Lilia Vu up 2 shots entering final round at Ford Championship
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Leader Lilia Vu hitting a tee shot on the 18th hole during the third round of the Ford Championship on March 29.
PHOTO: AFP
CHANDLER, Arizona – Lilia Vu overcame a double-bogey and two other bogeys to shoot a four-under 68 on March 29 and maintain a two-shot lead heading into the final round of the Ford Championship.
On a windy day at Whirlwind Golf Club’s Cattail Course in Chandler, Arizona, the American – who had played a pair of bogey-free rounds – bogeyed the par-three sixth hole and par-four ninth hole, then endured a double-bogey on the par-four 14th hole.
To her credit, however, she recovered to birdie the next three holes as she seeks her sixth win on the LPGA Tour.
“I think I didn’t think too much about that double-bogey,” said Vu, who notched eight birdies in the third round and set a new 54-hole scoring record at the event with her three-day total of 18-under 198.
“Obviously I was upset with it, but I know where my game is at, and that’s not going to really knock me down. My caddie actually said on the hole after, all I have to do is get you on the green, and whatever happens, happens.”
England’s Charley Hull remained two shots off the field, firing a 68 despite a pair of bogeys, including one on the troublesome 14th hole. Like Vu, she also rebounded and was able to birdie two of her last three holes. Sitting at 200, she finished with six birdies on the day.
“Hit a really nice shot into what I think it was the 14th hole,” said Hull, who opened her day with a bogey on the par-four first hole.
“It was about 20 feet right of the pin, but it was just a very tricky putt and then three-whacked that. But it is what it is and it ain’t what it ain’t as players. But nice to finish with a birdie.”
Ayaka Furue of Japan (67) and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen (69) are tied for third, three shots off the lead at 201.
Furue collected four birdies apiece on the front and back nine, but also a trio of bogeys on Nos. 3, 10 and 14. Madsen also ran into trouble, though not on the 14th hole. She bogeyed back-to-back holes on the par-five seventh and par-four eighth, but regrouped after a talk with her caddie.
“Well, I tried for a very long time not to get angry, and then my caddie was like, just let it out, so I did that after 8,” Madsen said. “Then I kind of tried to reset from there.”
Five players – China’s Zhang Yahui (65), South Korea’s Ryu Hae-ran (66) and Kim Hyo-Joo (67), American Allisen Corpuz (67) and Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul (70) are tied for fifth at 202. Defending champion and world No. 1 Nelly Korda, who was tied for second after two rounds, faltered with a 73 – her worst round since a third-round 75 at the 2024 AIG Women’s Open – and is tied for 19th at 205.
On the PGA Tour, Australia’s Min Woo Lee shot a seven-under 63 to take the lead after three rounds of the Houston Open on March 29 at Memorial Park.
He is at 17-under 193, a 54-hole tournament record, eclipsing Curtis Strange in 1980 and Tony Finau in 2022.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who fired a one-under 69, dropped into a three-way tie for third in his quest for his first victory of the season.
Lee holds a four-stroke lead on Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti, whose 65 put him in second place at 197. Australia’s Ryan Fox also posted 65 and shares third place with Ryan Gerard (68) and Scheffler at 198.
“I just feel really good about it,” Lee said. “It was great fun and very solid overall.”
Lee, a younger brother of the LPGA’s Minjee Lee, has four professional titles but none on the PGA Tour.
REUTERS
