J Golf Phoenix - 3rd Round

Ji-Yai Shin fired a 66 to take a one shot lead at the J Golf Phoenix LPGA International.  In-Kyung Kim and Karrie Webb are tied for second at -9, Suzann Pettersen is fourth at -8 and Eun-Hee Ji is in fifth place at -7.

Through the front nine Kim maintained her second-round lead, a two-shot margin as she made the turn.  A bogey at 11 and a double at 12 knocked her off the top for the first time since early on Thursday.  Inky recovered to birdie 14 and 18.  Shin began the day four shots behind the leader and closed to within two with a 32 on the front.  A bogey at 11 set her back but she immediately recovered with a birdie at 12.  Ji-Yai's birdie at 16 gave her the solo lead and she cemented that with another at 18.  Webb was at the doorstep all day and was tied for the lead after Inky's 11-12 meltdown.  A bogey at 16 dropped her two behind Shin but Karrie finished up with birdies at 17 and 18.  Pettersen too was tied at the top until a bogey at 12 - Suzann subsequently ran off five straight pars until a closing birdie at the short par-5 18^th.

Conditions were very good again on Saturday and the greens seemed to be in much better shape too.  Despite the field being cut in half, 30 players broke par which exceeded the totals of each of the two days.  A total of 12 players are within six shots of the lead - the four players detailed above plus Ji (-7), Brittany Lang (-6), Yani Tseng, Ai Miyazato, Angela Park (all three -5), Cristie Kerr, Song-Hee Kim and Na On Min (-4).  Other than Song-Hee, all 12 played well Saturday, especially Lang and Tseng who put up 67s to climb into the Top 10.  Just outside the Top 10 (and a distant seven shots back) is Angela Stanford, whose Saturday 73 will force her to go low on Sunday if she wants to extend her Top 10 streak to ten.