The 19-year-old Ko has won two majors – the ANA Inspiration this year and the Evian Championship last year – but she’s trying to win her first U.S. Women’s Open title.
Advertisement
Lydia Ko, of New Zealand, follows her shot from the sixth tee during the third round of the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament at CordeValle Saturday, July 9, 2016, in San Martin, Calif.
Champions – Scott Dunlap shot an 8-under-par 64 on Friday to take the first-round lead at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, N.Y.
Ko’s third round was nothing flashy, but the only thing Ko does flashy is get the ball in the hole in fewer strokes than anyone else.
Noren – the second-round leader by a shot – defied the conditions by hitting a 219-yard tee shot to 3 feet at No. 17 and then getting up and down at the par-5 18th for another birdie.
The highlight of the day might have been Lee Lopez’s ace on the 191-yard, par-3 12th hole. If Henderson wins, she would replace Ko as the youngest LPGA player with two majors….
It was a day where she needed to be consistent with how tough birdies were to come by for the leaders. Of the 16 previous rounds she’s played in tour events, she’s shot under par in 14 of them.
“I feel like I dropped three shots there and Sarah my caddie said, ‘you need to calm down”.
“I’ll take any shot advantage I can, because there is still a lot of golf to be played”, Ko said. In fact, at her first U.S. Women’s Open, she said she was so nervous, she had a hard time lining up her putts because she was shaking so much. “I didn’t have a birdie all day, which kind of cost me”, said Henderson.
Ko doesn’t want to give the impression she’s thinking beyond the first shot she’ll hit in Saturday’s next-to-last group, but it’s clear she knows this is the preeminent championship in the sport. “I’m not as shocked to be in this position”, said the 35-year-old, who is in a position to represent Canada at the Olympics in Rio next month. However, she then faltered with a bogey at the 17th, but it was still enough to make a play-off.
Pak, whose success helped lead to the surge of South Koreans on the tour, double-bogeyed her final hole to finish at 80 on the day and plus-9 in her final scheduled tournament in the United States.
“I don’t think the USGA likes somebody shooting eight under on their golf course”. Just a freshman at the time this past year, Hack was arguably UK’s best golfer down the stretch of the season, posting two top-25 finishes in two of her last three tournaments. “I think that’s the big key I’ve been learning, just keep my head high and just enjoy it out here”. Matteo Manassero and Branden Grace (both 67) were in a four-way tie for fourth on 6-under overall.
John Daly and Stephen Ames each shot 68 and were tied for sixth at 8 under with Bart Bryant, who shot 70.
Gibby Gilbert III, Kevin Sutherland, Paul Goydos and Joe Durant were another shot back in a tie for fifth.
Advertisement
Lexi Thompson, ranked No. 4 in the world, had three bogeys on the front nine, but birdied the 10th and the 15th holes. Hack, who qualified in May for the world’s premier golf championship during a sectional qualifier at Westwood Country Club in St. Louis, was unable to conquer the 6,784-yard layout on Friday, carding a score of 85 (13-over par).
