Mexico City, Mexico (SportsNetwork.com) – Christina Kim carded a third-round,
4-under 68 on Saturday and she will look to go wire-to-wire as she takes a 5-
shot lead into the final day at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
Kim, who began the day just one shot ahead of Paula Creamer, finished 54 holes
at 14-under-par 202. Her last win on tour came at the 2005 Tournament of
Champions.
“I’m just here to enjoy myself and really just go out and try and play some
good golf and try to give the people of Mexico something to enjoy while we’re
out here,” Kim said.
Shanshan Feng also shot a 68 at Club de Golf Mexico, which vaulted her into
sole possession of second place at 9-under 207. So Yeon Ryu (69), Pornanong
Phatlum (71) and Azahara Munoz (71) are all tied for third at minus-8.
World No. 1 Inbee Park got her name into the mix with a 3-under 69 and she is
alone in sixth at 7-under 209. Defending champion Lexi Thompson fired a 2-
under 70, her third consecutive round in the 70s, and she is tied for 10th at
4-under 212.
Kim was consistent once again on Saturday as she began her day with two
birdies on her first three holes on one and three. A bogey at the par-3 fifth
hole was just Kim’s third of the week, and it was the first and only one she
made on day three.
Following four straight pars to close out the front nine, Kim continued to
cruise on the back side. A birdie on No. 10 got Kim back to minus-2 on the
day. After making a pair of pars on 11 and 12, Kim extended her lead to four
shots with her fourth gain on No. 13.
Kim put her game in cruise control at the finish. A trio of pars from 14 was
followed by another birdie on the par-5 17th, which put Kim up five shots. Kim
finished up with a par at the last to take a comfortable lead into Sunday.
“I’ve been really working hard on the game. My caddy, TJ Jones, and I have
been kind of using the mindset every day is Sunday because the previous six
weeks in Asia, I’ve been putting up really good scores on Sunday,” Kim said.
Since starting the tournament with an even-par 72 on Thursday, Feng has been
on fire. After going bogey-free on Friday, Feng did not drop a single shot
again on Saturday and she has gone 42 straight holes without a bogey.
Feng opened up with a pair of pars before making her first birdie on No. 3.
Two more pars preceded back-to-back gains on six and seven before Feng
finished the front nine with another stretch of two straight pars.
The back nine was relatively routine for Feng as she made a birdie on the
par-5 11th to go along with eight pars. She finished the second round alone in
second place, but Feng is still five shots back of the leader Kim.
Ryu had a strong day with three birdies on two, 12 and 13, while she made pars
on the rest of the holes. Phatlum also had a pretty straight forward day with
two birdies on two and 11 to go along with a bogey on No. 12.
Munoz, who was just one shot behind Kim at the end of the first round, made
three birdies on the front nine at two, seven and nine along with a bogey on
three. Munoz had a tough back nine with two bogeys on 12 and 14. She did
manage to get one of those shots back with a birdie on 16.
NOTES: Michelle Wie, the 2009 champion, shot a 1-under 71 and she is tied for
12th at 3-under 213 … Creamer struggled on her way to a 4-over 76 and she is
tied with 17-year-old Lydia Ko (74) at 5-under 211 … World No. 1 Stacy
Lewis, who is trying to maintain her status atop the CME Globe standings, shot
her second straight 70 and she is tied for 20th at even-par 216 … Kim only
has two top-10 finishes on the season.
