A sizzling career-low back-nine 29, that included a birdie-eagle finish, propelled South Korean Choi Na-yeon to the lead with 18 holes to play at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
Her outstanding six-under back nine left her with an eight-under 63 for a tournament record 36-hole total of 13-under, two shots better than compatriot Mi Jung-hur, who shot 68 and is tied for second with Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist (66).
The South Korean duo were tied for the lead with one hole remaining, but Choi surged ahead at the par-five 18th when she hit a second-shot three wood to 45 feet from the hole and made the putt for a dramatic finish to her round.
Photo: AP
“I got the three wood out first, then changed it to a pitching wedge and then back to three wood, because there is a small gap to the right side of the green,” Choi said. “The wind helped me a lot; [it] was a little bit helping right to left, so I just hit three wood.”
Last year’s champion Stacy Lewis, who shot a 65, American Brittany Lincicome, Japan’s Mika Miyazato and South Korean Amy Yang are tied for fourth on nine-under.
Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling and Min Lee are tied for 40th with a total of three-under 139, while Kaohsiung-born Candie Kung is a stroke further back on 140.
Photo: AP
Additional reporting by staff writer
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