Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson will head to Sunday’s final round at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, tied in first place at 10-under 206, two shots clear of Charley Hull and Se Ri Pak.
Thompson and Pak started Saturday’s third round on Mission Hills as the co-leaders at seven-under. Wie was one shot back in solo third at six-under, while Hull was T11 at two under. It was a battle throughout the day between the top three and Hull sneaking in at the end.
Wie went to work right away opening with a birdie to take a brief share of the lead, and added three more, the last one on the Par-5 11th right after making the turn. This gave her at the moment a share of the lead with Pak who was at 10-under as she made the turn.
Wie found herself alone on top of the leaderboard right after Pak bogeyed the 10th, but Thompson birdied the Par-5 11th and the Par-4 12th to join Wie on top of the leaderboard at 10-under.
Pak would add two more bogeys at the Par-4 13th and 15th and dropped to seven-under, three behind Wie and Thompson. She would gain one back with a birdie on the Par-4 16th and went par in the last two to card a one-under 71 and sit two behind the leaders.
Wie couldn’t make another birdie after the 11th hole and went to the clubhouse at 10-under after her bogey-free four-under 68, and Thompson heading to the 18th one shot ahead. Thompson had birdied the Par-4 15th to get to 11-under and had just the Par-5 18th to par and head to Sunday with a one shot lead.
But she would bogey the last hole and finished with a three-under 69 and fell into the tie with Wie. They will now be the final group on Sunday, playing just after Pak and Hull. The 18-year-old Hull had the day’s low round with a bogey-free six-under 66.
Wie, the once teen-phenom, now 24 is looking for her first major championship. She will have Thompson, still a phenom-teen at 19, playing alongside tomorrow, also looking for her first major championship.
England’s Hull, just turned 18 a couple of weeks ago, and won her first professional tournament, the Ladies European Tour Lalla Meryem Cup in the middle of March. She is as well looking for her first major championship. Pak on the other hand, is 36, a Hall of Famer and a five-time major winner. But she has never won the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
On Sunday, three young guns and a proven one will be the main showcase, with the best chance to win the LPGA’s first major of the year.
Tied for fifth at six-under 210 are American Cristie Kerr and Scotland’s Catriona Matthew. Kerr started the day in a tie for fourth and mixed in one eagle, two birdies and three bogeys on her one-under 71 round.
Matthew on the other hand, could’ve been on a better position if it wouldn’t have been by her double-bogey six on the Par-4 10th. She carded four birdies on the round and that was a big blemish on her card, and possibly her major aspirations.
Tied for seventh at five-under 211 are first round leader, China’s Shanshan Feng and South Korea’s Chella Choi. Feng shot and even-par 72 while Choi had a bogey-free three-under 69 to climb into the top 10 on the leaderboard.
Rounding up the top 10 is a six-player tie for ninth at four under 212.
That group is headed by the World’s No. 3 player, American Stacy Lewis (69), fellow compatriots Angela Stanford (69) and Gerina Piller (70), Spaniard Azahara Muñoz (70) and South Koreans Jiyai Shin (70) and Amy Yang (71).
Defending champ, Inbee Park, shot a 73 and is T34 at one-over. Other notables: Karrie Webb (70, T15 three-under), Anna Nordqvist (74, 18th two-under), Lydia Ko (73, T27 even-par), So Yeon Ryu (75, T34 one-over).
Top Canadian Amateur Brook Henderson shot a two-under 70 and took the lead among the amateurs. She is currently T19 at one-under. The World’s Top Amateur, Australian Minjee Lee, shot a one-over 73 and is T27 at even-par, one shot behind Henderson.
The Golf Channel will have the coverage of the final round from 5:00 pm to 9:00 ET. For information the tee times and final pairing you can click here.