Kerr Heads Into Fourth Round With Advantage
5:50 p.m. - Aware of her place on the scoreboard, Cristie Kerr took the safe route on the 18th hole. She fired into the fat part of the green before sending a 40-footer close to the hole. Kerr knocked in a 3-footer for par to close out a third round at 2-under total, shooting 1-over 72 for the day.
The past Women's Open champion, in search of her second crown, has a two-stroke lead on Eun-Hee Ji and was four ahead of Jean Reynolds and Teresa Lu.
Reynolds Scrambles, Falls Again
5:40 p.m. - Grinding through the 18th hole, Jean Reynolds suffered the second consecutive bogey that left her two over for the championship. She finished 3-over 74 in the third round. Reynolds dipped into a greenside bunker, got out but pushed the ball 8 feet past the hole. Her par-save putt curled right.
Ji Closes Out In Second
5:31 p.m. - Eun-Hee Ji headed into the clubhouse with a stellar 1-under 71 round Saturday. Beginning the day one over for the championship, she relied on a strong short-iron game and timely putting to close within two shots of Cristie Kerr (2-under aggregate through 16 holes). Ji ended the day with a 4-foot putt for par.
Ji Creeps Closer
5:18 p.m. - Eun-Hee Ji sank a putt inside 6 feet to get to level par. She stands threes shots back of Cristie Kerr's lead.
Make It Three
5:08 p.m. - Shortly after Jean Reynolds fell back more, Cristie Kerr put her foot on the pedal. She stiffed a short-iron shot to 4 feet of the flagstick on the par-4 15th. The birdie putt dropped in to loud applause and Kerr headed toward the next hole smiling.
Kerr Up Two
5 p.m. - Perhaps testing fate one too many times, Jean Reynolds couldn't save par on the par-4 15th. On the undulated green, Reynolds pushed the 10-foot par attempt past the flagstick. She made the comebacker, but dropped to even par. Cristie Kerr parred her previous five holes to stay at two under.
Saving Par
4:44 p.m. - Jean Reynolds refuses to buckle. The 24 year old from Georgia saved par with a 10-foot putt on the par-4 14th.
Meanwhile, Eun-Hee Ji and Teresa Lu were quietly sneaking up the leaderboard. Li birdied the 15th hole to pull within three shots of leader Cristie Kerr (minus two). Lu got into the clubhouse with a solid 1-under 70 that left her at 2-over total.
Reynolds Closes In While Creamer Fades
3:57 p.m. - Jean Reynolds got a much-needed birdie on the par-3 11th to pull within one stroke of Cristie Kerr. She dropped in an 18-footer that brought a fist pump.
On the shortest par-4 on the course, a frustrated Paula Creamer registered a triple bogey. On No. 10, she flubbed a chip from behind the green, then needed two putts from 10 feet to close out with a 7. She dropped to four over for the championship.
Kerr Bogeys
3:41 p.m. - Right and below the flagstick, Cristie Kerr two-putted from 12 feet to lose a stroke. She fell to two under. She held a two-stroke margin on Jean Reynolds.
Kerr Two-Putt Leads To Bogey
3:41 p.m. - Right and below the flagstick, Cristie Kerr two-putted from 12 feet to lose a stroke. She fell to two under. She held a two-stroke margin on Jean Reynolds.
Kerr Hanging In There
3:19 p.m. - Cristie Kerr had an impressive par save on the par-4 eighth. After sending her approach shot into a right greenside bunker, she converted an 8-foot putt. She remained at three under for the championship.
Paula Creamer (three over through eight holes) dropped another stroke when she couldn't get up and down from the right rough on No. 8. She had a 10-foot putt to save par, but the ball broke early.
Kerr held a three-stroke lead on Jean Reynolds, who was even par.
Low Amateur?
2:25 p.m. - Newly minted U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion Jennifer Song is making a strong bid for low-amateur honors. The 19-year-old University of Southern California sophomore-to-be is one under for the day and three over for the championship. She currently is tied for ninth. She is two strokes ahead of Alexis Thompson, who has made three consecutive bogeys from No. 3.
Falling Back
1:59 p.m. - A bogey at the second has moved Cristie Kerr back to two under for the championship, but she did not lose any ground as fellow competitor Paula Creamer also bogeyed the hole. Creamer, Jean Reynolds and Giulia Sergas of Italy are all tied at one under. Sergas birdied the third hole. Meanwhile, amateur Alexis Thompson has recorded consecutive bogeys at three and four and fallen to four over for the championship.
Leaders On Course
1:47 p.m. - Everyone has started their round. The leaders - Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Jean Reynolds - parred No. 1. Reynolds also parred the second hole.
Park Place
1:31 p.m. - Hee Young Park of Korea is making an early move with birdies on two of her first four holes. She is now even par for the championship, just three strokes off the lead.
Sweet Candie
1:25 p.m. - Candie Kung did not record a birdie in her first two rounds, but she is making up for lost ground today. She registered her fifth birdie of the day at the par-4 14th hole and is four under for the round and two over for the championship (tied for 10th).
Another 69
1:21 p.m. - Anna Grzebien posted the second 69 of the third round. The former Duke University standout now sits at plus-6 for the championship and is in a tie for 32nd.
Uribe Shoots 69
12:57 p.m. - Maria Jose Uribe of Colombia was the first to post a sub-par round today. The 2007 U.S. Women's Amatuer champion, who is making her professional debut this week, carded a 2-under 69. Morgan Pressel is three under through 14 holes, having just bogeyed the par-4 14th. Candie Kung, the 2001 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion, also is three under through 12 holes and three over for the championship. Anyone shooting under par today is going to move swiftly up the board.
Clouds Rolling In
12:53 p.m. - For the first time all week, the sun has disappeared and the skies have turned from blue to grey. The wind is definitely freshening as well. We could have some shower activity around 2 p.m., but hopefully any electricity will keep away until the third round is complete. This could make conditions quite challenging for the lead groups. If the winds do increase, I wonder if anyone will be in red figures through 54 holes.
Finally A Birdie
11:55 a.m. - It took 42 holes, but Candie Kung, the 2001 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion, finally has made a birdie. She made all pars in the first round and had four bogeys and a double in round two. The birdie came at the par-5 sixth hole and she followed it up with another birdie at the challenging par-4 seventh. She is two under for the round and four over for the championship.
Pressel Pumped
11:52 a.m. - Morgan Pressel has also joined the ranks of players who are three under for the day by making a birdie-3 at the par-4 10th hole. The 2005 U.S. Women's Amateur champion is now tied for 20th at four over.
Go For It
11:47 a.m. - Just received some of the course setup notes from our championship staff and the tee markers at the par-4 10th have been moved up to allow golfers to go for the green off the tee.The hole is playing 253 yards, but it's just 231 yards to the front of the green. Trouble does lurk if a player yanks her tee shot to the left.
Grzebien On Fire
11:45 a.m. - With birdies at holes 10 and 11, Anna Grzebien has joined Maria Jose Uribe with the best score currently on the course (three under). The former Duke University star sits at five over par for the championship.
Making Moves
11:40 a.m. - They call Saturday at golf events moving day and a couple of golfers are certainly doing just that. Maria Jose Uribe of Colombia, the 2007 U.S. Women's Amateur champion who is making her professional debut this week, is three under par through 13 holes. She started the day at nine over and was one of 11 players who received a late gift on Friday when Cindy Lacrosse and Haeji Kang both bogeyed their final holes to move the cut from eight over to nine over.
Also making a move on Saturday is world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa, who is two under for the round through seven holes. She is now four over for the championship, so a few more birdies coming in could give Ochoa a shot on Sunday to claim her first Women's Open title.
