Hong Kong’s Tiffany Chan on course for first LPGA Tour top-10 finish
- The 27-year-old shoots one-under 70 for a total of eight-under 205 to lie joint seventh after the third round of the LA Open at Wilshire Country Club
- Chan is tied with former major winner Morgan Pressel and the pair are eight strokes behind leader Jessica Korda
Chan shot a one-under-par 70 for a three-round total of eight-under 205 – eight strokes behind American leader Jessica Korda. She picked up four birdies to offset three dropped shots at Wilshire Country Club, twice going one-over for the round before recovering on holes 13 and 14.
The 27-year-old was in joint seventh and found herself fighting for a top-10 position with one round to go for the first time in her four-year LPGA Tour pro career.
“I’m happy with the way I handled myself the last three days,” she said in her post-round interview. “You know, going to the final day within hunt of eight shots is a lot, but it’s like my first day when you have a birdie, this course could go low.
“So tomorrow I have to … I actually have the same game plan as today. Just play the middle because the pins are really tight and the last hole, if you miss left, it’s almost like a bogey for sure. I’ll see how the pins are and how the winds are and how my feelings are, so whatever happens, happens. I’m happy to be here.
“It’s my first time being in contention for the top 10 for an LPGA tournament, and I have been playing in junior or amateur events being in contention but it’s obviously totally different.”
Korda shot three-under 68, her highest round of the tournament so far, to go 16 under and lead South Korean Ko Jin-young by one stroke. Canada’s Brooke Henderson was four shots behind the leader with American Angela Stanford a further stroke adrift.
Chan is tied for seventh with former major winner Morgan Pressel, of the US, two shots behind South Korea’s Ryu So-yeon and Australia’s Hannah Green. They finished two ahead of ninth-placed Lin Xiyu, of China, and South Korea’s Lee Jeong-eun.
The Hong Kong golfer expected a strong performance this week because the tournament is being played at the course she would frequently practise on during her college days. Difficult pin positions, though, caused problems for all the players and Chan was happy to have survived the round under par.
“I think the winds were a little bit [strong], so everyone is having a little harder time with distance if you’re not like … if you’re really good with the approaching,” said Chan, who has yet to find her “A game” since shooting 65 in the opening round. “So I feel like I did what I had to do today.
“It’s funny because it’s a country club. They actually don’t really put those pin positions. You rarely see a back pin for this par-three. They’re always like middle or front.
“So it’s a little different playing a tournament. As I said, the pin position, they could get tough. But obviously I played the last two times and I know where they are and you know where you can’t miss. So I think playing at Wilshire with this windy condition you really have to know where you can miss, and that could help a lot for this course.”
