Inspired by a bet with her caddie, world No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan shot a sizzling six-under 66 in the third round of the LPGA Titleholders tournament on Saturday to surge into a tie for fifth, just three shots off the lead.
“I’m really happy and proud of myself,” Tseng said. “Six-under on this course with these conditions is not that easy. I saw my name on the leaderboard after nine holes. It gave me more motivation to try to make more birdies.”
“Tomorrow is the last day of the last LPGA tournament this year, I will do my best. Keep it going,” she added on her Facebook page.
Photo: AFP
Tseng finished the day three shots behind leaders Sandra Gal of Germany and Park Hee-young of South Korea, who were at seven-under 209.
Tseng entered the day tied for 21st after shooting rounds of 70 and 76 on the first two days of the tournament and she admitted before the third round that she had played “terribly” the first two days.
To motivate herself, Tseng made a US$100 bet with her caddie, Jason Hamilton, before Saturday’s round that she would shoot three-under or better for the day.
Hamilton took the bet, knowing he had a good chance of losing it.
“He’s like, come on, world No. 1, you should play better than that,” Tseng was quoted as saying on the LPGA Web site.
She delivered, firing five birdies in the first 10 holes and snatching another one on the par-five 15th to catapult up the leaderboard on a day when only 10 golfers in the 59-player field shot rounds under-par.
Tseng, whose 11 global titles this season include seven LPGA crowns, enjoyed having her family at the event, one of the few times in a season they see her perform.
As for the two other Taiwanese players in the field, Candie Kung shot a one-over 73 to finish the day tied for 15th, while Amy Hung was tied for 49th after a three-over 75.
World No. 2 Suzann Pettersen of Norway was third on 210 after a bogey-free 68, while American Paula Creamer was another shot adrift after firing a 71.
Overnight leader Choi Na-yeon of South Korea stumbled with a 75 to finished tied with Tseng for fifth place.
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