Piller just one shot from Paradise
Lewis, Thompson are co-leaders of LPGA
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Stacy Lewis had two back-nine eagles Saturday in the LPGA Tour’s seasonopening Pure Silk Bahamas Classic to put herself in position again to end a long winless streak.
Lewis shot a 10-under 63 at Ocean Club to match Lexi Thompson atop the leaderboard at 23-under 196, one off the tour 54-hole record for relation to par set by Annika Sorenstam in 2003.
Roswell native Gerina Piller is a stroke back, birdieing the final two holes for her second straight 65. Brittany Lincicome, the leader after each of the first two rounds, had a
69 to fall two shots behind.
“Really just keeping it in the fairway and keeping it close, and I have had several tap-in birdies, which always helps,” Piller said.
“The greens are in great condition and that helps when you hit the ball on line.”
Lewis will join U.S. Solheim Cup teammates Thompson and Piller in the final group today.
“That was probably the best round I think I’ve ever shot on tour in relation to par, so just a cool day,” Lewis said. “I didn’t exactly hit it perfect, got away with a few shots, but just took advantage of it. I didn’t even know what I shot there at the end of the day.”
Lewis was second in the event in 2014 and tied for second last year, one of her 11 runner-up finishes since her last victory in June 2014. She has 11 tour victories, including two majors.
Lewis holed out from the fairway for eagle on the par-5 11th, birdied the next two, dropped a stroke on the par-4 14th but birdied the par-3 17th and made a 12-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th. She had four birdies on the front nine.
“I knew I needed to be aggressive out there today, and it wasn’t pretty at times, wasn’t perfect, but the scorecard turned out great,” Lewis said. “You’ve just got to take advantage. When those miss-hits work out good, you take advantage of it, and that’s what I did today.”
Thompson followed her tournamentrecord 61 on Friday with a 66 in calm conditions. She birdied the final four holes on the front nine and added two more on 14 and 15.
PGA: In San Diego, Brandt Snedeker and Patrick Rodgers share the lead heading into today’s final round of the Farmers Insurance Open.
Rodgers had a bogey-free 5-under 67 while Snedeker shot a 70 and the two are 9-under after three rounds. of Tony Finau (67) and C.T. Pan (69) are one back with eight golfers two shots back and 33 players within five strokes of the co-leaders.
SAUNDERS QUALIFIES: Albuquerque’s Sam Saunders tied for fifth at the PGA Tour Latinoamérica Qualifying School in Bogota, Colombia, assuring him a spot on the tour throughout the season’s first half — which runs through the end of May. The tour takes a break during the summer and resumes in the fall. The top five finishers at year’s end land a spot on the 2018 Web.com Tour, which feeds into the PGA Tour.
“I have a lot of confidence going into the tour’s first event in two weeks,” the 24-year-old Saunders told the Journal on Saturday. “I was playing really well last year until a back injury, but I’m healthy now, working hard and my game has never been better.”
The former La Cueva High and University of New Mexico golf star had rounds of 70-70-68-72 for a 4-under 280 in the qualifier, which ended Friday.