Six weeks ago, Narin An and Hye-Jin Choi played together as teammates at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. Tomorrow in Canada, they’ll again play together, but this time as leading competitors at the CP Women’s Open. An and Choi, both 2022 LPGA Tour rookies who have already tasted victory on the KLPGA Tour, are tied for the lead at -16 through 54 holes, both aiming to become the eighth Rolex First-Time Winner of the 2022 LPGA Tour season.
An, 26, shot a 3-under 68 on Saturday, carding four birdies on the day but also making her first bogey of the week on No. 13. This marks the first time she heads to the final round of an LPGA Tour event atop the leaderboard. “I didn’t like my play today as much as I did yesterday and two days ago. But I think not making any big mistakes is a positive to take away,” said An, who took medalist honors at the 2021 LPGA Q-Series to earn LPGA Tour Membership. " What was different today was my shots were a bit shaky and some of the putts didn’t go in.”
Choi is not a newcomer at the top of an LPGA Tour leaderboard. As an amateur, she finished third at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open, and she lost in a playoff at the 2020 ISPS Handa Vic Open. Add two top-five finishes in 2022 major championships and it feels like the 23-year-old is due to finally grab her first LPGA Tour win. Her 5-under 66 on Saturday was tied for the low round of the day, despite opening with a three-putt bogey on No. 1.
“I got to the green in two on two par 5s, and felt comfortable getting low scores,” said Choi. “Early on today though, it was a bit shaky with the shot not feeling well, but in the latter half of the round, the same feeling when I was hitting well came back. Shots felt comfortable and I putted with more confidence and that led to a good result.”
South Africa’s Paula Reto continued her solid play on Saturday, shooting a bogey-free 67 to hold down solo third at -15. Like An and Choi, Reto is looking for the first win of her LPGA Tour career, but hers would come in her ninth season. “It was a good day today kind of overall, but I'm excited for tomorrow,” said Reto, who added that she worked on her putting with noted Canadian coach Gareth Raflewski this week. “I'm going to try to do the same routine.”
Americans Sarah Schmelzel and Nelly Korda are tied for fourth at -14. With a win, Korda is projected to move to No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings for the first time since Jan. 30, 2022, just before she was sidelined for four months due to a blood clot in her left arm.
A trio of players are tied for sixth at -12, including Danielle Kang, who is playing in her first event since June after undergoing treatment for a tumor on her spine.
Brooke Henderson said on Friday she needed to go low on Moving Day to have a chance to win her second CP Women’s Open. It looked early like she was well on her way, playing her first nine in 2 under. But a missed green at No. 12 led to her first bogey of the day, and on the next hole, Henderson made double bogey after finding water off the tee. A three-putt bogey at the par-3 15th gave the Canadian superstar a 2-over 73 on Saturday and dropped her into a tie for 60th at -3 overall.
“I feel like I'm hitting the ball well. Obviously made a couple mistakes that cost me big on the back nine today. But for the most part, giving myself so many birdie looks and the putter hasn't been there. Some weeks are just like that,” said Henderson. “I'm honored to be out here in front of so many people and excited that they want to come watch me play golf. You know, hopefully I can just finish strong tomorrow.”
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