Australia’s Grace Kim and her US teammate Auston Kim have slipped off the lead but remain in contention at 13 under, just two shots adrift going into the final round of the Dow Championship in Michigan.
American pair Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho handled the strong wind and tough foursomes format best to card a three-under 67 for a one-shot lead at 15 under after 54 holes.
South Korea’s Haeji Kang and In Kyung Kim were tied for second alongside former world No.1s Atthaya Thitikul, of Thailand, and China’s Ruoning Yin.
Grace Kim and Auston Kim had been part of a five-way tie for the lead going into the third round and managed a 69 as they finished the day still in touch in a two-way tie for fourth.
The final round is fourballs, the easier format to score.
“We knew that foursomes were not going to be too low score-wise,” Grace Kim said.
“We tried our best, and the wind was up there. It got a bit gusty, club selection was crucial.
“We just tried to keep it in play and make as many pars as we could. If we had birdie opportunities, we’d take them.
“One under is a pretty decent score, especially with the conditions we had.”
Also two shots back were Amanda Doherty and Caroline Inglis, who posted a 66.
“I didn’t really know where we stood. I knew we were near the top,” Kupcho said of taking the lead into the final day.
“Honestly, I don’t think it matters going into tomorrow. A one-shot lead isn’t that much when it’s the format of best ball tomorrow.
“Somebody can go out and shoot 11 under. It’s just (about) going out and focusing on our own game.”
Kang and In Kim had the low score of the day, a 65 that included an eagle on the par-4 fifth hole where the tees were moved forward to make it reachable.
Kang hit a driver to near perfection over the water, setting up a short eagle putt.
They were at six under for the round until the South Koreans made their lone bogey on the 18th.
Thitikul and Yin lost some momentum in the easier fourballs format on Friday, carding a 66 that was two shots worse than their opening foursomes score.
And they got off to a rough start on Saturday, making bogey on the par-5 third hole and double bogey on the next one.
But they picked up the pace, responding to the double bogey with three straight birdies, and picking up four more birdies on the back nine.
Thitikul polished it off with a 20-foot birdie putt on the last hole.
“We had a rough start, which is me being stupid,” Yin said.
“I made a couple of mistakes (but) we bounced back in the way we were tough out there.”
– with AAP
https://thewest.com.au/sport/golf/aussie-grace-kim-two-shots-off-lead-in-dow-championship-c-15192121
