KELSEY ONLY ONE SHOT OFF THE LEAD WITH A ROUND TO PLAY IN FLORIDA

                    KELSEY MACDONALD ... poised for a last round challenge in Florida

                     Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com 
Kelsey MacDonald goes into Saturday's final round of the South Atlantic Amateur women's championship at Oceanside Country Club, Ormond Beach in Florida only one shot behind the leader
Third in last weekend's opening event of the Orange Blossom Tour for lady amateurs, the Stirling student and Nairn Dunbar member shot a one-over-par 73 today in the most testing, windy conditions so far.
MacDonald is on the five-under-par 211 mark after scoring a pair of 69s in the first two rounds.
She birdied the seventh, eighth and 16th in halves of 35 and 38. Bogeys came at the long sixth, 13th and short 14th.
American Kelly Shon, a third-year student at Princeton University, New York State, retained her overnight lead but could only shoot a 74 to the Scot's 73 and with rising scores - she had rounds of 67 and 69 in the first two days - Shon is under pressure going into the last day of this prestigious tournament which is known for short as "The Sally."
A shot behind MacDonald in third place on 212 are Americans Shannon Aubert (68-72-72) and Alex Stewart (70-74-68).
Stewart's four-under-par score was easily the best on a difficult day.
Kilmacolm's Eilidh Briggs - who flies home after this tournament to take up a PE placement from Stirling University - shot a 77 for 226 and is joint 23rd.
Eilidh had a double bogey 7 at the long sixth and a double bogey 5 at the short ninth in an outward half of 42 but she was able to repair some of the damage by coming home in 35, thanks to birdies at the 12th and 13th.
THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
par 216 (3x72)
Players from US unless stated
210 Kelly Shon 67 69 74
211 Kelsey MacDonald (Stirling U) 69 69 73
212 Shannon Aubert 68 72 73, Alex Stewart 70 74 68
213 Ashley Holder 71 72 70, Cindy Feng 67 79 70.
SELECTED SCORES
226 Eilidh Briggs (Stirling U) 73 76 77 (T23)
234 Annabel Dimmock (Wentworth) 74 76 84 (T41)
241 Hannah McCook (Stirling) 79 78 84 (T51)
256 Jordana Graham (Stirling) 84 85 87 (T70)
257 Georgia Gilling (Stirling) 92 85 80                 

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REPORT FROM GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By JULIE WILLIAMS

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – Kelly Shon’s third round at the South Atlantic Amateur boils down to two holes: the eighth and the 17th at Oceanside Country Club.
At the par-4 eighth, Shon made the most of a mediocre tee shot and a weak-right 5-iron by rolling a delicate chip down a steep green and into the hole for birdie. By the watery, par-4 17th, when she felt her game slipping, she made another birdie. A bogey at No. 18 left her with 74 for the day and a 54-hole total of 6-under 210.
Shon, a New Yorker using the Sally to dust off her game before she heads back to Princeton for the spring, needed the heroics at both of those holes. Her two-shot lead from the previous day had turned into a single-stroke advantage by the end of Friday. Kelsey MacDonald is right behind her, and Shannon Aubert and Alex Stewart are tied for third, two shots behind McDonald.
This is Shon’s first go at the Sally, and she entered at the last minute. Her impression of the course Thursday evening was that though short, it could play tough if the wind were to pick up. On Friday, it blew steadily from the east and brought a chill from the nearby Atlantic Ocean. It didn’t bother Shon as much as the pace of play.
“I was just not swinging well today, and then couldn’t get into a rhythm,” she said. “Play was quite slow. I felt like we were stopping and waiting like five minutes on every shot. When I have a good hole like eight or 17, I just want to keep going.”
Being in contention doesn’t mean playing any differently than she has been, Shon reasoned Friday evening. It just means she’s in contention. With three Princeton victories under her belt, most recently in October at the Lehigh Invitational, which her team also won, Shon is used to this drill.
• • •
The other St. John’s player: Ever since the 2011 PGA Championship, the most famous St. John’s golfer has, without a doubt, been Keegan Bradley. In fact, St. John’s junior Harin Lee can’t name an LPGA player from her school. Perhaps she’ll be the first.
Lee, from Bayside, N.Y., is another Northerner using the Sally for a winter tuneup. This is the third consecutive year Lee has entered, but generally her winter competition schedule is hit or miss. She had been out for most of the winter with a back injury.
“I just came out to practice, but I played pretty well, considering,” she said.
Lee has been prolific in a short amount of time at St. John’s. She has won seven times, including at the 2011 Big East Conference Championship. Through all that, Lee guesses she has changed putters almost as many times as she has won.
Lee’s strength is in her accuracy – she normally hits 14 or 15 greens in regulation – but putting used to be her favorite part of the game.
“I just couldn’t stick to a putter,” she said. She has an Odyssey Metal X D.A.R.T in her hands at the Sally, and so far it’s working well.
Lee enters the final round 14 shots behind Shon, a childhood friend. The two grew up about 30 miles apart back in New York, and played many a junior tournament together. It’s likely that on Saturday, Lee will be rooting for Shon.
• • •
Next best thing to a local: The crowds were larger than normal for the third round of the Sally, and much of that had to do with the weather. Semi-local player Ericka Schneider has played this tournament for the past five years. This year will go down as one of the most pleasant, weather-wise.
“It definitely plays tougher when it’s windy,” she said. “I can go at more pins when it’s not windy, especially ones that are tucked.”
Schneider, a former Daytona State player who now is a senior at Ole Miss, didn’t expect to get a tan this week. Normally she would be bundled up for a tournament noted for its fickle weather. After a third-round 75, Schneider stands solo 15th. Her best finish in all of those Sally starts was a T-3 in 2011.
The Sally is one of two annual trips Schneider makes back to the Daytona Beach area to visit friends. The Bradenton native is staying with one this week.
If there’s local knowledge to be had, then Schneider is the one to consult. As for strategy, she offers this: “This course is one you can score on if you play it the way it wants to be played.”
That means fighting the wind and keeping it in the fairway.
• • •
Short shots: The only mid-amateur who made the championship flight was Martha Leach, the 2009 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion. Leach, 51, is the younger sister of Hollis Stacy, a World Golf Hall of Fame member. Through three rounds, Leach is T-26 at 11-over 227. . . . Yueer "Cindy" Feng, who held a share of the first-round lead, birdied seven of her first 13 holes in Round 3 before going 5 over in the next four. A par at No. 18 left her with a third-round 70. She is solo sixth.