Group 38 – So Yeon Ryu and Lydia Ko – 1:15 p.m.
Birthday girl Lydia Ko is chasing the ultimate gift on Sunday in the hopes of capturing her third consecutive win at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic. But the two-time defending champion has her work cut out for her if she wants to catch leader Haru Nomura. Ko starts the day 6-strokes back of the lead at 4-under par. Last year, Ko came from 3-strokes back of 54-hole leader Brooke Henderson to force a playoff with Morgan Pressel, which she won on the second playoff hole.
Ko plays alongside So Yeon Ryu in the final round. Ryu got off to a hot start on day one, posting a Tournament course record 9-under par, 63 but has been unable to back it up this week, following with over-par rounds of 75 and 73. Sunday she’ll look to recapture the magic she found on day one in order to catch Nomura, five strokes ahead.
Group 40 – Na Yeon Choi and Brooke Henderson - 1:35 p.m.
Na Yeon Choi was just one of three players in the top-10 to card an under-par round on Saturday. Choi battled tough conditions to post a 1-under par, 71 to remain 3-strokes back of Nomura heading into the final round.
Brooke Henderson carded one of the low rounds of the day on Saturday with a 3-under par, 69 which included a chip in on at the par 5, 18th to finish the day five strokes back of Nomura. Henderson knows what it takes to make a charge on Sunday. She hasn’t posted one final round over-par in 2016. Henderson held the 54-hole lead in this event last year and finished third for the week.
Group 41 – Haru Nomura and Lee-Anne Pace – 1:45 p.m.
Lee-Anne Pace joins Henderson in posting one of Saturday’s low rounds with a 3-under par, 69. Her recent changes to her game, including changes to her workout regime has served her well in recent weeks, posting back-to-back top-15 finishes heading into this week’s event.
36 and 54-hole leader Haru Nomura held on to the top spot on the leaderboard on moving day. While her nearest competitors backed up in the windy conditions, Nomura carded a 1-under par, 71 to maintain the 3-stroke lead with which she started the day. She’ll need that same resiliency Sunday in what is expected to be another windy test at Lake Merced Golf Club.
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