As the weather warms up on this Saturday afternoon, feeling more like LA, it seem to be same case for the world’s No.1 Nelly Korda’s as she jumped up the scoreboard entering the final round in the top 5. And rookie Akie Iwai looks to break into the top 25, shooting 8 under par for 64 to take a three-way tie lead with Lauren Coughlin and another rookie notable, former LSU Tiger,, Ingrid Lindblad.
El Caballero Country Club course seems to have many bunkers and birdies, yet as the golfers continue advancing through the week becoming familiar with the course, it seems both have not been a barrier for those able to shoot extremely low scores.
“Everybody at the top of the leaderboard is going to hit it really well and it’s going to be who can make the most putts tomorrow,” Coughlin said at the post round press conference. “Especially with these greens. They’re so good and roll so nicely. We’re all very, very good at what we do, and so if you put us on greens like that the scores are going to be low.”
Couglin entered the third round tied for the lead with Ashleigh Buhai, who battled through a knee injury most of this round, falling out of the lead into the top 20. Meanwhile, Korda and Iwai open the third round with some confidence boosters, a birdie and an eagle, respectively, climbing up the scoreboard quickly despite Korda bogeying the 18th hole after an eagle and par on 16 and 17.
“Just trying to be consistent, and at the end of the day give myself the best opportunity going into tomorrow, the final day, ” Korda said. “Today was a little sunnier so the weather was a little different, making the ball fly maybe a little further.”
Iwai felt the weather was nothing special and had no impact on her performance as she shared that her primary focus was on a goal, beyond just this round. “This year I just want to just win the tournament,” Iwai said. “I want to win at least one tournament this year, not only majors but also regular tournaments.”
Iwai’s dream is also to play in a final with her twin sister, Chisato Iwai. Iwai did play in the third round with her, who shot 11-under. Both sisters wore sponsorship apparel by Yonex but Iwai pointed out that they have different shoe sponsors. “My shoes are Nike and she’s New Balance,” Iwai said.
Yesterday, Iwai played with Lindblad, which seemed to help Iwai’s performance today since Lindblad finished with the lead in both rounds. Yet Lindblad beamed about having fun while playing together with Iwai despite the language barrier. Many have mentioned and recognize how Lindblad exudes confidence, not of a rookie or like something that she couldn’t even explain except when it came to playing for LSU.
“I think everyone was kind of shocked that I stayed five years at LSU,” Lindblad said. “People were expecting me to leave after three, four. So basically my last two years I was just trying to get a little bit better and better. I still practice at LSU so I still see all of my old teammates and coaches and everything.”
Playing on a new course for many in this tournament seems to have leveled the playing field which doesn’t seem to concern No. 1 Korda who mentioned playing in this tournament to gain reps and confidence, two striking things gained also by two of the rookies finding themselves in a three-way tie lead.
“I think I just need to like stay in my own bubble a little bit, don’t get too far ahead of myself,” Lindblad continued. “Obviously the goal is to win, but we can’t win tonight or on the first tee box tomorrow. So kind of just stay in the present and try to keep playing well.”