Suzann Pettersen of Norway shot a 6-under-par 66 and grabbed a one-stroke lead over Mariajo Uribe of Colombia after three rounds of the Manulife LPGA Classic at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
Pettersen, who has won 14 times on the LPGA Tour but not since the 2013 LPGA Taiwan Championship, birdied her first three holes and added an eagle on No. 9 while playing the front nine in 5-under 31. She is at 19-under 197 after 54 holes.
“Oh, I can only look upwards, only I can set the pace,” said Pettersen, who has been slowed by a left shoulder injury that forced her to withdraw from two tournaments in April. “Yeah, there’s a lot of people in the hunt for this and the course is playing great. I think it’s fun for the fans to see us shooting low scores and I’m excited to go back out there tomorrow and fight it to the very end.
“Probably be like a shootout. … I’m playing good, I’m making putts and giving myself a lot of opportunities. I’ve had a couple of small mistakes, but I’ve managed to save myself. Overall pretty happy.”
Uribe, a two-time All-American from UCLA who is seeking her first LPGA victory, shot 67 with five birdies in a span of seven holes and made her only bogey at No. 17.
“I’ve been playing well this year, but my putting has been on and off,” said Uribe, whose only LPGA victory came in the 2011 HSBC Brazil Cup, an unofficial event. “So I’ve been coming from two top 20s, so obviously I know my game’s getting there, and coming into the summer I really want to peak right now.
“So it would be great to get a win or second place before the second major of the year and I’m really looking forward to Westchester (where the KMPG Women’s PGA Championship will be played next week.”
Cristie Kerr, a 17-time LPGA winner, carded a bogey-free 67 and was two shots back in third, followed another shot behind by Pernilla Lindberg of Sweden, who had a 68 that included a single bogey.
Katie Burnett eagled the second hole en route to a 67 and was five shots back in a tie for fifth with Brittany Lang and former No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan, both with 69s.
Top-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand posted a second straight 68 that included an eagle on the ninth hole and climbed into a tie for 32nd that included No. 2 Inbee Park of South Korea, who came in at 70.
