Third-round conditions at the LPGA Lotte Championship combined the best of Thursday’s bluster and worst of Wednesday’s blissful calm.
Suzann Pettersen remained rock solid, shooting a 4-under-par 68 at Ko Olina Golf Club, keeping her one-shot advantage heading into today’s final round. The world’s sixth-ranked player is at 14-under 202.
Ai Miyazato, ranked ninth in the world, is three shots back. She won last year’s inaugural Lotte at 12 under.
"I think the greens are definitely softer than last year," Miyazato said. "I think that makes a big difference. I remember it was really tough to make an adjustment with the iron shots last year.
"Definitely the greens are softer, so you can be a little bit more aggressive than last year. That makes them (scores) a little bit more lower this year."
Hee Kyung Seo went low to chase down Pettersen late, but bogeyed the final hole to shoot a 66. The 2011 rookie of the year is alone in second as she chases her second LPGA title. She won 11 times on the Korean LPGA.
Seo chipped in twice and needed just 23 putts. She shared low-round honors with Jessica Korda, who pulled into eighth.
Miyazato was the only golfer in the top 10 who did not shoot in the 60s Friday. The wind was so tough Thursday only five of the 144 players broke 70.
Punahou graduate Michelle Wie, given a reprieve when Thursday’s Hawaiian-style gusts bumped up the cut to 2 over, fired a 69. She moved up 28 spots, to 40th. It was her first round in the 60s since March 3 and only her second this year.
That is in sharp contrast to some of the names on top of the leaderboard, where four golfers ranked among the top 10 in the world reside.
BY THE NUMBERS
3 Number of birdies to start her round by third-round leader Suzann Pettersen, who has accomplished the feat in two of the first three rounds, including Friday. The one day she didn’t, she opened with three pars.
51 The number of made cuts dating back to the 2010 P&G NW Arkansas Championship by former world No. 1 Karrie Webb. She may not make the headlines she once did in her youth, but the 38-year-old Aussie is riding a nice streak.
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Top-ranked Inbee Park charged into eighth Friday with a bogey-free 67. She is six shots back. Second-ranked Stacy Lewis (69) is five back.
Lizette Salas (67), looking for her fourth top 10 of the year, shares fifth place with Lewis and first-round leader Ariya Jutanugarn, who is 17. Hyo Joo Kim, another 17-year old, is alone in fourth.
All are chasing Pettersen, a 32-year-old Norwegian who is feeling old in all that young company, but has yet to make a bad swing in Ko Olina’s demanding conditions.
"I birdied the first three and just really tried to keep feeding the ball to the hole and trying to stay aggressive," said Pettersen, who has 10 LPGA titles, all in the past six years. "I had one three-putt, and other than that I played pretty solid.
"It’s definitely on the challenging side out here. It’s one thing if we have a flat-out straight yardage, but if you’re in between clubs, in between yardages, you’ve just got to pick the right clubs to the right locations. It’s fun out there. I hope it stays like this tomorrow."
She goes out last today at 10:35 a.m., with Seo and Miyazato. Wie goes out first, off the 10th tee, at 8:35 a.m.
Miyazato’s final-round advice is to keep it simple.
"I know it’s going to be really tough out there," she said, "but if you don’t think too much then you’ll be fine, I think. There’s a number and there’s the green, there’s the cup. It’s just trying to play simple out there. I know my game really well and I know what I need to do, just keep making birdies and try and catch up to Suzann tomorrow."
Seo might be the wild card. She opened with a bogey-free 65. Friday, she had six birdies and an eagle with a sweet, short game and a rhythmic swing reminiscent of World Golf Hall of Famer Ayako Okamoto.
She is also big on keeping it simple, particularly after watching Adam Scott and Angel Cabrera at last week’s Masters.
"Angel and Adam just didn’t think about anything on the ball, just hit and waited for the result," Seo said. "So I just tried to do that, not think about the bad things or the results and other things, but just swing it and feel it, and it helped a lot."