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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
Lexi Thompson and Stacy Lewis, leaders after 3rd round
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SUNDAY TEE TIMES MOVED UP BECAUSE OF POTENTIAL FOR BAD WEATHER
Paradise Island, Bahamas – Seeking her first victory since 2014, Stacy Lewis finished birdie-eagle Saturday at the Ocean Club Golf Course and jumped into a tie for the lead with Lexi Thompson after 54 holes of the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic. The two players finished at 23-under-par 196 with Lewis carding a 10-under 63 and Thompson, after a record 61 on Friday, coming back with a 7-under 66.
Both players shattered the 54-hole tournament mark of 204 set by Na Yeon Choi in 2014, and they came up one stroke shy of the LPGA record of 24-under by Annika Sorenstam in the 2003 Mizuno Classic at Seta Golf Course in Otsu-shi, Shiga, Japan.
Sunday’s final-round tee times were moved forward and players will go off in groups of three because of the threat of inclement weather. The final round will begin at 8 a.m. EST, and the leaders will start at 10:23 a.m.
Trailing Lewis and Thompson by a stroke is Gerina Piller, who seeks her first LPGA title. She had an 8-under 65 and was one ahead of first- and second-round leader Brittany Lincicome, who carded a 69 for 198. No one else was within six shots.
Lewis, who has had 11 runner-up finishes since her last win, came home in 6-under 31 thanks to two eagles. She dropped in a wedge from 63 yards at the par-4 11th and converted a 10-foot putt at the last after trailing Thompson by as many as four shots.
“Neither one were very pretty,” Lewis said of her eagles. “The wedge shot on 11 actually caught a touch heavy, but it worked out perfect, kicked off the down slope, and I didn't even see it go in. Then here on 18, definitely caught the hybrid a little thin as well, but with it soft, I mean, if it was a good shot, it was going to hit, stop, and not kick up there. So, again, it worked out in my favor. When it's a shootout like this, it doesn't matter what it looks like, you've just got to take advantage of those opportunities, and I did that with the putter quite a bit today, and putting has been key.”
Thompson, the only player among the top four with a victory in the last year – at the 2016 Honda LPGA Thailand – had a good chance for holding the overnight lead alone and at least tying the LPGA 54-hole record with a 7-iron in her hands for her second shot into the par-5 18th. She had to settle for a par, however, when she mishit the approach and 3-putted from 50 feet. Still, she had a share of the lead with a strong round after her 61 on Friday.
“I replayed it [the 61] a few times,” Thompson said. “I just like to think about the shots and the putts that I made, and it helps with confidence, but coming out here with no wind, it's just … you have to make a lot of birdies to make a move on anybody. I shot 7under and I'm tied, so it's crazy, but we will see what tomorrow will bring.”
For a third consecutive day winds were negligible at the Ocean Club, allowing for another scoring onslaught. Among the low rounds were 9-under 64 by Amy Yang and Katie Burnett. Then there was Nelly Korda, who tied Lewis for low round of the day. The rookie, playing in her first LPGA event as a member of the tour, made eight birdies and an eagle in a 10-under 63. Korda, 18, is the younger sister of Jessica Korda, who won the 2014 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.
Tape-delayed television coverage on Golf Channel is from 3-5 p.m. EST.
Admission is free for all spectators.
For more tournament information, www.puresilkbahamasclassic.com.
© Copyright 2017 by thebahamasweekly.com
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