San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
GRANT SETTLES FOR 60, LEAD
Linn Grant missed a chance to become the second LPGA Tour player to break 60. Putting herself in position for a breakthrough victory in the Dana Open was a big consolation on a long, rainy Saturday at Highland Meadows in Sylvania, Ohio.
Nine under on her first 13 holes, Grant played the final five in even par for a 9-under 62. Fellow Swede Annika Sorenstam is the lone LPGA Tour player to shoot 59, accomplishing the feat in the 2001 Standard Register Ping at par-72 Moon Valley in Phoenix.
“There was a spectator who called it out in my face,” Grant said when asked if she thought about a 59. “He just came up to me and he said, ‘Do you think you have a 59 in you?’ And then all of a sudden I was like, ‘Oh, God.’ So, I just tried to just not focus on it at all.”
Two strokes back entering the round, Grant had an 18-under 195 total to take a six-stroke lead over U.S. Women’s Open champion Allisen Corpuz (68), Stephanie Kyriacou (65), Maria Fassi (67), Matilda Castren (67) and Emily Pedersen (67).
Seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, the 24-year-old Grant won the Jabra Ladies Open in May in France for her fifth Ladies European Tour title in two seasons.
Grant opened with a par Saturday and birdied the next four. After a rain delay of 3 hours, 48 minutes, she resumed play on No. 8 and added a birdie on No. 9 for a front-nine 29. She holed out from 148 yards for eagle on the par-4 11th and birdied Nos. 12 and 13.
“Eleven was amazing,” Grant said. “I hit a really good drive and a really good second shot, it just took one bounce pretty much and went in. I think it’s my first hole-out eagle, probably. Just really cool.”
Elsewhere
Rory Mcilroy made just enough birdie putts for a 3under 67 in increasingly windy conditions to keep his one-shot lead over Tom Kim in the Genesis Scottish Open in Gullane.
Starting times were moved up to early morning Saturday because of heavy rain expected in the afternoon. Today’s forecast called for wind of around 30 mph, and that was before gusts. Today’s start is 3:45 a.m. (PT), even earlier than the third round.
• PGA Tour rookie Trevor Cone shot a 9-under 63 at rainy Keene Trace in Nicholasville, Ky., to take the thirdround lead in the Barbasol Championship.
Cone had a 17-under 199 total for a one-stroke advantage over Lucas Glover and Vincent Norrman in the event co-sanctioned by the European tour.
• Steve Stricker shot a 5under 65 for a share of the lead with Harrison Frazar in the Kaulig Companies Championship, the fourth of the PGA Tour Champions’ five major tournaments.
Frazar had a 70 to match Stricker at 7-under 203 at Firestone in Akron, Ohio, with the third-round tee times moved up in a successful bid to dodge afternoon rain.
• Stephen Curry made a hole-in-one in the American Century Championship celebrity tournament and takes a 3-point lead into the final round in Stateline, Nev., over Stars forward Joe Pavelski and former tennis player Mardy Fish.