New Zealand teen Lydia Ko and American Stacy Lewis on Saturday battled for a US$1 million season bonus, but Paraguay’s Julieta Granada was the season-ending LPGA Tour Championship leader after 54 holes.
Granada fired a two-under par 70 in the third round at Tiburon Golf Club to stand on nine-under 207, one stroke ahead of Spain’s Carlotta Ciganda and American Morgan Pressel with German Sandra Gal on 209 entering the final round of this year’s campaign.
However, the season points title and the US$1 million bonus prize — twice the event’s top prize — appeared set to come down to 17-year-old Seoul-born Kiwi Ko and second-ranked Lewis, points leaders who could clinch the crown by winning the tournament.
Ko fired a 68 to share fifth with South Korean Ryu So-yeon, one stroke ahead of Americans Angela Stanford and Michelle Wie, the reigning US Women’s Open champion, who is among those needing a victory to stumble by Ko and Lewis to take the bonus prize.
Lewis fired a 70 to stand on 213, but shared 10th to cling to a slight edge on Ko in the points race.
Such riches were not Ko’s top goal when she was granted special permission to join the LPGA this year, ahead of the 18-year age restriction.
“The more zeroes the better I guess. I didn’t really think about it,” said Ko, twice a winner on tour this year. “To spend so much time on the tour with the girls, that was the goal this year. I never thought about this. I’m going to try and enjoy the opportunity and focus on my round tomorrow. Hopefully the putting will go well,” she said.
Granada, whose only LPGA title came at the 2006 Tour Championship, opened with a birdie and added another at the par-3 eighth, then played the back nine at par to lead an LPGA event entering the final round for only the second time in her career. She lost the other time in Mexico in 2007.
World No. 1 Inbee Park of South Korea fired a 73 to stand on 218. She could win the points crown with a victory, but was struggling with her putter and unlikely to make a last-day charge.
Lewis stumbled with a bogey at the par-5 17th, but her third-round 70 was four shots better than on Friday.
Taiwan’s Yani Tseng ended the day in 49th place after shooting a 222, while compatriot Candie Kung sat in 62nd on a total of 230.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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