The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Morikawa’s stumble give contenders a shot
BRADENTON, Fla. — PGA champion Collin Morikawa made seven birdies in an eight-hole stretch Saturday and made it look as though no one could catch him. All it took was two bad holes to turn the Workday Open into a chase.
Morikawa shot a 5-under 67 at the Concession Golf Club, a reasonable score except for what it could have been. When he drove to the front of the green on the 316yard 12th hole and made an 8-foot birdie, he was at 17-under par and no one else was closer than five shots.
He wound up leading by two shots over Brooks Koepka, who got his mistakes out the way early and shot 70, and Billy Horschel. who had a 69.
Rory McIlroy, who made a double bogey for the second straight day, was hopeful of getting to 10 under to at least give himself a chance. He did one better with a 66, including an eagle on the par-5 13th that gave so many players fits, and wound up just four shots behind.
Morikawa was at 15-under 201.
His troubles began on the par-13th, and it looked harmless enough when he put his approach from the rough into the bunker and blasted out to just under 25 feet for look at yet another birdie. Except that he left his putt 6 feet short, and missed the next one to take bogey.
“I never got it going again,” Morikawa said.
He also made bogey on the par-5 17th, the easiest hole at Concession on Saturday, by finding a bunker off the tee, having to lay up short of the water, and then hitting into another bunker.
Morikawa found plenty of positives. He still had a two-shot lead. His putting stroke feels better than ever, and a chipping tip from Concession member Paul Azinger has left him confident on the short-game shots off the Bermuda grass.
Koepka is thankful he still has a chance.
KORDA LEADS LPGA AS SORENSTAM FALTERS
ORLANDO, Fla.— Nelly Korda surged into the lead in the Gainbridge LPGA with a 4-under 68 that left her in position to make it consecutive wins for the Korda family to start the season.
Annika Sorenstam sank to the bottom. Korda, whose older sister Jessica won the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions last month to start the new LPGA Tour season, dropped only one shot on a breezy day at Lake Nona to lead by one over Patty Tavatanakit.
Sorenstam, playing for the first time in more than 12 years after retiring, had no expectations and no excuses. She kept leaving herself in bad spots around the green and finished with a 79. That put her in last place by four shots, 22 shots behind Korda.
The 50-year-old Swede was making a one-time appearance because the tournament was brought to her home course, and she was happy enough to make the cut on the number.
“We put every effort into every single shot,” she said. “Just wasn’t meant to be today. Another day tomorrow. I got two bonus days this week, so that’s a good thing.”
Korda was at 13-under 203, one shot ahead of Tavatanakit, the blossoming Thai star who needed only a half-dozen starts on the Symetra Tour to earn her LPGA card when she left UCLA.
Tavatanakit closed with four birdies over her last five holes, including the last three, for a 66. She will be in the final group Sunday with Korda and Angel Yin, who had a 65 and was three shots behind.
Lydia Ko, the 36-hole leader trying to win for the first time in nearly three years, also was three shots behind. Ko fell back with a double bogey on the 12th hole, and then a bogey on the 18th.
Also at 10-under 203 was Jin Young Ko, the No. 1 player in women’s golf, who shot a 66 to get in position.
CAMPOS TIED FOR LEAD IN PUERTO RICO OPEN
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — Local favorite Rafael Campos took a share of the lead in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open, waiting out a series of rain delays to shoot a 5-under 67 at windy Grand Reserve.
The 32-year-old from San Juan followed a birdie on the par-4 17th with a bogey on the par-5 18th to drop into a tie for the lead with Grayson Murray at 14-under 202.
“I know there’s a lot of things that can basically change my life tomorrow,” Campos said. “But truth is, I’m just really happy. I have been playing good golf the last two weeks, and I really want to keep that mindset of the work I have been putting in the last four months, I’m starting to see good results.”