SAMMAMISH, Wash. — Top-ranked Lydia Ko bogeyed the 18th hole Saturday to cut her lead to one stroke heading into the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
SAMMAMISH, Wash. — Top-ranked Lydia Ko bogeyed the 18th hole Saturday to cut her lead to one stroke heading into the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Seeking her third straight major title, Ko shot a 1-under 70 to reach 2 under. She won the Evian Championship in September in France for her first major title and took the ANA Inspiration in April in California.
Brittany Lincicome and Gerina Piller were tied for second. They each shot 71, with Lincicome also bogeying the 18th.
The 19-year-old Ko used her deft short-game to save shots on the 16th and 17th holes, but couldn’t avoid dropping a shot at the last when her third shot went to the back of the green and she missed a 15-foot par putt.
Second-round leaders Brooke Henderson and Mirim Lee each shot 73 to drop into the group at even par. Ariya Jutanugarn, the winner of her last three tournaments, shot a 68, leaving her even par along with
Amy Yang (66), Chella Choi (69) and Atlantic City winner Anna Nordqvist (69).
Only three players were under par, but 13 were within three shots of the lead.
FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Daniel Berger shot a 1-under 69 in hot and sticky conditions at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, giving him a three-stroke lead over Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker and D.A. Points.
Berger, the 2014-15 rookie of the year who had led after a round on tour only once before this event back in 2014, now has led consecutive rounds as he looks for his first PGA Tour victory. Berger had four birdies, a bogey and a double bogey to reach 10-under 200.
Mickelson (68), Stricker (66) and Points (64) were 7 under. Seung-yul Noh (67), Colt Knost (67) and Brooks Koepka (69) were 6 under.
With so many experienced players and big names chasing him on a day where the temperature felt close to 100 degrees, Berger hit 13 of 18 greens playing conservatively enough with six straight pars at one point that he finished Saturday with the same three-stroke lead he had after the second round.
Berger couldn’t hold onto the lead after the opening round of the 2014 OHL Classic at Mayakoba and wound up tied for 51st. But Berger already has three top 10s this season and is looking for more before heading to Oakmont for the U.S. Open.
CONSTELLATION SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
FLOURTOWN, Pa. — Bernhard Langer was all alone under par at windy Philadelphia Cricket Club.
The 58-year-old German star also was in position to win the Constellation Senior Players Championship for the third straight year, shooting a 1-under 69 to reach 2-under 208 and take a three-stroke lead over Jay Don Blake with a round left.
After playing the first 11 holes in 2 over with two birdies and four bogeys, Langer birdied the par-4 12th to get back to even par for the tournament. He added birdies on the par-5 15th and par-3 16th and closed with two pars on the A.W. Tillinghast-designed Wissahickon Course.
Langer won in 2014 at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh and last year at Belmont in Massachusetts. He won the Regions Tradition last month in Alabama for his sixth senior major and 27th tour victory.
Blake birdied the par-4 18th for a 71. Jeff Sluman (70), Woody Austin (71), Wes Short Jr. (72), Bart Bryant (72) and Brandt Jobe (74) were tied for third at 2 over.
CURTIS CUP
DUBLIN — England’s Bronte Law won two more matches and Britain and Ireland took five of six points to open an 8-4 lead in the Curtis Cup, leaving the Americans behind entering the closing singles session for the first time in two decades.
With eight singles matches left Sunday at Dun Laoghaire, the United States needs six points to retain the Cup, and Britain and Ireland needs 2 1/2 to reclaim it. The U.S. leads the series 28-7-3, winning 13-7 in 2014 in St. Louis.
Law, the UCLA junior who won the Annika Award this year as the top college player, improved to 4-0, teaming with 18-year-old Olivia Mehaffey of Northern Ireland in both sessions. They beat Bailey Tardy and Monica Vaughn 3 and 2 in the morning foursomes and topped Vaughn and Bethany Wu 3 and 2 in the rain-delayed afternoon fourball matches.
Trying to become the second player to go 5-0 record, Law will face Mika Liu in singles. American Stacy Lewis was 5-0 at St. Andrews in 2008.
Wu and U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Hannah O’Sullivan earned the only point for the United States, beating Ireland’s Leona Maguire and England’s Charlotte Thomas 1 up in the morning.
LYONESS OPEN
ATZENBRUGG, Austria — South Africa’s Zander Lombard overcame a triple bogey to shoot a 4-under 68 and take the third-round lead in the Lyoness Open on Saturday.
Winless on the European Tour, Lombard had an 11-under 205 total at Diamond Country Club. China’s Wu Ashun was a stroke back after a 65.