Kiwi sensation Lydia Ko will take a one shot lead into tomorrow`s final round of the KPMG Women`s PGA Champioship at Sahalee Country Club. Ko sits at 2 under par, and is one of only three players in red figures on the demanding layout, the others being American Gerina Piller and Brittany Lincicome who are at 1 under par.
Fourteen players are within three of Ko’s lead and tomorrow promises to be a great finish to the second major championship of the year for women’s golf.
Amy Yang, Ariya Jutanugarn, Anna Nordqvist, Chella Choi, Mirim Lee and Brooke Henderson are at even par and two from the lead, while Australian Su Oh is in a group at 1 over par just 3 shots back, while compatriot Minjee Lee is at 2 over and just four back.
The round of the day and of the week to date came from Korean Amy Yang whose five under par 66 moved her from 35th to a share of 4th and in contention for her first major title.
Ko moved clear when she birdied two of her first six holes, but bogeys at the her 12th and 18th holes has left the door ajar for the chasing pack of quality players.
Having won the past two major championships, the Evian Championship and the ANA Inspiration, Ko will clearly start the final round tomorrow as favorite. however with several players with major championship titles already to their name, and a group of exciting young players chasing their first major title the final round could end being a nailbiting finish.
Ko says she will just try to play her own game tomorrow “That`s all I can do (tomorrow). I`ve got to just try my best and have fun. And I guess if I can`t control what somebody else does, the most important thing is just to be focused on my game and not think about what the other players are doing. Going into Evian and ANA I just had very calm thoughts, positive thoughts until the last rounds, And then I just said hey, just go out and enjoy it. Just don`t worry about what everybody else does.\"
A Ko victory tomorrow would also make her the youngest winner in the 62 year old history of the Champioship.
There are many other amazing storylines which could emerge tomorrow, not the least of which is whether Ariya Jutanugarn can continue her amazing run and win her fourth consecutive LPGA Tour title and her first major championship.
Aussies Minjee Lee and Su Oh will play together in tomorrow`s final round alongside American Tiffany Jo at 11:35am.
All six of the ALPG members playing this week made the halfway cut; Sarah Jane Smith is at +7 tied for 37th, Karrie Webb +9 tied 47th, Katherine Kirk +10 tied 58th and Sarah Kemp +12 tied for 67th.
The final round will be shown live on Fox Sports 3 from 8am AEDST.
For live scores go to www.lpgascoring.com
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