Author: AGENCE FRANCE PRESSESun, 2017-03-26ID: 1490518357808686800LOS ANGELES: Mi-rim Lee shrugged off an opening bogey to card six birdies in a five-under 67 on Saturday and seize a one-shot lead after three rounds of the LPGA Kia Classic in Carlsbad, California.With a 13-under total of 203, Lee was one in front of fellow South Korean Mi-Jung Hur, whose seven birdies in a six-under 66 included three in a row to cap her round.It was a further two strokes back to Korea’s In-Gee Chun , who signed for a 67, and American Cristie Kerr, the overnight leader who bogeyed the last for a one-under 71 that left her tied for third on 206.Lee, who captured both of her LPGA tour titles in her rookie season in 2014, finds herself in a familiar position.Two years ago she also held the 54-hole lead, three strokes in front of Kerr — who went on to win the tournament.After her bogey at the first, Lee got going with three birdies in a row from the third through fifth holes, and she added birdies at the ninth, 10th and 16th to take the lead as Kerr endured a roller-coaster of a day.The US veteran had five birdies, but closed the round with the last of her four bogeys.World No. 3 Chun, who shared the first-round lead before spiraling to a 73 on Friday, clawed her way back up the leaderboard with six birdies in her five-under effort.”Stay patient,” she said of her mind-set, and it paid off with a “really good back nine” for the player whose only two LPGA victories have come in major championships.Defending champion and world No. 1 Lydia Ko was absent for the weekend action, having missed the cut for just the second time in her LPGA career on Friday.
Main category: Sports
