Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
China’s Shanshan Feng holds onto U.S. Open lead
BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Shanshan Feng is going to have the president of the United States looking over her shoulder in the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open, and probably a lot of South Korean fans, too.
The 27-year-old from China rolled in a short birdie putt on the final hole Saturday to take a one-shot lead after three rounds of the biggest tournament in women’s golf.
Teenager Hye-Jin Choi and perennial Open challenger Amy Yang were tied for second in an event where the South Koreans have shined.
The top six players chasing Feng are all from South Korea, and you have to go all the way to eighth place to find a U.S. player. That’s Cristie Kerr, who was five shots off the lead.
Feng shot a 1-under 71 to reach 9-under 207 at the president’s Trump National Golf Club.
“Coming to this week, I didn’t have any expectation at all,” said Feng, who has led from the start after shooting a 66 in her quest for a second major. “I just — I wanted to bring out my ‘A’ game. And then I think I did really well for the first three days, and then I’m going to stick to my game plan. I just focus on my own game, and let’s see what happens.”
Choi and Yang each shot 70.
Sung Hyun Park, the top rookie on the LPGA Tour, was 6 under after a 67. Topranked So Yeon Ryu (71), Mirim Lee (67) and Jeongeun6 Lee (73) were 5 under.
Kerr, a former Open winner and a member at this course, was tied at 4 under with Spain’s Carlota Ciganda (72).
Choi, the 17-year-old who is the world’s No.2 ranked amateur, might have been the most consistent player after bogeying her first hole. She birdied Nos. 8, 11 and 16 and just missed another on the final hole.
With the arrival of the president Friday afternoon, security was stepped up Saturday. Dogs sniffed cars driven by players entering the course, and fans and media had to walk through airport-type security checkpoints.