Austin Ernst endured a long weather delay before grabbing the lead at the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic on Saturday, and was facing a marathon final day to claim her second career title yesterday.
Ernst took the lead at 10-under on Saturday before darkness forced the suspension of third-round play in the weather-delayed event.
Ernest was one-under through four holes after waiting out a five-hour delay for rain and lightning on the links-style Senator Course. She passed second-round leader Yani Tseng of Taiwan, who had a bogey on the fourth hole to drop to nine-under, and had 31-plus holes to go.
Photo: AFP
“It is going to be a marathon,” said Ernst, who was to return to an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 5. “There is a lot of golf left. It will basically just be get as many birdies as I can. I know the scores are still going to be low. It is just going to be more continuous golf than usual.”
Players were expected to stay in the same groups for early morning starts yesterday, trying to complete the 72-hole tournament.
American Lexi Thompson, the 2011 winner, was eight-under along with Kim Sei-young of South Korea, Americans Tiffany Joh and Sydnee Michaels, and Julieta Granada of Paraguay. Thompson completed four holes, Kim seven, and Joh, Michaels and Granada five.
No players completed more than 14 holes in the third round.
Ernst, 23, had a birdie on the second hole.
Tseng had hoped to ride momentum from her finish on Friday. She had closed an eight-under 64 with an eagle and a birdie to move to 10-under.
The 26-year-old Tseng, ranked No. 1 for 109 weeks early in her career, was trying to snap an 85-event winless streak dating to the 2012 Kia Classic.
Tseng won seven times in 2011, becoming the youngest player to win consecutive Rolex Player of the Year awards and earning a little less than US$3 million. The 15-time tour winner’s only top-10 finish of the year came when she tied for second in March in the LPGA Thailand.
Hsu Wei-ling and Min Lee of Taiwan were four-under and two-over respectively, while Kaohsiung-born Candie Kung was four-under.
Kim was three-under through seven and birdied her final two holes.
Players and fans were sent scurrying to shelter with lightning in the area about 45 minutes before the leaders were scheduled to tee off. Rain and more lightning followed through much of the afternoon.
Sadena Parks of the US, at seven-under through seven holes, said the course held up well and that the players did not get rained on much during their round.
“The course drained very well, so the greens were still rolling out just as much,” Parks said. “[On] the fairways, the ball was reacting the same as if it was dry.”
Ernst waited out the delay with two aunts, her mom and a couple of family friends.
“I was glad we did get a few holes in,” she said.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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