LPGA Championship Saturday: Rookies Rolling, Super Sophs Sailing, Pettersen, Webb, and Ochoa Lurking (and, Yes, Annika Still Has a Chance)

After a sizzling 65 got her to -10 for the tournament, rookie Na On Min will be in the final group on Sunday with Suzann Pettersen, who twice got to -10 (on the front after two early birdies and on the back after an early eagle) but could only manage a 71 (thanks to a pair of late bogeys on the front and a double on the back) and ended the day alone in second at -9. Fellow rookie Angela Park fired a bogey-free 68 to catch Karrie Webb at -8. Still in the hunt are Super Soph Morgan Pressel at -7 (who had a solid 70) and Kim Saiki-Maloney at -6 (whose 70 was more of a roller coaster, with many birdies at the beginning and end of the round and bogeys in between).

There are big groups at -5 and -4 with only a slim chance of victory, but of course you should never count out bombers like Lorena Ochoa, Brittany Lincicome, or Jee Young Lee in the former group or surgeons like Paula Creamer, Sarah Lee, or even Annika Sorenstam (who closed with 3 birdies in her final 5 holes to salvage what could have been a disastrous round) in the latter. Stacy Prammanasudh (-3, 18th place), Laura Davies (-2, T19), and Mi Hyun Kim (-2, T19) are probably too far back to catch the leaders, but they're right in the thick of the race for the top 10 and will have to outplay not only those ahead of them but also people like Jeong Jang, Shi Hyun Ahn, Seon Hwa Lee, and Meena Lee 1 or 2 shots behind them.

Once again the golf gods and the LPGA have had some fun with pairings. Pressel and Saiki-Maloney have both had equipment issues of late (as everyone knows by now, the former's clubs were lost or stolen following her win in the year's first major and in interviews this week the latter explained that much of her bad play this year could be attributed to a bad club fitting early in the season); fellow Scots Catriona Matthew and Mhairi McKay will be trying to feed off each other's good play and post a good early number in the 12:42 pm group; fellow Koreans with lackluster seasons to date Shi Hyun Ahn and Meena Lee will be trying to do the same in the 12:24 group; and players whose games seem quite similar to me, such as Karrie Webb and Angela Park (2:16), Paula Creamer and Sarah Lee (1:22), Annika Sorenstam and Stacy Prammanasudh (1:13), and In-Kyung Kim and Mi-Hyun Kim (1:04), will be playing head-to-head.

So all in all it's shaping up to be a great final round in the LPGA's second major. Too bad I won't be able to find out who wins/won until we get home from Chiba!