Tie for lead at Women’s Championship
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. — Danielle Kang got a text message from Wayne Gretzky on Saturday morning. Caitlyn Jenner called Friday, and four-time major winner Hollis Stacy also reached out.
Lots of high-profile support for Kang as she goes for her first major championship.
The 24-year-old Kang and Chella Choi shared the lead heading into the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Kang won the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2010 in 2011, but she has never won an LPGA Tour tournament.
“It would be incredible to be called a major champion, especially out on this tour,” Kang said.
She got a boost before her afternoon tee time when Gretzky, like Jenner a friend from her days at Sherwood Country Club in California, passed along a simple message.
“He said, ‘Just go win it,’ ” Kang recalled. “And you know, I was like, ‘It’s third round.’ And I was like, ‘Thank you, Wayne.’ And he’s like, ‘You just go, get it done.’ Caitlyn Jenner called me yesterday. I have a lot of people just beyond that, just calling me up and encouraging me to just keep playing my game and that they are rooting for me. I love it.”
While several of the LPGA’s biggest stars challenged for the lead, it was Kang and Choi on top after a challenging day at an increasingly difficult Olympia Fields. The 26-year-old Choi hit 11 of 14 fairways on her way to a bogey-free 67.
Kang birdied the par-5 18th for a 68, joining Choi at 10 under and setting up an unlikely final pairing for the fourth round.
“I feel very good right now,” the 26-year-old Choi said. “My shot and my putting, very good before last couple weeks. So I have a confidence and, you know, like my father’s come back to here, so I’m very excited to work with my dad and he give me a lot of confidence.”
Choi’s father, Ji Yeon Choi, is caddying for her again after her play suffered when he retired following her only LPGA Tour victory in the 2015 Marathon Classic.
“I played bad, so my mom tell to my dad, go help Chella, why are you staying here?” Chella Choi said.
Jiyai Shin rocketed up the leaderboard with a 64, the best round of the day and good enough for third all by herself at 8 under. Defending champion Brooke Henderson was another stroke back after a 69, and Amy Young and Sei Young Kim were tied for fifth at 6 under.
Kang and Kim were tied for the lead after the second round. While Kim stumbled to a 72, the 24-year-old Kang had five birdies and two bogeys.
She saved par with a perfect bunker shot on No. 12 and then birdied the par-4 14th to get to 10 under for the first time. She gave a shot back with just her second bogey of the tournament on 16, but recovered with another nice bunker shot to set up her closing birdie.
“I’ve been working on my game every day to get better,” Kang said. “Like I said previously, all I could do is work on my game and hope that every day, just chip away at your game and it gets better every day and that’s where it’s getting at. Every year, I’ve just been performing better. I have trust in my own game.”
Thompson contended for the first major title of the year, but was penalized for a controversial rules violation and lost to Ryu in a playoff in the ANA Inspiration.
U.S. SENIOR OPEN
PEABODY, Mass. — Kirk Triplett watched a TV documentary on the Celtics and Lakers before teeing off in the U.S. Senior Open on Saturday, then he and Kenny Perry tried to turn the tournament into a two-man show Larry Bird and Magic Johnson would be proud of.
Starting the day tied at a record 11 under and playing together in the final group, Triplett and Perry turned a two-stroke edge into a five-shot advantage over their nearest competition. Triplett shot a 4-under 66 to improve to 15 under, and Perry was right with him until a bogey on No. 18 dropped him a stroke back.
“It felt like match play, the two of us have separated ourselves a little bit from the field and he kept putting pressure on,” Perry said. “He’s unreal. He doesn’t make many mistakes. I’m going to have to really play good tomorrow to get ahead of him.”
Denying that he was pandering to the Boston crowds, Triplett said he’s been a fan of Bird’s since the 1979 NCAA championship game. He also played golf with Hall of Famer Kevin McHale this spring and called it one of his most enjoyable rounds ever.
Then, Triplett arrived in Celtics territory ready to go one-on-one with Perry.
The two matched each other birdie for birdie and were tied on the 18th, when Perry wound up in the rough above and to the left of the pin. He chipped it past the hole and down a ridge but was able to leave himself a tap-in for bogey.
Brandt Jobe matched the tournament record with a 62 — the same score that Triplett had on Thursday — shooting 29 on the back nine to move into third. Fred Couples and Tom Lehman each shot 70 to head into the final round at Salem Country Club tied for fourth, at 7 under.
QUICKEN LOANS NATIONAL
POTOMAC, Md. — David Lingmerth lost his way off the tee but scrambled well enough to stay in the lead.
The 29-year-old Swede shot a 3-over 73 on Saturday after starting the tournament with two consecutive 65s. That was enough to maintain a one-shot lead at tough TPC Potomac.
Lingmerth’s three-day total of 7-under 203 was one better than Daniel Summerhays, who played solidly from tee to green but couldn’t get many putts to fall. He shot 70.
Spencer Levin, who teed off two hours ahead of Lingmerth, was third at 5 under after the best round of the day, a 65.
There was little wind Saturday, and the greens were softened by a thunderstorm that caused a 90-minute delay, but TPC Potomac played as difficult as ever.