Olivia Mehaffey finds herself one shot outside the top-80 who will advance to Stage Two after a disappointing finish to her third round at LPGA Qualifying School in California.
Taking on the Pete Dye design at Rancho Mirage on Saturday, Mehaffey was cruising inside the qualifying mark at two-under par for the tournament through 14 holes of round three after trading two birdies and two bogeys.
However, the former Arizona State star would come unstuck at 15, carding a double-bogey ‘6’ before dropping two more shots in her next three holes in a homeward half of 40; Mehaffey signing for a four-over 76, leaving her at two-over par and one shot outside the top-80 with a round to go in California.
With three rounds in the books at Stage One, Huize Lian leads the way after a five-under par 67, also on the Dye course. Lian is 14-under overall, two strokes clear of Australia’s Amelia Garvey and French amateur Agathe Laisne.
“I had a good round today, tee shot and putting are doing good job as so far. [There was] hot weather today, I started losing focus on back nine but made a nice adjustment back,” said Lian, who led after round one “Dinah Shore is a pretty course. I think I’ll focus on putting and staying hydrated.”
Garvey credited a hot putter for her moving day ascent on the board.
“I basically holed everything I looked at. I didn’t hit it well at all, but when you have the putter working it makes life a lot easier,” said Garvey. “It was nice to not really have the pressure of making the cut and going out there, keep attacking. I’m happy with the spot I am in and really liking the courses as well. The ball is going a little bit further and there are bigger targets off the tee, and I am really excited to get back on the tournament course tomorrow.”
- Full scoring HERE
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