Mi Hyang Lee sank a 10-foot par putt on the 18th hole to hang on to the third-round lead at the Evian Championship and sits atop the leaderboard at 10-under par 203, one shot clear of Lexi Thompson.
Mi Hyang Lee sank a 10-foot par putt on the 18th hole to hang on to the third-round lead at the Evian Championship and sits atop the leaderboard at 10-under par 203, one shot clear of Lexi Thompson.
Morgan Pressel, who was playing alongside Lee in the final group, was tied with Lee at 10-under heading to the 18th tee but double bogeyed the last to fall into a tie for third with Lydia Ko at 8-under par. Ko has a chance tomorrow to win her first major championship title.
Denmark’s Nicole Broch Larsen, who won her maiden LET title a week ago, is only three shots off the lead on seven under going into the final round, tied for fifth alongside South Korean Amy Yang and Shanshan Feng of China.
Lee got off to a rocky start with bogeys on her firsts two holes and would battle a stacked leaderboard which included a five-way tie at the top in the final four holes. She picked up four birdies and another bogey en route to a 1-under 70 and said her tough opening holes didn’t get her bothered at all.
“I didn’t worry, no,” said Lee. “Just first two holes. I have another 16 holes today, so that’s fine.”
Lee won her first LPGA title last year at the Mizuno Classic in Japan and is playing for her first major championship. Tomorrow will mark the first time in her four-year career to play in the final group on Sunday.
Lexi Thompson bounced back from a second-round 72 with a 66 on moving day and said a tweak in her putting made the difference. The 20-year old had 36 putts on Friday and just 25 today. She’s playing for her second major championship title.
“I just kind of figured out a little something with my putting that worked and that helped me out today,” said Thompson. “I didn’t hit it that great off the tee today. I hit it a lot better off the tee yesterday, but I just got more putts today.”
Heavy rain moved in late in the round and is forecasted to stay throughout the night and early morning. Players will go off both the 1st and 10th tee on Sunday with the first tee time at 8:23am and last at 10:35am. The prize giving is scheduled for 4pm local time.
Full leaderboard visit: www.ladieseuropeantour.com
