Shibuno has 1-shot lead in U.S. Open
Hinako Shibuno passed a big test Saturday in a classic U.S. Women’s Open that put a premium on par, keeping the lead with a 3-over-par 74 going into a final round at Champions Golf Club in Houston that figures to be the toughest of all.
Shibuno led by four shots when she made her lone birdie on the par-5 fifth hole, and then it was a matter of hanging on for dear life on a rain-softened course that made it tough to control shots with splatters of mud on the golf ball.
She bogeyed the final hole from a bunker and her lead was down to one shot over Amy Olson, who nearly holed out from the 17th fairway and shot a 71 that felt much lower.
Moriya Jutanugarn, playing in the same group as her two-time major champion sister, Ariya, was right in the mix until she bladed a bunker shot to the back of the 17th green and threeputted for a double bogey. She still managed a 72 and was three behind, among only four players who remained under par.
The other was Ji Yeong Kim2 of South Korea, who was on the opposite end of the Cypress Creek course. Kim2 made the cut with one shot to spare and shot a 67 — one of only two rounds under par — that moved her into a tie for third. Kim finished by chipping in for birdie on the par-5 ninth hole.
Shibuno was at 4-under 209 as she bids to become the first player since Se Ri Pak in 1998 to win majors for her first two LPGA
Tour victories. Pak did it a few months apart in 1998. Shibuno won the Women’s British Open last year at Woburn, and declined to take up LPGA membership because she didn’t think she was ready.
Now her only way to join the LPGA is to win on Sunday, and it doesn’t figure to be easy. With rain in the forecast, the USGA has moved up starting times as early as possible, with the first group starting at 7:45 a.m.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Patrick Reed rolled in an 8-foot birdie putt at the last hole to move into a three-way tie for the thirdround lead at the World Tour Championship, keeping him on track to become the first American to finish a season as the European Tour’s No. 1 player. Reed, who shot 1-under 71, was tied with Englishmen Laurie Canter (68) and Matt Fitzpatrick (69) at 11under overall in the season-ending event at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Reed leads the Race to Dubai standings and will be assured of winning what was formerly known as the Order of Merit title with a victory.
QBE SHOOTOUT
Matt Kuchar and Harris English took a fivestroke lead in the QBE Shootout, opening and closing with long birdie runs for an 11-under 61 in modified alternate-shot play. Kuchar and English birdied the first five holes on Tiburon Golf Club’s Gold Course in Naples, then ran off six in a row on Nos. 12-17. They had a 25-under 125 total after opening the 12-team event Friday with a 58 in the scramble format. The final round will be better ball. Kevin Na and Sean O’Hair, the first-round leaders at 56, were second after a 68.