Saturday, May 1, 2010

Tres Marias Championship Saturday: Miyazato Retakes the Lead, But Can She Stay Ahead of Wie, Lincicome, Lewis, Choi, and Ochoa After 72 Holes?

Ai Miyazato retook the lead at the Tres Marias Championship today with a 71 that brought her back to -13, her total under par through her 1st 32 holes. Going E over her last 22 holes has allowed loads of players to climb back into contention, including the ones who passed her and who caught her at the 36-hole mark, Michelle Wie and Brittany Lincicome, respectively. They had their own problems, however, as each went +2 over their last 4 holes to fall 1 behind Miyazato. Stacy Lewis (69, -11), Na Yeon Choi (71, -11), and Lorena Ochoa (70, -10) all leaked some oil on the back, too, but are well within striking range tomorrow.

The round of the day belonged to Amanda Blumenherst, her 2nd 68 of the tournament. Were it not for her 3 double bogeys yesterday, she'd be right in the mix, as well. Dropping out of contention, however, were Karen Stupples (77, -3), Jeong Jang (79, -1), Jee Young Lee (80, -1), and Kristy McPherson (79, -1). Tres Marias is either feast or famine this week, it seems.

For more on moving day, check out Hound Dog's excellent run-down of the leaders' rounds!

[Update 1 (9:04 pm): Beth Ann Baldry does a great job setting the scene, particularly on the tough par-5 18th.]

[Update 2 (9:09 pm): Here are the key pairings tomorrow:

Start Time: 11:41 AM
Stacy Lewis
Na Yeon Choi
Lorena Ochoa

Start Time: 11:52 AM
Ai Miyazato
Brittany Lincicome
Michelle Wie

I don't expect anyone to make a charge from back in the pack because of the big scoring gap between those going off early enough to avoid wind for most of their rounds and those in the lead chase pack.]

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