Tavatanakit still leading at major
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Michelle Wie West tumbled out of the ANA Inspiration on a hot, breezy Friday afternoon in the desert. Patty Tavatanakit stayed up top with eight major champions close behind.
Playing for the second straight week after a 21month break, Wie West followed an opening 2under 70 with a birdie-less 79 to miss the cut at Mission Hills in the first major championship of the year.
“Wasn’t a good day,”
Wie West said. “Got a little mucky from the first hole. Was right up against a tree. … I feel like I’ve had some really good moments and some really bad moments. Definitely a lot of positives to take from and definitely have my work cut out for me.”
The long-hitting Tavatanakit took the lead Thursday with an opening 66 and shot a 69 on Friday in 97-degree afternoon heat to reach 9 under, a stroke ahead of Shanshan Feng. International players held the first 19 positions on leaderboard.
“I didn’t want to take it the way that like, ‘Oh, I’m leading a major championship,’” Tavatanakit said. “I just wanted to look at it as it’s another round, it’s another tournament, even though it’s a big tournament.”
Spieth, Wallace in Texas Open tie
Jordan Spieth shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday to move into a tie for the lead heading into the final round of the Valero Texas Open.
Spieth and Englishman Matt Wallace are at 12 under after each player birdied their final two holes of the day. Wallace also posted a 67, and Charley Hoffman is alone in third at 10 under after shooting a 65.
Hoffman was seven shots back after a bogey at No. 4, but he finished up with six birdies and sank a five-foot eagle putt at the 14th. He won here five years ago.
Three consecutive bogeys early on the back nine sent second-round leader Cameron Tringale to a 1-over 73 that put him at 8 under for the tournament. India’s Anirban Lahiri is at 7 under after a 69.
Tom Hoge finished with five birdies and moved up 26 spots on the leaderboard with a third-round 66. He is in a group of four players at 6 under.