American Allisen Corpuz held a one-shot lead heading into Sunday’s final round of the Pelican Women’s Championship at Belleair, Florida, after shooting a five-under round of 65.
The tournament, which was cut to 54 holes after Thursday’s play was lost to wet conditions following a storm, is set up for a tight battle with Sweden’s Maja Stark, American Lexi Thompson and Mexican Maria Fassi all just one stroke off the lead.
South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai is four shots behind Corpuz after carding a second-round 65 that included seven birdies and a double-bogey.
The only disappointment for Corpuz came with a bogey on her final hole, the par-three 9th, but the 24-year-old rookie was delighted to be in top spot.
“I think it’s always really good to see yourself up there. I have had a good year so far and want to end the season on a good note,” said Corpuz, who has had two top-10 finishes so far this season.
While Corpuz is hoping for a first LPGA Tour win, she will be wary of Stark, who is looking for her second victory on the circuit after only joining mid-season.
Stark’s win at the ISPS Handa World Invitational in August saw Corpuz finish runner-up, but the Swede has also had two other wins on the Ladies European Tour this year.
After an electrifying first-round 62, Fassi did enough on Saturday to stay in the race despite a pair of bogeys on the 14th and 15th.
“A lot more today, kind of just saving pars and making four-, five-footers, again, to save pars and stuff,” she said. “I just couldn’t really get much going. I still managed to get under par and be right there for tomorrow. I know there are plenty of birdies out there for me, and just very excited to go out on Sunday and be in contention.”
Thompson finished her round of 67 with birdies on the 14th and 17th as she looks to improve on her playoff defeat here last season.
“I’ll learn from last year. I played some amazing golf. It wasn’t the outcome I wanted, but I learned from it, built off it, and took the positives from it that I played really well that whole week,” she said.
The winner of that playoff, American Nelly Korda, would have been level with Thompson had she not bogeyed the 18th.
© Agence France-Presse
