Sunday Showdown at the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic
Apr 5, 2014; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA; Shanshan Feng tees off on the fifth hole in the third round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship golf tournament at Mission Hills Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Shanshan Feng shot a 4-under 67 on Saturday at the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic to take sole possession of the lead after three rounds. Feng had three birdies, an eagle and a bogey in her round and leads Rolex Ranked No. 2 Inbee Park (65) and No. 10 Michelle Wie (68) by two shots. Feng will need plenty of red numbers on her scorecard in the final round and has a dangerous group of players at her heels. All five players within four shots of Feng are ranked in the top-13 in the Rolex Rankings: No. 2 Inbee Park (-13), No. 10 Michelle Wie (-13), No. 13 Cristie Kerr (12), No. 3 Lydia Ko (-11) and No. 9 Anna Nordqvist (-11). Feng’s Winning Number: -25 Feng entered the day tied for the lead at 11-under with Hee Young Park, but was 4-under for the day through six to pull ahead. She pushed it to 16-under for the tournament with a birdie on 11 but played 1-over golf the last seven holes, missing a eight-foot birdie on the last that she was noticeably annoyed by entering the scoring tent and thinks the hot starts may have gotten to her.
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Whether she’s down two and needing an eagle on the last or holds a three shot heading to the 18th tee, Feng says she doesn’t peek at the leaderboard. She wasn’t even aware she was leading until Golf Channel course reporter Rich Beem informed her after her round. She’s refused to look at the leaderboard all week and says that won’t change come Sunday. Regardless of the situation come Sunday, her goal remains the same.
"You know, my goal is to get to 25 under and of course now I’m 15, so if I want to get to 25 tomorrow, I need to shoot 10 under – Shanshan Feng"
Doing the math, that means Feng is aiming for a 61 on her Sunday scorecard! Cristie Kerr showed her that can be done on the Grey Silo course.
On the Hunt: Inbee Park & Lydia Ko
Inbee Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Inbee Park has her sights on her first victory of season and looking for the perfect bounce back after losing the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Rankings last week. Through her first 10 events last season, Park had three wins and thinks once she gets one this year, things will really start to click.
"I mean the first win is always very important and that’s going to give me a lot of confidence going into the U.S. Open, that’s for sure — Inbee Park."
Park will be defending champion at the Tour’s next stop in two weeks at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2 and a win at the Manulife would give her the defensive advantage of a huge mental boost in North Carolina. Seventeen-year old Lydia Ko has the chance to take over the No. 1 ranking in the Rolex Rankings with a win this week. The No. 3 ranked player from New Zealand must win and current No. 1 Stacy Lewis must finish 8th or worse for the Kiwi to unseat Lewis after one week at the top. Ko ‘s flawless 64 on Saturday says she’s hot in the mix going into Sunday. Stormy Weather The weather system that caused a three-hour delay in Curtis Cup play at St Louis Country Club yesterday is moving north and east and now threatens the final round at the Manulife. Anticipating and trying to avoid a similar problem at Waterloo, the LPGA has modified the Sunday schedule, will send players off both tees in round three, and moved the leaders tee times up to 10:20 A.M. TV coverage on Golf Channel will air at 2:30-5:00 p.m. ET. Check your local broadcast schedule for airing times.
