Leona Maguire’s third round at the Old American Golf Club proved the toughest of the tournament so far for the Cavan native who carded a three-over-par 74 that leaves her in a five-way tie for 13th on two under.
Maguire bogeyed five times on Saturday, with the only high points coming as she made birdies on eight and 15 and she will need a big final round to make a dent in the Race to CME Globe standings and, barring a big collapse from runaway leader Hyo-Joo Kim, her hopes of capturing a second LPGA win of the season will have to be put on ice.
In cool, windy conditions, scoring was proving difficult all over the course, with nobody shooting lower than 68 and the day’s average reaching well into the mid-70s.
South Korea’s Kim holds a commanding lead on 11-under after a 70, five shots clear of Lexi Thompson who shot a disappointing level-par 71 and Sarah Kemp who shot a two-under-par 69.
Kim, the world number seven, is seeking her first victory of the season, while Thompson, who is set to tee it up on the PGA Tour as a sponsor’s invite at next week’s Shriners Children’s Hospital Classic in Las Vegas, is hoping to end a four-year LPGA drought and, after suffering a severe loss of form in the early part of the year, is trending upwards and put in a very impressive showing at the recent Solheim Cup where she was the top points scorer for the United States.
Thompson and Kemp will hope that between them, they can exert some pressure and test Kim’s mental resolve when they go out in the final threesome, while Maguire will tee off her final round 3.50pm Irish time alongside Colombian Mariajo Uribe and China’s Jing Yan.
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