Michelle Wie, who is making her first attempt at qualifying for the LPGA tour, is alone in fourth place after shooting a two-over 74 in the third round of a sectional qualifying event on Thursday.
Wie is five strokes behind South Korea’s Ahn Sun-ju and Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, who moved to 12-under 204 after the first three rounds. Ahn shot a 72 on Thursday.
Japan’s Miki Saiki carded a two-under 70 and is three shots adrift of the leaders, while Wie reached a seven-under 209 after 54 holes.
Wie shot a 65 on Wednesday to make the cut on the 6,442-yard, par-72, Mission Hills Country Club course.
She will likely finish in the top 30 and advance to the second round of LPGA qualifying which will be held in Florida from Dec. 3 to Dec. 7.
Wie has been relying on exemptions, invites and earnings over the past few years, but injuries and poor showings have resulted in less tournaments willing to exempt her into the field.
■VIKING CLASSIC
AFP, MADISON, Mississippi
Rookie Marc Turnesa fired a seven-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead after Thursday’s first round of the US$3.6 million PGA Viking Classic.
Ranked 358th in the world, Turnesa turned in his best round of the year. The PGA Tour rookie took the lead by closing his round with three straight birdies.
Barring a big stumble, Turnesa will be around for the weekend — which is uncharted territory for the 30-year-old. He has made just 10 out of 22 cuts this year.
Turnesa owns a one-shot lead over Brian Gay, while six golfers — including two-time US Open champion Lee Janzen — finished two strokes back.
Janzen, overcame an early bogey on the second hole to record four consecutive birdies on holes 13 to 16 to climb into contention.
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