American Stacy Lewis, who turned professional less than three weeks ago, fired a six-under 67 to seize a one shot lead after the third round of the US Women’s Open on Saturday.
Playing in her first tournament as a pro, Lewis is full of confidence heading into the final round.
“To tell you the truth, I’m not really that surprised,” said Lewis, who had to wear a brace 18 hours a day for seven years to fix a spine problem. “I felt I could play and compete at this level. I finished fifth at the [Kraft Nabisco Championship] last year and that really showed me I could play at this level.”
American compatriot Paula Creamer is one shot adrift of the 23-year old Lewis at the major championship.
Lewis moved to a nine-under 210 total, one stroke ahead of Creamer (69), with Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson (71) and South Korea’s Inbee Park (71) two shots behind.
Halfway leader Angela Park, of Brazil, shot 75 to slide five shots off the lead, while Annika Sorenstam left herself a steep hill to climb, seven strokes off the pace after a frustrating day on the greens.
“I’m about to cry,” said Sorenstam, a three-time Open champion. “I cannot hit the ball any better and I really don’t know what to do.”
Lewis has endured a long and painful road to this position. At 11, she was diagnosed with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, and she had to wear a hard plastic brace 18 hours a day for the next seven years.
However, that did not correct her problem, so at 18 she had major surgery, a rod and five screws inserted into her back.
“It was very serious,” she said. “When I found out I had to have surgery, I thought I was done playing golf forever. I was crying, because I just wanted to play college golf. I had to wear a brace for another three months while I was recovering from the surgery and then I couldn’t bend or twist for six months, or lift more than five pounds.”
But the surgery was successful and her back, while not perfect, stood up to the rigors of a successful college career in Arkansas.
BUICK OPEN
AFP, FLINT, Michigan
Daniel Chopra shot a four-under 68 to grab a two shot lead after Saturday’s third round of the US$5 million PGA Buick Open.
Chopra drained a 15-foot birdie on the final hole to cap his round. At 16-under 200, Chopra leads three players by two strokes.
“Today I was fairly surprised that the scores did not kind of run away,” Chopra said.
Chopra played his opening nine holes in two-under and had a one stroke lead over Dudley Hart.
Chopra then started his back nine with a birdie and closed it with another, while Hart bogeyed 18 to drop into a tie for second.
“I don’t know how. I can’t explain it,” Chopra said. “Maybe the rain overnight softened up the fairways and the course wasn’t playing as short and the greens were softer.”
Hart, Woody Austin and Bubba Watson are at 14-under 202.
Chopra started the season with a win at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship. He outlasted Steve Stricker in a playoff to get his season off to a strong start, but has not had a sniff at another win this season.
His best finish came the week after his win, a tie for 32nd at the Sony Open. Now the Swede is in line for his third PGA Tour title.
“The bigger the lead you’ve got, the better. That’s what I’m going to do out there tomorrow is practice patience all day long,” he said.
Hart is also looking for his third tour win and first since the 2000 Honda Classic. His best finish this season came in February when he was third at the AT&T Pro-Am.
After a 70 on Saturday, his worst round of the tournament, Hart was not willing to venture a guess on a winning score.
But he did look forward to setting up more birdie opportunities after making four in the third round with two bogeys.
“It depends on weather; depends on wind. I’m not going to really worry about a number,” Hart said. “I’m just going to try to follow the shots and I feel like my putter is working pretty well for the most part. And if I can get myself some more opportunities, I feel confident that I can make some.”
FRENCH OPEN
AFP, VERSAILLES, France
Spanish qualifier Pablo Larrazabal continued to defy the odds at the French Open on Saturday, firing a four-under 67 to take a three shot lead into the final round.
The 25-year-old tour rookie from Barcelona fired five birdies against one bogey at the Golf National, leaving him on 11-under for the tournament, three strokes clear of back-to-form Colin Montgomerie of Scotland, who had a 68, and last year’s runner-up Soren Hansen of Denmark, who carded a 67. England’s Lee Westwood, coming off a third-place finish in the US Open, was a further stroke back after a 69, level with compatriot David Lynn, the joint overnight leader, who had a 71.
Currently a lowly 128th in the European Tour Order of merit, Larrazabal has stunned everyone with his form this week, leading after the first round and sharing top spot with Lynn at the halfway stage. He showed no signs of nerves in his third round as he opened with birdies at the second and third holes. Two more birdies followed at the seventh and eighth as he reached the turn in 32, to forge a three stroke lead over the field.
After a run of six straight pars, he finally dropped a stroke at the tough par-three 16th where he left his chip 12 feet short of the pin. But he immediately compensated for that with a birdie at the 17th thanks to a magnificent approach shot to within a foot.
Montgomerie, seeking a first tournament win since the European Open nearly a year ago, got to five-under for the day through 14 holes. But he promptly dropped shots on the 15th and 16th and came in shaking his head.
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