Ko leads at Women’s PGA
New Zealander shoots 1-under 70; Berger ahead at St. Jude
SAMMAMISH, Wash. (AP) — When Lydia Ko won the last two major championships, she was the one lurking behind.
On Sunday at Sahalee, the top-ranked Ko will take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. “I can’t control what the other girls are doing,” the 19-year-old Ko said. “So (I’ll) just try my best out there. We’ve still got a long 18 holes to go.”
Ko shot a 1-under 70 on Saturday to reach 2-under 211. She won the Evian Championship in September in France for her first major title and took the ANA Inspiration in April in California, giving her a chance to become the fifth player in tour history to win three straight majors.
“It’s really cool to, obviously, have my name in those records among those amazing players. And I think that’s the really cool thing about it,” Ko said. “But when I’m out there I’m not thinking so much about records and what could happen.”
Ko used her deft shortgame to save shots on the 16th and 17th holes, but couldn’t avoid dropping a stroke at the last, when her third shot went to the back of the green and she missed a 15-foot par putt.
Brittany Lincicome and Gerina Piller were tied for second. They each shot 71, with Lincicome also bogeying the 18th. Second round co-leaders Brooke Henderson and Mirim Lee each shot 73 to drop into the group at even par. Only three players were under par, even as Sahalee played easier after overnight rain.
Daniel Berger shot n a 1-under 69 in hot and sticky conditions at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, giving him a three-stroke lead over Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker and D.A. Points.
Berger, the 2014-15 Rookie of the Year who had led after a round on tour only once before this event, back in 2014, now has led consecutive rounds as he looks for his first PGA Tour victory. Berger had four birdies, a bogey and a double bogey to reach 10-under 200.
Mickelson (68), Stricker (66) and Points (64) were 7 under. Seungyul Noh (67), Colt Knost (67) and Brooks Koepka (69) were 6 under.
With so many experienced players and big names chasing him on a day where the temperature was close to 100 degrees, Berger hit 13 of 18 greens playing conservatively enough with six straight pars at one point that he finished Saturday with the same threestroke lead he had after the second round.
Bernhard Langer n was all alone under par at windy Philadelphia Cricket Club.
The 58-year-old German also was in position to win the Constellation Senior Players Championship for the third straight year, shooting a 1-under 69 to reach 2-under 208 and take a three-stroke lead over Jay Don Blake with a round left.
After playing the first 11 holes in 2 over with two birdies and four bogeys, Langer birdied the par-4 12th to get back to even par for the tournament. He added birdies on the par5 15th and par-3 16th and closed with two pars on the A.W. Tillinghast-designed Wissahickon Course.
South Africa’s Zander n Lombard overcame a triple bogey to shoot a 4-under 68 and take the third-round lead in the Lyoness Open on Saturday. Winless on the European Tour, Lombard had an 11-under 205 total at Diamond Country Club in Atzenbrugg, Austria.
China’s Wu Ashun was a stroke back after a 65.