the Canadian Open in three of the past four years including last year at the Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C. I just changed my focus to be honest with myself.
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“That’s awesome”, Sharp said with a grin. “There’s been times at the Olympics and now today that I was very close to having a really special round and kind of I got those good feelings again that I haven’t had in a little while”. A member of Canada’s Golf Hall of Fame, Coe-Jones of Lake Cowichan, B.C., underwent surgery on her right leg in March to remove cancerous tumours. She finished within the top 10 in eight tournaments this year, and out of the eight, she had the worst performance in the fourth round.
