Michele Redman holed out from 126 yards for an eagle at 18 on Saturday to seize a share of the third-round lead alongside South Korea’s Lee Il-hee and Spain’s Beatriz Recari.
Redman, who had a double-bogey on the par-three 16th, hit an eight-iron approach at the par-four finishing hole that landed 16 feet from the pin, then rolled into the cup as the gallery went wild.
Redman completed a four-under 68 that put her on 12--under 204.
Lee also carded a 68 and Recari had a 70 for their shares of the lead in the US$1.1 million CVS/Pharmacy LPGA Challenge.
France’s Gwladys Nocera (71) and Wendy Ward (69) were on 11-under 205, while France’s Karine Icher was a stroke further back after a 66 for 206.
It was a further shot back to Cristie Kerr (66) and Australia’s Katherine Hull (69).
Taiwan’s Amy Hung shot a disappointing 74 to be five shots off the lead on seven-under 209, while compatriot Candie Kung carded a 68 to be a further shot back on six-under 210.
Redman, a 19-year LPGA veteran, has not won since 2000. She was contemplating retirement earlier this year.
“I actually applied for the coaching job at the University of Minnesota, so I was pretty serious about it, but everything works out the way it’s supposed to,” Redman said. “That’s how I’m looking at it right now. I mean, I knew I still wanted to compete.”
After failing to break 70 all season, Lee has now posted rounds of 69, 67 and 68. She had sole possession of the lead with two holes to play, but missed a three-footer for par at 17.
Recari, also a newcomer to the US tour, shared the overnight lead with Nocera, who lost a share of the lead with a bogey at the last.
Recari ran into trouble on two of the par-threes, with a double-bogey on the 184-yard fourth and a bogey at the 155-yard 12th.
Kerr has a chance to overtake Japan’s Ai Miyazato atop the world rankings with a runner-up finish.
It seemed unlikely after a first-round 73, but could be within her grasp. Kerr said the key would be to focus on her game, not the ranking.
“You always think about it, but it has to reach a point where you have to be able to go out and play golf,” Kerr said. “Because playing my own game is good enough to beat pretty much everybody.”
Additional reporting by staff writer
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