LPGA LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP REPORT AND SCORES
ANGELA STANFORD FOUR AHEAD ON
HAWAII: MICHELLE WIE TIED 2ND
FROM THE LPGA TOUR WEBSITE
World ranked No. 17 Angela Stanford extended her lead to four shots after carding a 5-under 67 in the third round of the LPGA LOTTE Championship at Ko Olina Golf Club, Kapolei, Oahu on Hawaii.
Honolulu native and No. 23 Michelle Wie (70) and 18-year old sponsor invite Hyo Joo Kim (69) are in a tie for second while 16-time Tour winner Cristie Kerr (70) sits in solo fourth at 8-under par.
No. 1 Inbee Park, No. 7 So Yeon Ryu and American rookie Amy Anderson are in a tie for fifth at 6-under par and seven shots off the lead.
Wind continued to be a factor at Ko Olina Golf Club and Stanford said she was happy to pick up three birdies on the front nine to get her momentum going for the final stretch.
“I didn't think the wind was blowing as hard when we started, so it was kind of nice to get out there and get a little bit of a rhythm,” said Stanford. “It really picked up on the back. So it got tough towards the end just because it was windy and it started to become a really long round. But for the most part, my putter my putter was great again, so that was a lot of it.”
Stanford ranks third in the field in putts (80) through three rounds. Her only bogey of the day came on the par 4 10th hole but followed it up with three consecutive birdies on Nos. 11, 12 and 13. The 14-year LPGA Tour veteran said her birdie streaks this week are a bit lucky and credits the layout of the course at Ko Olina.
“I just like some of these holes and I think every golfer will tell you, when you play different golf courses, there are some holes you like and some you don't,” said Stanford. “I'm fortunate that the ones I like are grouped together, so that's fine nice. The ones I don't like are kind of bookends.”
Stanford has some good history with leading or co-leading after three rounds. All five of the Texan’s wins have come when she was atop the leaderboard after 54 holes. She’s made 51 starts since her last victory at the 2012 HSBC Women’s Champions.
After dropping three shots back after Stanford’s stretch on birdies on the back nine, local favorite Michelle Wie bogeyed the par 4 18th hole to fall four shots off.
“Yeah, left a couple of shots out there today, but I have one more day and hopefully tomorrow I'll make a lot of birdies and catch up to her,” said Wie. “It's going to be fun tomorrow. Ideally going into tomorrow I wouldn't want to be this far behind. I think it'll make it more interesting tomorrow. Just go out there and try to make some birdies early on and see what I can do.”
Solid support
Any player on the LPGA Tour would expect to be the underdog heading into the final round paired with local favorite Michelle Wie. But Angela Stanford knows she’ll have at least four fans in a gallery of her own. Her parents, Nan and Steve, made the trip to Kapolei as a 40th anniversary present to themselves and are joined by Angela’s aunt and uncle out on the course.
“My dad's first time in Hawaii,” said Stanford. “So my mom has her hands full because he's not for much for vacation. He's having a good time. They are enjoying watching golf. But my aunt and my uncle are here also.”
Stanford said it never gets old having her parents cheering her on even in her 14th year on the LPGA Tour. She said having them in the crowd during the final round on Saturday while the rest of Hawaii cheers for Wie will be a comforting factor.
“They planned it around the golf tournament since they were coming,” said Stanford. “It's nice to have them here. I think they are just I mean, it just never gets old, I guess. You love having your parents around because there's that comfort. And I know all of Hawaii is routing for Michelle tomorrow, so I know I got a few hometown in the crowd tomorrow.”
Eye on the big stage
Hyo Joo Kim said her goal at the beginning of the week was to finish in the top-10 at this week’s event. Even now that she’s within striking distance of recording her first LPGA Tour victory, the 18-year is going to stick to her game plan.
“I'm not going to change my goal today or tomorrow,” said Kim. “The Top 10 is still my goal, but anything I know where I am now and anything that happens from this point on, and if I finish better than top 10, that is a bonus and I will have a good time.”
Kim is playing in her third LPGA LOTTE Championship and she finished T12 in 2012 and tied for 9th last year. The 18-year old is playing on a sponsor exemption and plays primarily on the KLPGA where she was named the Volvik Rookie of the year in 2013. If Kim were to win tomorrow she would have the opportunity to claim membership immediately. Asked if she is looking to take her game to the LPGA, Kim said she hasn’t looked down the road that far but says the LPGA is the ultimate goal.
“My plan this year is if I play well, you know, in my own tour today, my goal was to come to the LPGA through Q School,” said Kim. “Obviously at the end the day, I want to be at the LPGA. This is big stage, and I want to come play at the LPGA. So if it happens, we'll see what happens. I definitely eventually want to come play on the LPGA Tour.”
Eagles for a cause
“Wounded Warrior Project® Weekends” is a season-long charity program that will be tied into the Race to the CME Globe. Each Saturday and Sunday at LPGA tournaments, CME Group will donate $1,000 to Wounded Warrior Project® for each eagle that is recorded. This amount will increase to $5,000 for each eagle during the weekend of the CME Group Tour Championship and a formal check will be presented to the Wounded Warrior Project® during the trophy ceremony at the CME Group Tour Championship.
Ayakoa Uehara recorded the lone eagle of the day during Friday’s third round and it landed on the 15th hole. Her eagle brings the total money raised this year to $82,000. Through the first seven tournaments prior to LPGA LOTTE Championship, $81,000 had been raised.
Quote of the Day
It would be a lot of fun. It would be awesome. I'm just not going to think too far away ahead. I have a lot of work ahead of me for tomorrow. Just see what I can do. I'm going to play my hardest and just play my heart out tomorrow and see what I can do. –Michelle Wie on what it would be like to win her third LPGA Tour title in her home state of Hawaii
THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72) Players from USA unless stated
203 Angela Stanford 72 64 67
207 Hyo Joo Kim (S Korea) 68 70 69, Michelle Wie 70 67 70
208 Cristie Kerr 72 66 70
210 Amy Anderson 70 72 68, Inbee Park (S Korea) 70 68 72, So Yeon Ryu (S Korea) 68 70 72
SELECTED SCORES
214 Azahara Munoz (Spain) 73 70 71 (T14)
MISSED THE CUT (148 and better qualified)
149 Karen Stupples (England) 74 75
151 Becky Morgan (Wales) 77 74
153 Anna Nordqvist (Sweden) 76 77
155 Felicity Johnson (England) 79 76
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES
CLICK HERE
HAWAII: MICHELLE WIE TIED 2ND
FROM THE LPGA TOUR WEBSITE
World ranked No. 17 Angela Stanford extended her lead to four shots after carding a 5-under 67 in the third round of the LPGA LOTTE Championship at Ko Olina Golf Club, Kapolei, Oahu on Hawaii.
Honolulu native and No. 23 Michelle Wie (70) and 18-year old sponsor invite Hyo Joo Kim (69) are in a tie for second while 16-time Tour winner Cristie Kerr (70) sits in solo fourth at 8-under par.
No. 1 Inbee Park, No. 7 So Yeon Ryu and American rookie Amy Anderson are in a tie for fifth at 6-under par and seven shots off the lead.
Wind continued to be a factor at Ko Olina Golf Club and Stanford said she was happy to pick up three birdies on the front nine to get her momentum going for the final stretch.
“I didn't think the wind was blowing as hard when we started, so it was kind of nice to get out there and get a little bit of a rhythm,” said Stanford. “It really picked up on the back. So it got tough towards the end just because it was windy and it started to become a really long round. But for the most part, my putter my putter was great again, so that was a lot of it.”
Stanford ranks third in the field in putts (80) through three rounds. Her only bogey of the day came on the par 4 10th hole but followed it up with three consecutive birdies on Nos. 11, 12 and 13. The 14-year LPGA Tour veteran said her birdie streaks this week are a bit lucky and credits the layout of the course at Ko Olina.
“I just like some of these holes and I think every golfer will tell you, when you play different golf courses, there are some holes you like and some you don't,” said Stanford. “I'm fortunate that the ones I like are grouped together, so that's fine nice. The ones I don't like are kind of bookends.”
Stanford has some good history with leading or co-leading after three rounds. All five of the Texan’s wins have come when she was atop the leaderboard after 54 holes. She’s made 51 starts since her last victory at the 2012 HSBC Women’s Champions.
After dropping three shots back after Stanford’s stretch on birdies on the back nine, local favorite Michelle Wie bogeyed the par 4 18th hole to fall four shots off.
“Yeah, left a couple of shots out there today, but I have one more day and hopefully tomorrow I'll make a lot of birdies and catch up to her,” said Wie. “It's going to be fun tomorrow. Ideally going into tomorrow I wouldn't want to be this far behind. I think it'll make it more interesting tomorrow. Just go out there and try to make some birdies early on and see what I can do.”
Solid support
Any player on the LPGA Tour would expect to be the underdog heading into the final round paired with local favorite Michelle Wie. But Angela Stanford knows she’ll have at least four fans in a gallery of her own. Her parents, Nan and Steve, made the trip to Kapolei as a 40th anniversary present to themselves and are joined by Angela’s aunt and uncle out on the course.
“My dad's first time in Hawaii,” said Stanford. “So my mom has her hands full because he's not for much for vacation. He's having a good time. They are enjoying watching golf. But my aunt and my uncle are here also.”
Stanford said it never gets old having her parents cheering her on even in her 14th year on the LPGA Tour. She said having them in the crowd during the final round on Saturday while the rest of Hawaii cheers for Wie will be a comforting factor.
“They planned it around the golf tournament since they were coming,” said Stanford. “It's nice to have them here. I think they are just I mean, it just never gets old, I guess. You love having your parents around because there's that comfort. And I know all of Hawaii is routing for Michelle tomorrow, so I know I got a few hometown in the crowd tomorrow.”
Eye on the big stage
Hyo Joo Kim said her goal at the beginning of the week was to finish in the top-10 at this week’s event. Even now that she’s within striking distance of recording her first LPGA Tour victory, the 18-year is going to stick to her game plan.
“I'm not going to change my goal today or tomorrow,” said Kim. “The Top 10 is still my goal, but anything I know where I am now and anything that happens from this point on, and if I finish better than top 10, that is a bonus and I will have a good time.”
Kim is playing in her third LPGA LOTTE Championship and she finished T12 in 2012 and tied for 9th last year. The 18-year old is playing on a sponsor exemption and plays primarily on the KLPGA where she was named the Volvik Rookie of the year in 2013. If Kim were to win tomorrow she would have the opportunity to claim membership immediately. Asked if she is looking to take her game to the LPGA, Kim said she hasn’t looked down the road that far but says the LPGA is the ultimate goal.
“My plan this year is if I play well, you know, in my own tour today, my goal was to come to the LPGA through Q School,” said Kim. “Obviously at the end the day, I want to be at the LPGA. This is big stage, and I want to come play at the LPGA. So if it happens, we'll see what happens. I definitely eventually want to come play on the LPGA Tour.”
Eagles for a cause
“Wounded Warrior Project® Weekends” is a season-long charity program that will be tied into the Race to the CME Globe. Each Saturday and Sunday at LPGA tournaments, CME Group will donate $1,000 to Wounded Warrior Project® for each eagle that is recorded. This amount will increase to $5,000 for each eagle during the weekend of the CME Group Tour Championship and a formal check will be presented to the Wounded Warrior Project® during the trophy ceremony at the CME Group Tour Championship.
Ayakoa Uehara recorded the lone eagle of the day during Friday’s third round and it landed on the 15th hole. Her eagle brings the total money raised this year to $82,000. Through the first seven tournaments prior to LPGA LOTTE Championship, $81,000 had been raised.
Quote of the Day
It would be a lot of fun. It would be awesome. I'm just not going to think too far away ahead. I have a lot of work ahead of me for tomorrow. Just see what I can do. I'm going to play my hardest and just play my heart out tomorrow and see what I can do. –Michelle Wie on what it would be like to win her third LPGA Tour title in her home state of Hawaii
THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72) Players from USA unless stated
203 Angela Stanford 72 64 67
207 Hyo Joo Kim (S Korea) 68 70 69, Michelle Wie 70 67 70
208 Cristie Kerr 72 66 70
210 Amy Anderson 70 72 68, Inbee Park (S Korea) 70 68 72, So Yeon Ryu (S Korea) 68 70 72
SELECTED SCORES
214 Azahara Munoz (Spain) 73 70 71 (T14)
MISSED THE CUT (148 and better qualified)
149 Karen Stupples (England) 74 75
151 Becky Morgan (Wales) 77 74
153 Anna Nordqvist (Sweden) 76 77
155 Felicity Johnson (England) 79 76
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES
CLICK HERE
Labels: LPGA TOUR
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