Saturday, May 3, 2014

North Texas LPGA Shootout Saturday: Stacy Lewis and Meena Lee Share Lead, But 23 Are Within 5 Shots of Them

The North Texas LPGA Shootout is certainly living up to its name, as Stacy Lewis's 69 and Meena Lee's 70 moved them to -9, which leaves 23 golfers within 5 shots of their lead heading into the final round.

The biggest names chasing them--Suzann Pettersen at -8, Cristie Kerr and Natalie Gulbis at -7, Inbee Park and Na Yeon Choi at -6, Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson at -5, and Lorie Kane and Pat Hurst at -4--are certainly big threats.  But with so many surprises--including Julieta Granada at -8, Christina Kim at -7, and Alena Sharp at -4--Lewis and Lee will have to keep the pedal to the metal tomorrow.  And let's not count out youngsters like Dori Carter at -8, Jenny Shin at -7 (the only golfer to stay under 70 all 3 rounds thus far), Jennifer Johnson at -7 (her 65 was the low round of the day), Thidapa Suwannapura at -7 (she hasn't made a bogey in 35 holes and counting), or Kim Kaufman at -7 (she's made 11 birdies in her last 36 holes)!

Unfortunately, Angela Stanford was among those who made the cut yesterday but not today.  Others included Karen Stupples, Laura Diaz, Sun Young Yoo, Jessica Korda, Ayako Uehara, Danielle Kang, and Xi Yu Lin.  Others made the top 50 but will need a miracle to contend tomorrow, such as Azahara Munoz at -1, Brittany Lang at -2, and Tiffany Joh, Mina Harigae, Jennifer Song, and Chella Choi at -3.

The way things have been going, though, it's hard to count anyone out.  We've seen people playing well this week blow up for a day (and not in a good way), while we've also seen a good number of rounds in the mid-60s.  So it's looking like we're going to have an old-fashioned Sunday shootout.  Hope Golf Channel brought enough cameras this week!

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