NAPLES, Fla. — Nasa Hataoka had a powerful begin and Amy Yang had a scorching end, ending with a share of the lead within the CME Group Tour Championship with 18 holes left and $2 million on the road.
Yang had 4 birdies on her closing six holes at Tiburon for an 8-under 64. Hataoka set the tempo early with 5 birdies in her first 11 holes and completed with a 65.
They had been at 21-under 195, scoring so low that they already are inside two photographs of the event file with one spherical to go.
“It does really feel fairly nervous being in rivalry, however I by no means thought like I’ve to observe the 9 below par yesterday, as a result of golf you by no means know,” mentioned Yang, who shot 63 on Friday. “However I did strive my finest simply to remain like current, and once I resolve to hit one shot and simply decide to it and go for it.”
Hataoka was requested what it could take to win, realizing $2 million goes to the winner.
“To not change something,” she mentioned. “My swing feels actually snug. … I feel the most effective is to simply focus on my spherical and simply preserve that out of my thoughts and simply do my golf.”
Alison Lee, who got here into the LPGA finale with a Women European Tour win and two runner-up finishes on the LPGA Tour, tried to maintain tempo. She managed solely 4 birdies, three of them on the par 5s, and needed to accept a 68.
That also left her solely three photographs behind with a lot using on Sunday.
The 60 gamers who certified for the ultimate occasion of the LPGA Tour solely must win at Tiburon Golf Membership to assert the $2 million prize, matching the richest in ladies’s golf equal to the U.S. Ladies’s Open. Solely six ladies have earned $2 million or extra all season.
Yang might be attempting to win in America for the primary time. Her 4 LPGA victories have are available South Korea as soon as and Thailand thrice.
Hataoka has six LPGA titles, all inside the final 5 years, and the 24-year-old from Japan rode a scorching putter to provide herself an opportunity.
“She performed superb, made quite a lot of actually good putts,” mentioned Lee, who performed with Hataoka. “So watching that, I noticed her make some and it’s like, ‘God, I wish to make some, too.’ However we nonetheless bought yet one more day left. Nonetheless quite a lot of work to do on Sunday.”
Xiyu Lin had a 66 and was 4 photographs behind, nonetheless very a lot within the hunt. One other shot again had been Ladies’s PGA champion Ruoning Yin and two-time main champion Minjee Lee, each with a 69 on a day when rather more was required to maintain tempo.
“You may’t actually complain with the bogey-free spherical,” Yin mentioned. “As we speak I simply make much less birdies than two days in the past, however every little thing I really feel like just a bit bit off.”
Tiburon bought 4 inches of rain on the eve of the event and the course has but to dry out and supply a lot of a take a look at. The fairways are beneficiant, the greens mushy and easy, and the scoring has been low.
Jin Younger Ko set the event file at 23 below par two years in the past.
Nelly Korda tried to remain shut, making her first hole-in-one on the LPGA Tour on the par-3 eighth. However she had consecutive bogeys late on the again 9 and needed to accept a 66. That left her seven photographs behind, tied with world No. 1 Lilia Vu (66), Brooke Henderson of Canada (66) and Atthaya Thitikul (69).
“Positively nothing-to-lose mentality,” Korda mentioned. “It’s going to take a very low one to catch the leaders. I might say something is feasible. I’m going to exit attempting to play my recreation and take it one shot at a time and see the place that takes me.”
Vu all however clinched the points-based award for LPGA Participant of the Yr. She wanted to complete eighth to guarantee herself the title, however that was provided that Celine Boutier had been to win. Boutier had one other 70 and was 14 photographs behind in a tie for thirty fifth.
