Fudoh Clings to One Shot Lead After 3rd Round of Women's British Open.

Yuri Fudoh and Ji-Yai Shin had identical rounds and scores after two rounds of the RICOH Women's British Open. Shin's 18th hole bogey was all that stood in the way of it happening again. Fudoh's -3, 69 gave her a whiff of breathing room in the form of a one shot lead over Shin. They'll both be in the final pairing again tomorrow. Ai Miyazato's excellent 68 gave her 3rd place alone, one in front of two Americans, Juli Inkster and Cristie Kerr. One more back was Mi Hyun Kim. The tiny one shot the round of the day, a 67. This left her T6 with Eun-Hee Ji, Natalie Gulbis, and Average Golfer's pick to win, Ya-Ni Tseng, all at -9. There was a three way tie at -8 featuring Na Yeon Choi, Momoko Ueda, and defending champion, Lorena Ochoa.

Inkster began the day eagle, birdie, but was derailed some by a back nine 38. Kerr had 6 birdies in her round, but 4 bogeys as well to bring her back down to earth. It appears it would take a 66 or so to challenge from 4 or 5 spots back on Sunday. Not that many strokes to overcome, but a host of other players. If conditions remain the same as today, there's birdies to be had.

Notables included Karrie Webb, 69, T15, Paula Creamer, 70, T19, Suzann Pettersen, 71, T19, and Annika, 70, T38. I'm sure it's not the way Annika wanted her "last" major to go.

It's a horse race on Sunday, down to the wire. Tune in.

Til' next,


Average Golfer Observation......With the surge of excellent Korean players, my spellcheck is crying "Uncle!".

Fudoh, Shin Lead Women's British Open After 2nd Round - Inkster Lurks.

Yuri Fudoh of Japan and Ji-Yai Shin from Korea mirrored each others scores to share the lead at the halfway mark of the RICOH Women's British Open. Both penciled 66, 68, 134 totals to split a one shot lead over resurgent Juli Inkster. Inkster's 65, 70, 135 left her one shot clear of Bo Bae Song and Cristie Kerr. At -7 was the three way tie of Natalie Gulbis, Ai Miyazato, and ever- favorite Lorena Ochoa. An additional ten players were within 5 shots of the lead, well within striking distance. Among them was Laura Diaz, owner of the bizarre round of the day. Diaz carded 3 eagles on the day on the 1st, 10th, and 11th holes. She missed a 30 ft. eagle putt on the 14th for what would have been a record four eagles in one round. Still, she finished with a 72 that left her at -6, four shots back. Five bogeys and a double bogey added to the roller coaster appearance of Diaz' card. Kerr had the round of the day propelled by six birdies and an eagle for a 65 that put her right in the thick of the race.

Notables include Ya-Ni Tseng at -5, Suzann Pettersen at -4, Paula Creamer, -3, Annika making the cut at even par, and Laura Davies, playing on the weekend at +1. Jeong Jang, one of the pre-tournament favorites withdrew and Morgan Pressel missed the cut.

78 players will tee it up for the weekend, which is the top 65 and ties. $2,100,000.00 is at stake. Rainy outbursts peppered today's round and I'd expect nothing less for the final two rounds. Saturday's results should lend some shape to the final round. Expect it to be tight at the end. Can't wait.

Til' next,

Creamer Nips Inkster In SemGroup Playoff - Anthony Kim Runs Away With Wachovia.

SemGroup Championship

Julie Inkster had chalked up 8 L.P.G.A. victories before Paula Creamer was born. Had she won today she would have been the oldest L.P.G.A. winner at 47. She just missed. Creamer holed a about a 10 footer for birdie on the 2nd playoff hole to rack up her 6th career victory in the SemGroup Championship.

There were multiple ironies at work here. Inkster lost here last year in a playoff to Mi Hyun Kim. Creamer lost last week in a playoff with Annika Sorenstam. She evidently learned a little about playoff golf in a week. The final round was really a match play tournament as the rest of the field was so far behind they were playing for 3rd place. By rights, a balky putter most of the day prevented a Creamer victory in regulation. She'd missed a couple of three footers in regulation and a ten footer on the 18th hole of regulation that forced the playoff.

It was a great finish to watch. Inkster and Creamer are great friends. The empathetic look on Inkster's face when Creamer missed the potential winning putt on the 18th hole was wonderful to see. As much as she felt for Creamer though, there was no mistaking Inkster's desire to dispatch her. Interesting dynamics from two intense competitors. As an aside, Lorena Ochoa's win streak ended at four.

Wachovia Championship

Anthony Kim became the youngest winner on the P.G.A. Tour in 6 years by running away with the Wachovia Championship. He was never seriously threatened by posting a final round 69. His 272 total beat the tournament record held by Tiger Woods by 3 strokes. Ben Curtis had the day's best 65 and still finished 5 behind Kim. Kim became the youngest winner since Sergio Garcia and proved he made the right decision by turning pro after having been named the freshman of the year at Oklahoma.

Next week the boys move to The Players Championship, considered by many to be the 5th major. The women are at Kingsmill for the Michelob ULTRA Open.

*Average Golfer pet peeve.....When will ESPN2 remove the insidious trailers and score updates that reduce the usable size of my TV screen to 7 inches. I have to work to see the player's heads for crying out loud! Seriously, this would prevent me from watching a less riveting tournament.

Til' next,