Leona Maguire battled her way to a two-under 70 as Stephanie Meadow double-bogeyed the last for a 73 to leave them tied for 37th on level par in the Kia Classic in California.

They are 12 strokes behind Inbee Park, who leads by five strokes on 12-under par in pursuit of her 21st LPGA Tour title.

But they are also just three strokes outside the top 15 as they seek some momentum ahead of next week’s opening Major of the women’s season, the ANA Inspiration.

Kia Classic, Aviara Golf Club | Carlsbad, Calif. | March 25-28, 2021

Third-Round Notes

Course Setup: 36-36—72; 6,125 yards (R3 Scoring Average: 71.212; R2: 73.505; R1: 74.000)
Weather: Sunny with morning temperatures in the mid-40s climbing into the upper 60s. Calm winds in the AM hours, increasing out of the west in the afternoon and peaking at 6-12 mph.

LEADERBOARD

1 Inbee Park -12 66-69-69

T2 Mi Jung Hur -7 71-71-67

T2 Minjee Lee -7 72-69-68

T2 Mel Reid -7 68-70-71

T37 Even Leona Maguire Even 72-74-70

T37 Even Stephanie Meadow 68-75-73

INBEE PARK ON VERGE OF LPGA TOUR CAREER TITLE NO. 21

There was one blemish on her third-round scorecard at the par-3 11th. Otherwise, it was a stress-free walk around Aviara Golf Club on Saturday for LPGA Tour Hall of Fame member Inbee Park.

While eight of her closest competitors made moving-day charges up the leaderboard, Park was unfazed. She picked when to attack and capitalized, as the 20-time LPGA Tour champion recorded four birdies to shoot 3-under 69.

“I am really getting a good feel of it,” said Park, who takes a five-stroke advantage into the final round at -12 overall. “It is tough putting on these [poa annua] greens, but I have handled myself really well on the greens. Same gameplan that I have done last three days, would be nice to do again tomorrow.”

For day three of the Kia Classic, the LPGA Tour rules staff moved up the tee boxes at Nos. 6, 9, 16 and 17 to make two reachable par-4s and trim the course length by roughly 300 yards from round two. In turn, Nos. 9 and 16 both saw three eagles this afternoon, while Nos. 8 and 18 had one apiece.

“It was actually a big surprise,” Park said. “I didn’t know the LPGA was going to move four tees up in one day. I have never seen this kind of setup before, so they tried something new. It took a long time on the golf course today waiting to go for greens but it was fun. At the same time, I was a little bit annoyed because I couldn’t take advantage of them. But yeah, a fun setup.”

Mi Jung Hur and Minjee Lee will join Park in the final-round grouping tomorrow off No. 1 tee at 12:45 p.m. PT. Six birdies guided Hur to a 5-under par 67 performance, while Lee managed four birdies and an eagle on No. 9 to shoot 68. Both players sit at -7 overall.

“I actually didn’t really know where the pin was exactly, but my caddie [Jason Gilroyed] was like, ‘Aim at the little tree that’s poking out on the right side,’” said Lee, a five-time LPGA Tour winner. “I hit it at that with a 3-wood and went to about 6 feet under the hole, so it was a nice look at eagle and converted.”

Rounding out the trio in a tie for second is Mel Reid. The Englishwoman managed a 1-under 71 playing in Saturday’s final grouping with Park. She hopes to take advantage of the promising scoring conditions tomorrow in her chase of the 54-hole leader.

“I’ve probably saved 10-15 putts over the last two days, so I’m hoping they’ll all drop tomorrow,” said Reid, who carded three birdies on Saturday. “I’m going to have to do something special to get it done. I think tomorrow the gameplan is to stay aggressive and there is nothing to lose. I’m going to try and get as close as I can to Inbee.

“She’s an unbelievable golfer and going to be hard to beat. She doesn’t make any mistakes, that’s why she has won like a gazillion majors. One of the best players to ever play our game. I will definitely give it my best shot.”

Six shots back and in a tie for fifth are Madelene Sagstrom, 11-time LPGA champion Lexi Thompson and World No. 1 Jin Young Ko. Local favourite Haley Moore carded a third-round 70 and the Escondido, Calif., native is tied for 37th at even par. The top-10 players represent six different countries on the Kia Classic leaderboard entering the final round.

WITH A WIN
Inbee Park would earn the 21st win of her LPGA Tour career, joining LPGA Founder Marilynn Smith with 21 wins and moving within four victories of matching Se Ri Pak as the winningest Korean player in LPGA Tour history
 

With the $270,000 winner’s check, Inbee Park would move to $17,003,925 in career earnings and become just the fourth player in LPGA Tour history to cross the $17 million threshold

Inbee Park would win in her season debut for the second time in her career, joining the 2013 Honda LPGA Thailand

Minjee Lee would earn her sixth LPGA Tour victory and first since the 2019 HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open; only Karrie Webb (41), Jan Stephenson (16) and Rachel Hetherington (eight) have more wins among Australian players

Mi Jung Hur would earn the fifth win of her LPGA Tour career and first since the 2019 Indy Women in Tech Championship

Mel Reid would earn the second win of her LPGA Tour career, joining the 2020 ShopRite LPGA Classic

NEW HAIR, WHO DIS? IT’S MI JUNG HUR LEAPING UP THE LEADERBOARD
Many women know the feeling. Sometimes, something just has to change. Mi Jung Hur had that moment following a third-round 80 at last month’s LPGA Drive On Championship. She walked off the course at Golden Ocala frustrated, knowing that she needed to do something to shake out of the funk.

So what did she do? What so many women do when they need a change—she chopped off her hair. 

“I got to change something, so I just cut my hair,” said Hur with a laugh. “Everyone loves it.”

With a new chin-length and blonde-streaked bob, Hur embraced the change not only to her appearance but to her game. The four-time LPGA Tour winner blazed around Aviara Golf Club on Saturday, carding a 5-under 67 to move into a tie for second. Hur said she knew she had to take advantage of a course that was set up 312 yards shorter than it was on Friday.

“It was really great out on the course. Driving was good, I was struggling with my irons but my putting dropped pretty well,” Hur said. “Most of the holes they move the tee forward and we have to go aggressive few holes, and I made birdies those kinds of holes. That takes me up to second place.”

LEXI THOMPSON DIALS IT IN ON MOVING DAY AT KIA CLASSIC
The ANA Inspiration must be right around the corner because 11-time LPGA champion Lexi Thompson is rounding into form. She signed for a bogey-free, 6-under 66 on Saturday at Aviara Golf Club to climb 20 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for fifth at -6 for the Kia Classic.

“I work hard for every single event. We had a couple of weeks off coming into this week and I put in the work, so I just want to see it pay off,” Thompson said after recording six birdies including one at the Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole, No. 16. “ANA Inspiration is my favourite event on our schedule. I absolutely love going there and the [Dinah Shore Tournament] course [at Mission Hills Country Club] is amazing.”

It’s safe to say the hard work is paying off. Thompson mentioned “training twice a day in the gym,” to on the course, “practising my short game a ton. Working on chipping and putting at least two, three hours a day.” With the season’s first major championship on deck, she continues to grind and sharpen all facets of her game. But her attention first and foremost remains on a solid finish in Carlsbad, Calif.

“I’m happy with how I played today, and hopefully take that into tomorrow,” said Thompson, who has three top-20s in as many starts this year including a pair of top-10 results. “Trying to get more consistent with my ball striking as well, make sure that my bad shots aren’t as bad. On the course, trying to go out there and be more relaxed, let my true talent show.”

MADELENE SAGSTROM ADDS HER NAME TO LPGA RECORD BOOKS
Saturday didn’t start quite the way Madelene Sagstrom would have liked.

She sent her opening tee shot left and carded a double bogey on No. 1. But from there, if perfect were achievable, Sagstrom got as close as she could get. Her 8-under par 64 featured 11 birdies, including five straight from Nos. 5-9, and vaulted her from a tie for 50th into a three-way tie for fifth heading into Sunday’s final round of the Kia Classic.

“The course was set up quite nicely today. I could reach two par-4s and I hit really good tee shots on both of those, took advantage of that,” said Sagstrom. “I just hit some really, really good iron shots that were quite easy, and then I made a few putts. No bombs, nothing crazy. It was really steady play and really good iron play.”

With the round, Sagstrom added her name to the list of players who have carded 11 birdies in a round, tied for the second-most in LPGA Tour history behind only her fellow Swede Annika Sorenstam’s 13 en route to her famed 59 in 2001. She attributed today’s success to a quick mental reset after that hiccup on the first hole.

“Wasn't really my prettiest of shots, but it was kind of one of those things that I've had a little bit of a miss off the tee the last couple days,” Sagstrom said. “Just trying to figure that out and get the ball in play. I knew I have been hitting my irons well, so told myself, ‘Give yourself chances and get the putter hot.’ That was the key today.”

Rolex Rankings No. 4 Inbee Park (66-69-69)

• Park hit 12 of 14 fairways and 15 greens in regulation, with 30 putts

• This is the 22nd time she has held or shared the 54-hole lead; the most recent time was the 2020 Volunteers of America Classic (T2), won 12 of the previous 21 occasions

• In her 15th season on the LPGA Tour, Park owns 20 career titles including seven major championships; her most recent win came at the 2020 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open

• This is her first start of the 2021 season; she last competed in the 2020 CME Group Tour Championship with a T35 result

• This is her 11th appearance at the Kia Classic; she finished runner-up three times (2010, 2016, 2019), with a worst finish of T21 in 2017 and an average result of 10th

• Won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Member of Team Korea at the 2014 UL International Crown, posting a 3-1-0 record

• Enters the 2021 season at No. 4 on the LPGA Tour Career Money List with $16,733,925, third-most career earnings among active LPGA Tour players