Alison Lee birdied 4 of her final 5 holes Friday to increase a sizzling streak that stretches from Saudi Arabia to South Korea to Florida. Her 8-under 64 gave her a share of the lead with Nasa Hataoka within the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida.
Hataoka atoned for lacking a brief par putt by closing with a pair of birdies, ending with a 25-footer on the final gap for a 67 in a wide-open chase for the $2 million US prize.
Lee had 5 birdies in seven holes at the beginning, after which had a powerful ending kick that included a wedge to a foot on the fifteenth and a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th.
The 28-year-old Californian has by no means received in her 9 years on the LPGA Tour, however nobody introduced as a lot momentum. In her final three tournaments worldwide, she has runner-up finishes within the BMW Girls Championship in South Korea and The Annika final week in Florida. She additionally received an Aramco Crew Sequence occasion on the Girls European Tour.
Lee now could be 46-under par in her final 10 rounds.
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—@LPGA
“I really feel just like the final month, every part is falling into place,” Lee mentioned.
Lee and Hataoka had been at 14-under 128, remarkably low scoring for Tiburon Golf Membership however to be anticipated given the 4 inches of rain that drenched the course on the eve of the event. The greens had been comfortable and rolled effectively given solely 60 gamers are within the subject.
Canada’s Henderson soars into prime 10
Eight gamers had been at 10-under or decrease going into the weekend.
Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson had a 67 within the second spherical to complete tied for tenth.
Girls’s PGA champion Ruoning Yin of China had a 66 and was a part of the group one shot behind that included Minjee Lee (67) and Amy Yang (63). Xiyu Lin, who like Lee is attempting to win for the primary time on the LPGA Tour, had a 66 and was one other shot behind.
$2 million on the road<br><br>This leaderboard is STACKED 🔥<br><br>FULL LEADERBOARD ⬇️ <a href=”https://t.co/iYVQmN7p0g”>https://t.co/iYVQmN7p0g</a>
—@LPGA
“Higher late than by no means,” Lee mentioned with a smile.
“I be ok with my sport proper now,” Lee mentioned. “I want I knew the recipe for achievement, however simply attempt my greatest to trip the wave proper now.”
It has been fairly a trip. She was the No. 1 novice a decade in the past after which struggled on the LPGA Tour and her confidence took a beating. Lee mentioned on multiple event she started to assume she would by no means win.
She had loads of help, together with one unlikely supply — Fred {Couples}. They performed in a company outing in New York this summer time. {Couples} obtained her quantity and commenced texting messages of encouragement, primarily that she had loads of sport.
“He would ask me lots of questions and I’d ask him questions again, and I slowly began to speak in confidence to him over the past month or so little by little, sort of telling my private expertise, what I went by means of, why I am on this place, why I did not consider in myself,” Lee mentioned.
Nonetheless to go are 36 holes and a half-dozen gamers inside 4 pictures of the lead.
Lilia Vu, the double main winner this 12 months who moved again to No. 1 within the girls’s world rating, had a 66 and was nonetheless six pictures behind. However she moved nearer than ever to successful the points-based LPGA participant of the 12 months. Celine Boutier must win the Tour Championship to have any probability, and he or she was 9 pictures out of the lead in a tie for thirty third.
