Sybase Classic - 3rd Round
Suzann Pettersen and Ji Young Oh are tied for the lead at -12 going into the final round of the Sybase Classic. Brittany Lincicome is in third place at -11 while Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie are tied for fourth at -9, down by three strokes.
The leader by two at the start, Lincicome took her first bogey of the week at 1 which allowed her playing partners Pettersen and Oh to tie for the lead with birdies. From there, the threesome jockeyed for position all day long. Brittany reclaimed the point with a birdie at 2 and went up by two again when Suzann bogeyed 3 and Ji Young bogeyed 4. All three birdied the par-5 5th and Pettersen's second straight birdie drew her to within one. A bogey at 7 dropped Suzann back but she got it back with a birdie at 8. Oh birdied 7 and 8 to tie Lincicome for the lead. Brittany bogeyed 9 while Suzann birdied it, which left them like this at the turn - Oh and Pettersen at -12, Lincicome -11. The activity dropped considerably over the back nine - Oh bogeyed 12 to fall out of the tie then birdied 14 to rejoin Pettersen. Suzann birdied 16 to take sole possession but gave it back because of a poor tee shot at 17. Lincicome parred every hole on the back side.
Creamer and Wie played in the same group (third from last) and posted matching 68s to position themselves nicely for the last 18. A double-bogey at 12 was Paula's only blemish on the day while Michelle overcame an erratic day off the tee to birdie six times with two bogeys.
The six-shot Sunday window just happens to include everyone in the current Top 10 - the five players I mentioned in the lead plus Hee Young Park (Round of the Day 67 -8 6th), Candie Kung (69 -7 7th), Ai Miyazato (69 -6 T8), Moira Dunn (70 -6 T8) and Helen Alfredsson (72 -6 T8). 31 on the front nine fueled Park's low round. The Constructivist must be turning cartwheels over Miyazato and Dunn both being in this position. Alfredsson overcame a triple-bogey 7 at 4 with a back-nine 32 (her third nine of 32 or better this week).
Kudos to ESPN2 for sticking with the coverage until the final group completed 18, about 25 minutes past their scheduled 4pm cutoff. They haven't often done that on Saturday - I assume the presence of Wie near the top compelled them to do so, even though Michelle wasn't even in the last two groups. In fact, the last time I remember them doing that was at last year's State Farm - where Wie promptly got DQ'd for not signing her scorecard before leaving the scoring tent the previous day. Oddly enough, that was the same event where Ji Young Oh won.
Even those eerie coincidences aside, something tells me the Sybase final round is going to be a doozy. Four of the top five players have won events within the last 19 months. The one who hasn't is the phenom whose expectations of victory are long overdue. Two of them are among the world's top half-dozen players. Three of them are among the highest-profile Americans on Tour. The storylines should be plentiful.
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after the 3rd
couple of pleasant surprises
1. Russy contending again
2. Amy Hung in the hunt ( she will attract a few lpga fans!)
Wie has phenomenal talent
She was easily the best tee to green today. Three blown putts of 3 feet or less. She seems too tentative on the short ones. Stoke them firmly so the result will be 18 inches past if you miss.
I realize it’s fashionable to knock Michelle, on virtually every golf related site. She’s by far the most intriguing player. I was cleaning my own clubs today during a portion of the coverage and I’d stop to step in front of the TV only when Michelle was playing.
I talked to my dad this afternoon and he doesn’t pay attention to any other LPGA player. He wants the focus on Wie regardless of what she is doing. If she’s not playing, or out of contention, the tournament doesn’t exist to him. So there’s a reason the networks make the decisions they do. It’s hardly pure invention.
Anyway, it should be a terrific final round. Kind of weird to see all the green. I’m in drought plagued South Florida.
TOP 30
Just checking your top 30 money list. The absence of Natalie Gulbis on your list has not gone un-noticed. My favorite LPGA golfer is playing some of her best golf since her sophomore year. This is totally related to her chronic back problems over the past three years. I followed her in Phoenix coming down number 18 when the pain brought her to her knees, I was not surprised when she was forced to WD. Currently she seems to have it under control. I just noticed that she was a late entry to the Corning Classic. Now that is huge news, since I am a regular volunteer at Corning and it was nice to see Natalie on the entry list. It appears that Corning will draw their strongest field in some time with only two of the top 30 not entered. It is sad to see Corning disappear from the golf scene next year it’s like loosing a dear friend. Have a good day HD.

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