Pernilla Lindberg had never held the lead after a round in a major championship, but now she’s done it three straight days.
The 31-year-old Swede shot 2-under-par 70 and will take a three-stroke lead over Amy Olson into the final round of the ANA Inspiration on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage.
“I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing for three days when I go out there tomorrow,” said Lindberg, who is winless in 250 starts as pro. “Obviously it’s going to be different. I’ll have, I don’t know how many girls chasing me tomorrow, and that’s going to be different. Someone’s going to go out there and shoot a low round, so I just need to keep doing what I’m doing.
“I’ve been on tour long enough to be in some heated moments. I just keep collecting experience around here each and every year. I’ve played a lot of golf in my life, and I just feel like the pieces are kind of falling together. I’m just letting it happen.”
Lindberg was two strokes behind, but scrambled for four straight pars to start the back nine before making an 18-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole, a 25-footer for par on the next hole and a five-foot birdie putt on the last hole to set a 54-hole tournament record of 14-under 202.
Olson, 25, who set an NCAA women’s record with 20 victories at North Dakota State but also is seeking her first pro victory, had five birdies and a bogey in her 68.
“I’ve never been in this situation before but I’m excited about it,” said Olson, who will play in the final twosome for the first time in her career on the LPGA Tour. “You can’t really learn until you’ve been there.
“No matter what happens, it’s a learning experience. I’m just looking forward to it. I’m pretty tired after today so I think I’ll sleep pretty good.”
Fourth-ranked Sung Hyun Park of South Korea, who shared the 36-hole lead Lindberg, struggled to a 74 and is in a tie for third with ninth-ranked Inbee Park (67) of South Korea, Moriya Jutanugarn (66) of Thailand, Jodi Ewart Shadoff (69) of England, Jennifer Song (66) of USC, and Charley Hull (69) of England,
Ayako Uehara of Japan is five down in ninth after a 70 and top-ranked Shanshan Feng of China totaled 67 and is another stroke behind in a tie for 10th with Jessica Korda, who had a 73.
Fifth-ranked I.K. Kim of South Korea and eighth-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand both shot 68 and are in a tie for 12th that includes amateur Albane Valenzuela of Switzerland, a sophomore at Stanford, who wound up at 71.
Second-ranked Lexi Thompson and seventh-ranked Cristie Kerr are in a tie for 17th after 71s, sixth-ranked Anna Nordqvist of Sweden had a 70 and is tied for 32nd, 10th-ranked Hyejin Choi of South Korea is tied for 49th after a 72 and third-ranked Seo Yeon Ryu of South Korea, the defending champion, is tied for 67th after a 72.
For complete results, visit http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/ana-inspiration/leaderboard.
