Stephanie Meadow produced a back nine fightback but still fell further behind KPMG Women’s PGA champion Sei Young Kim in the Pelican Women’s Championship in Tampa.

The Galgorm Castle touring professional (28) went into the third round just two shots behind Kim but after playing her first ten holes in two-over to find herself six adrift of the Korean star, she followed a birdie at the 11th with three more in her last four holes not to fall further behind..

It all added up to a two-under 68 that leaves Meadow third on eight-under, six behind Kim, who shot a six-under 64 to take a five-shot into over Ally McDonald into the final round.

“I saw some putts go in, really. My swing felt a little better and focused on my tempo, which started to give me a little confidence,” Meadow said over her turnaround. “Once you see a couple balls go in the hole, it kind of goes from there. [My fiancé] Kyle told me this morning, ‘They might make putts, just stick to your own thing.’ I kept saying that to myself over and over again… It's all about patience on this golf course. It could have gone the other way pretty quick, and I was able to not let that happen.”

Leona Maguire also finished well to move up to 33rd on three-over after a one-under 69.

The Slieve Russell National touring professional made three bogeys and a birdie on the back nine to turn in two-over but birdied the first, fourth and sixth to improve her chances of a good finish.

Kim held a one-stroke lead with five holes to go after McDonald aced the 12th. But she moved clear with four consecutive birdies from the 14th to lead by five shots on 14-under.

“She made that hole-in-one and we had a one-shot lead. I got a little pressure, but I tried to focus on my game,” said Kim, who recorded a 6-under par 64 this afternoon. “That stretch was good, but sometimes I just challenge myself. That’s easier. Even with the lead, I will keep pushing myself until the last hole.”

McDonald holds down the fort in solo second. She used her first ace in competition to fire a two-under 68 and reach nine-under overall heading into the final round.

“I’m starting quite a bit behind [compared to today] but like I said, hats off to her [Kim] for how well she played to separate herself,” said McDonald, who hit 13 of 14 fairways in round three. “I’ll tee it up with the same mentality that I’ve had—go out there and try to execute shot by shot, hole by hole. Hopefully that gives me a lot of really good looks for birdie and I can close that gap a little bit.”

Meadow completes the final grouping for the final round. The trio will head off No. 1 tee at 16:15 Irish time.

Lydia Ko will lead the penultimate grouping at 7-under overall. The 15-time Tour champion fired a 66 in the third round and will be joined by Austin Ernst and Brooke Henderson. Both players are tied for fifth at -6, along with Minjee Lee. 

Third-Round Notes

Nov. 21, 2020

Course Setup: 35-35—70; 6,059 yards (Scoring Averages: R3, 71.185; R2, 71.571; R1, 72.204)
Weather: Mostly cloudy with varied light drizzle. Breezy conditions continued from the east-northeast; sustained at 8-16 mph, gusting to 18-23 mph. Temperatures in the upper 60s, climbed into upper 70s.

LEADERBOARD

Player To Par Score

1 Sei Young Kim -14 67-65-64

2 Ally McDonald -9 67-66-68

3 Stephanie Meadow -8 69-65-68

4 Lydia Ko -7 70-67-66

WITH A WIN

• Sei Young Kim would earn her 12th career LPGA Tour title and pass Jiyai Shin (11) on the all-time wins list of players from the Republic of Korea, trailing only Se Rei Pak (25) and Inbee Park (20)

• The $225,000 winner’s check would give Kim $9,799,895 in career earnings to reach No. 20 on the career money list and pass In-Kyung Kim; she would become the second player this season to surpass the $1 million threshold in 2020 earnings ($1,133,219).

• Kim would secure a second-consecutive season with multiple victories and her fourth multi-win season on the LPGA Tour; she has earned at least one win in every Tour season since 2015 (thanks to her victory at the KPMG Women’ PGA Championship in early October).

• The $225,000 winner’s check would give Ally McDonald $1,872,685 in career earnings.

• Kim would capture her ninth title after holding the 36-hole lead in a tournament; it would also be her eighth win after holding the 54-hole lead.

• Kim (KPMG Women’s PGA Championship) and McDonald (LPGA Drive On Championship—Reynolds Lake Oconee) would become the second two-time winner of the 2020 LPGA Tour season, joining Danielle Kang (LPGA Drive On Championship—Inverness Club and Marathon LPGA Classic presented by Dana).

• McDonald would become the second player this season to win back-to-back events, joining Kang

• Kim would become the first individual to win in her first start after winning her first major since Ariya Jutanugarn at the 2016 AIG Women’s Open and CP Women’s Open

• Kim would make it five wins by a player from the Republic of Korea during the 2020 LPGA Tour season, to tie the United States for the most so far this year

• McDonald would make it six wins on Tour by an American in 2020, the most of any country this season
   

SEI YOUNG KIM INSPIRED TO BE LIKE MIKE
Major champion and 11-time LPGA Tour winner Sei Young Kim had a spectacular day at the Pelican Golf Club. Her third-round 64 is good for a five-shot lead heading into Sunday at inaugural Pelican Women’s Championship presented by DEX Imagining and Konica Minolta.

The 54-hole score of 196 is the second lowest of her career, and the lowest since the 2019 Marathon LPGA Classic presented by Dana (197). She had a 32-hole bogey-free streak up until her bogey on No. 8 today, a feat that she had started to realize while on the course in the third round.

“After [I] had a bogey [I] felt, wow, it's been like 27 hole. I realize that. Yeah, I play quite consistently, so, yeah, hopefully no more bogeys tomorrow,” Kim said with a smile.

Kim mentioned she will relax tonight and eat a good meal to prep for tomorrow.

“Eat a lot of carbs,” said Kim.

One of her favorite things to do with her downtime is watch Netflix, and Kim recently started The Last Dance, an ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 feature on Michael Jordan. She watched the first two episodes last night and said that she has learned a lot from the series already and been inspired to keep pushing ahead.

“I have eight more left, maybe,” said Kim. “He [Michael Jordan] is a legend of the sport.”

AUSTIN ERNST TAKES ADVANTAGE WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
As the LSU Tigers football team defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, an LSU women’s golf graduate was tearing up the Pelican Golf Club on moving day at the Pelican LPGA Championship presented by DEX Imagining and Konica Minolta. Austin Ernst jumped from a tie for 14th into the top five with a third-round 65 to finish -6 heading into the final day.

It was the lowest 18-hole score she’s recorded since the second and third rounds of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, where she won her second-career LPGA Tour title.

“My ball striking has been really good all week, [almost] hit every fairway today. I have just been really aggressive with my iron shots, and today I got a few putts to fall. That's the only difference between today and the first couple days,” said Ernst, who has hit 39 of 42 fairways so far this week. “Yeah, it was just really solid overall.”

Ernst started birdie-bogey on Nos. 1 and 2, but after six straight pars, she carded six birdies the rest of the way including three straight between Nos. 9-11. She said she took advantage of the opportunity in front of her whenever she could. “When I had a scoring club in my hand, I was really aggressive and kind of got a putt inside 10, 15 feet, then I made them,” said Ernst.

Since the restart, Ernst has been consistent on Tour making every cut through 10 events since the LPGA Drive On Championship—Inverness Club. She has two top five finishes, including her first win in 2020, and knows how important it is to stay consistent to record another top result in Belleair, Fla.

“I have been working on the same thing with my swing, and it is good. It's literally just kind of trying to get it a little bit better. I'm just trying to get through the ball well. It's a simple key. I don't have to think about it when I play, which is nice,” Ernst said. “And then my putting. I've really tried to work on my 6-15 footers. I feel like I get a lot of those because of how aggressive I am with my irons. I got a lot of putts in that range, and when I don't play as well, I'm not making as many from 10 to 15 feet, especially. Really when I putt, I've really tried to work on that range and today I made a lot from that range which is nice.”

BROOKE HENDERSON CONTINUES TORRID PACE ON MOVING DAY
The Pelican Women’s Championship presented by DEX Imaging and Konica Minolta is the seventh time that Brooke Henderson has played the weekend in eight starts this season. She is a combined 27-under par on moving day in those tournaments. It’s safe to say she enjoys competing in the third round.

“I love moving day,” said Henderson, who signed for a 4-under par 66 this afternoon and is tied for fifth at 6-under overall. “I feel like after you make the cut, you’re feeling a little bit looser and it’s a great day where you can really make a move up the leaderboard, challenge the leaders. I was trying to do that today. Didn’t get as many [birdies] as I would have liked, but hopefully do something similar tomorrow.”

Henderson heads into the final 18 holes trailing the lead by eight shots. She will look to keep momentum going in her favor and build off a solid effort on day three to give chase to Sei Young Kim.

“It’s definitely inspiring and it’s fun to watch too,” Henderson said of Kim’s play. “When she’s playing her best, she’s attacking pins and making a lot of putts. I got to witness it firsthand at KPMG [Women’s PGA Championship] a few weeks ago when she won her first major. I think she’s doing pretty much the same thing again this week. I’ll try to catch her tomorrow, but definitely fun to watch.”

ACE FOR ALLY MCDONALD
A Rolex First-Time winner at the LPGA Drive On Championship—Reynolds Lake Oconee, Ally McDonald made the 11th hole-in-one of the 2020 LPGA Tour season as she found the bottom of the cup on No. 12 with a pitching wedge from 132 yards. It was the first of her LPGA Tour career. 

“So the pin was 12 yards on the green and it was playing like 115 [yards] front, a little downwind,” said McDonald, who carded a 2-under par 33 on the back nine which included the ace. “I thought just playing the front edge would be enough to pitch it a few yards on and let it release. That’s how my strategy works was everything told me to look a couple paces right of it, so I did. I wasn’t looking at the hole then it went in. It was a really cool hole-in-one.”

For that ace, CME Group will donate $20,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The 2020 season has now seen 11 aces for a total of $220,000 donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“That’s awesome,” McDonald said. “I think any time that our Tour does something that can give back to charities, especially St. Jude it’s just great to help kids. I know that the donation will go to great use at St. Jude for sure.”

McDonald ultimately shot a 2-under 68 on the day and is solo second at 9-under overall.

Rolex Rankings No. 2 Sei Young Kim (67-65-64)

• She hit 12 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, with 27 putts in the third round

• Her 54-hole score of 196 is the second lowest of her career, four shy of the 192 total she set at the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic

• This is Kim’s seventh event of the 2020 LPGA Tour season; she matched her career-best result with a win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

• Earned $1.5 million, the largest winner’s check in women’s golf history, with a victory at the 2019 CME Group Tour Championship to surpass $8 million in career earnings

• Recorded three wins in 2019, her third multi-win season since her rookie year of 2015

• Kim has recorded at least one win in every LPGA Tour season since 2015 (11 career wins)

• Her win at 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic set the LPGA Tour 72-hole scoring record of 31-under par 257, breaking the mark of 27-under 261 held by Annika Sorenstam and Kim herself

• A third-degree black belt in taekwondo, her father owned a taekwondo academy in her native Republic of Korea