Akiko Fukushima takes a 1-shot lead on Na Zhang heading into the final round of the World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup tomorrow. But hot on their heels are Ji-Yai Shin, Sakura Yokomine, and Yukari Baba. For the second straight round, first-round leader Zhang held steady at 72 to remain at -4 and Fukushima went under par, but even with a final-hole bogey her 70 was enough to get her to -5. Shin made the biggest move of the day with a scintillating 68, which included an eagle on the par-5 11th; if it were not for a bogey on the short-par-4 14th, she would have caught Zhang in a single round. Baba shot a 71 to catch Yokomine, who stood firm at -2.
Almost every other big name moved backwards in a big way, however. Mi-Jeong Jeon improved to E with a 71 and has an outside chance of getting in the mix on the final 9 holes, but the only other leader to improve her position was Miho Koga, whose 71 moved her to +3 (T8 with Shinobu Moromizato), one shot behind Yuko Mitsuka, whose 74 dropped her out of contention. More typical were Bo-Bae Song's 77 (+5, T14), Shiho Ohyama's 76 (+6, T19), Se Ri Pak and Miki Saiki's 76s (+9, T34), and Yuri Fudoh's 75 (+11, T46). Those who bucked the trend and simply had mediocre rounds--like Hyun-Ju Shin (73, +8, T25), Yun-Jye Wei (74, +8, T25), and Pei-Lin Yu (73, +9, T34)--were so far out of contention heading into the weekend that even a top 10 seems like a long shot. The only exceptions were Ji-Hee Lee (74) and Erina Hara (73), who only fell back to +5, T14 with Song.
But the big question is whether China's Zhang or South Korea's Shin can stare down Japan's Fukushima, Yokomine, and Baba down the stretch in the JLPGA's first major. Recall that in late March at the Yokohama PRGR Ladies Cup Fukushima was leading a tournament with Shin and Yokomine chasing her at the start of the final round, but it ended up being a showdown between the KLPGA's and JLPGA's top golfers. Yokomine hasn't contended since her putter betrayed her down the stretch that weekend; she lost that playoff as much if not more than Shin won it. The wild cards this week are Zhang, in her first tournament back on the JLPGA after taking several weeks off to treat her ailing back in China, and Baba, who made a hole-in-one during her final round of the Life Card Ladies Championship to hold off Shinobu Moromizato and Midori Yoneyama for the win. It should be quite a memorable final round!
[Update (7:20 am): Be sure to read stories from the Japanese media posted at the Seoul Sisters discussion board, even if you're not rooting for Shin, Jeon, Song, Lee, or Pak!
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