Lizette Salas of Azusa capped a long day with a bogey-free 65 to take a three-stroke lead over Hee Young Park of South Korea after three rounds of the Kingsmill Championship on the River Course at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va.
The 24-year-old Salas, who has five top-five finishes in two seasons on the LPGA Tour without winning, came back on Saturday morning to complete the second round, which was halted by darkness after a 3 1/2-hour delay at the start of the day because of heavy overnight rain.
Salas played seven holes in the morning, carding a three-putt bogey on her first hole, but didn’t make another miscue the rest of the day. In her final 24 holes, she made seven birdies and 17 pars.
“I felt really good; I like my mentality,” said Salas, a two-time All-American at USC. “I felt relaxed, most importantly. I was just trying to smile as much as possible. I felt more comfortable over the ball, especially on the putting green.
“I was pretty upset about that (three-putt bogey). I don’t not like bogeying par‑5s, and especially a three‑putt. So that gave me a little bit extra motivation, and I birdied my last hole of the second round.”
Park, the second-round leader at 66-68 who has won nine times as a pro including twice on the LPGA Tour, made two bogeys down the stretch while posting a 69 in round three.
Lydia Ko, the 17-year-old sensation from New Zealand who has three victories on the LPGA Tour including one this season, had a bogey-free 67 and was five shots back in a tie for third with Stacy Lewis, who shot 70, and Katherine Kirk of Australia and Pepperdine, who came in at 68.
Lexi Thompson, the Kraft Nabisco champion, recorded a 70 and was six strokes back in a tie for sixth with former world No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan, who totaled 68, and Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand, who finished with a 66.
