JESSICA KORDA LEADS BY ONE IN WOMEN'S AUSTRALIAN OPEN

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
By BETHAN CUTLER, LET Media Manager
Melbourne, Australia: American Jessica Korda’s even par round today was enough to claim a one-stroke lead heading into tomorrow’s final round of the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
Korda, pictured, whose father Petr won the Australian Open tennis championship in 1998, shot an even par 73 which leaves her one stroke ahead of Australian Nikki Campbell who finished with the best round of the day – a three-under par 70. Korda said she began well.
“I felt like that at the start of the day but as things started going on and on, I started feeling shaky as the wind gusted towards the end of the day. I finished pretty strong and kept at level par,” Korda said.
“I saw a couple of leader boards but honestly I was trying to work out everything. The wind was picking up and coming back down. I had to back off a lot of shots,” Korda added.
Korda is yet to claim her first professional title but would love nothing else than to win another Australian Open in the same city as her father.
“It would mean a lot,” Korda said. “My dad was world No. 2. I told him I want to beat that. It would be a great accomplishment, an awesome thing.”
Korda, who will turn 19 at the end of this month, qualified for the LPGA Tour by finishing runner-up at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament in December 2010. She played in 15 events during her rookie season in 2011 and made eight cuts with her best finish coming in a tie for 19th at the Avnet LPGA Classic in Mobile, Alabama.
“It was a learning curve,” Korda said of her rookie season. “I was finishing up high school so it was more of a juggling act than anything. I was not grown up enough. I had to realise a lot of things. It was tough. It was not an easy conversation to have with myself and with my team. I had to grow up a lot last year.”
Campbell said she was looking forward to Sunday.
“It is exciting. Any time you are in contention, that's what you are after. Hopefully I can go out tomorrow and play well, learn a bit about my game and hit good shots and see where it leaves me at the end of the day.
"Every player would want to win her national championship in any sport. Being in a position where I have a chance is more than I could have asked for,” Campbell said.
“This is very different to last week, especially the greens. My caddie said I'd do well this week if I adjusted quicker than everybody else. He is very much into adjusting to what you have play.
"We have been working a lot on putting speed. Last week you needed to have speed at the hole. This week you need certain putts to die into the hole. It is a different mentality with your putting,” Campbell added.
Fifteen players are within five strokes of the lead including overnight co-leader So Yeon Ryu and defending champion Yani Tseng at two-under par, just two strokes behind Korda.
American Brittany Linicome and Paraguay’s Julieta Granada are both three strokes off the lead in a tie for eighth at one-under par. Stacy Lewis (USA) and England’s Melissa Reid both found the conditions challenging, recording four-over par 77s to slip into a tie for 10th.
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 219 (3x73). Length 5,976 metres. Royal Melbourne GC Composite Course.
215: Jessica Korda (US) 72 70 73.
216: Nikki Campbell (AUS) 72 74 70, So Yeon Ryu (SKOR) 71 69 76, Hee Kyung Seo (SKOR) 75 66 75.
217: Yani Tseng (TPE) 70 76 71, Katie Futcher (US) 74 72 71, Lorie Kane (CAN) 72 73 72. 218: Brittany Lincicome (US) 70 75 73, Julieta Granada (PAR) 70 72 76.
219: Stacy Lewis (US) 69 73 77, Melissa Reid (ENG) 71 71 77.
220: Beatriz Recari (SPA) 76 72 72, Jenny Shin (SKOR) 72 74 74, Jiyai Shin (SKOR) 72 74 74, Sophie Giquel-Bettan (FRA) 72 74 74.
221: Sarah Kemp (AUS) 69 79 73, Cydney Clanton (US) 74 72 75.
222: Eun-Hee Ji (SKOR) 72 79 71, Lydia Ko (NZL) (am) 74 76 72, Angela Stanford (US) 75 74 73.
223: Mo Martin (US) 76 73 74, Gwladys Nocera (FRA) 74 74 75, Jennifer Johnson (US) 73 75 75, Lexi Thompson (US) 74 74 75.
224: Anna Nordqvist (SWE) 76 77 71, Kyeong Bae (SKOR) 77 75 72, Caroline Hedwall (SWE) 73 77 74, Mina Harigae (US) 78 72 74, Meaghan Francella (USA) 73 76 75, Sandra Changkija (US) 75 72 77.
225: Giulia Sergas (ITA) 74 79 72, Amanda Blumenherst (US) 74 78 73, Beth Allen (US) 77 75 73, Cindy LaCrosse (US) 77 74 74, Suzann Pettersen (NOR) 80 71 74, Karrie Webb (AUS) 75 75 75, Morgan Pressel (US) 76 74 75, Belen Mozo (Spa) 72 77 76, Ha-Neul Kim (SKOR) 77 71 77.
226: Rebecca Lee-Bentham (CAN) 73 80 73, Chella Choi (SKOR) 74 79 73, Jennifer Song (US) 74 79 73, Christine Song (US) 78 74 74, Becky Morgan (WAL) 77 71 78. 227: Alison Walshe (US) 74 79 74, Su-Hyun Oh (AUS) (am) 76 77 74, Brittany Lang (US) 74 77 76, Kristy McPherson (US) 76 75 76, Azahara Munoz (Spa) 76 75 76, Meena Lee (SKOR) 76 74 77, Gerina Piller (US) 72 77 78, Lee-Anne Pace (SAf) 75 74 78.
228: Jimin Kang (SKOR) 72 79 77, Cathleen Santoso (AUS) (am) 75 75 78, Sandra Gal (GER) 71 74 83.
229: Janice Moodie (SCO) 73 80 76, Cristie Kerr (US) 75 78 76, Karin Sjodin (SWE) 77 76 76, Tiffany Joh (US) 78 74 77, Danielle Kang (US) 75 76 78, Annie Choi (SKOR) (am) 75 76 78, Ryann O'Toole (US) 76 75 78, Victoria Tanco (ARG) 72 75 82.
230: Ashleigh Simon (SAf) 72 81 77, Katherine Hull (AUS) 81 72 77, Lindsey Wright (AUS) 79 74 77, Jodi Ewart (ENG) 75 77 78.
231: Hee-Won Han (SKOR) 74 79 78, Alison Whitaker (AUS) 77 76 78, Jody Fleming (AUS) 74 78 79.
232: Joanna Klatten (FRA) 74 78 80, Stephanie Na (AUS) 80 72 80, Lynnette Brooky (NZL) 78 72 82.