Alison Lee of Valencia equaled the course record with a bogey-free 9-under-par 63 and was tied for third, three strokes out of the lead, heading into the final round of the JTBC Founders Cup at Marriott’s Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix.
Lee, who left the UCLA golf team in the middle of her sophomore year after claiming medalist honors at LPGA Qualifying School in December, made the last of her nine birdies while finishing on the ninth hole, where she hit her 9-iron approach to within 18 inches.
“I kind of played my own game,” said the 20-year-old Lee, who won the Pacific 12 Conference Championship as a freshman and was playing in only her third event on the LPGA Tour, having taken her finals at UCLA last week.
“I really didn’t even realize that I was playing that well until the last hole when I finally looked at the scoreboard. I was hitting all my approach shots really well.”
Hyo Joo Kim, 19, of South Korea shot 66 and took a two-stroke lead over Stacy Lewis, who posted a 67, while Kim Kaufman carded a 70 and was tied for third with Lee.
Top-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand had a 69 and was four shots back in a tie for fifth with South Koreans Ha Na Jang and Mi-Hyang Lee, who both came in at 68.
Lizette Salas of Azusa and USC posted a 67 and was another stroke behind in a tie for eighth with Sandra Gal (67) of Germany, Ariya Jutanugarn (70) of Thailand, Xi Yu Lin (68) of China, Pornanong Phatlum (66) of Thailand and Amy Yang (68) of South Korea.
