MADEIRA, Ohio – American Ally Ewing was welcomed with chants of “Let’s go Ally” as she approached the 18th green on Saturday at Kenwood Country Club as the 54-hole leader of the LPGA’s Kroger Queen City Championship.
Ewing followed up Friday’s 8-under round of 64 with a 5-under 67 on Saturday, turning a two-shot deficit when the day started into a one-shot lead going into Sunday’s final round.
Ewing put together a precise round on Saturday, hitting 13 of 14 fairways, 16 of 18 greens in regulation and had only one bogey on her scorecard.
“My mindset going into today was just to play within myself and go out, execute shots, and I did that really well,” Ewing said. “Unfortunate bogey on 18. It’s a tough hole and didn’t get a ball up and down. Really happy with how I played and how I handled myself and obviously in a good position for tomorrow.”
Kroger Queen City Championship: Leaderboard
The 29-year-old leads the tournament at 16 under. On Sunday, Ewing will be playing for her third career LPGA Tour win.
“There is a ton of golf left,” said Ewing. “I mean, as far as excitement, this is exactly what you want to do, exactly where you want to be after 54 holes.
“I am really excited, but I know tomorrow is going to have its challenges, and I’m going to have to not get ahead of myself. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
The woman on Ewing’s heels is 24-year-old Maria Fassi, who eagled the par-5 15th on Saturday to get to 15-under, alone in second place thanks to a 5-under round of 67.
On the 15th hole, Fassi said she was trying to reach the green with her second shot.
“The second shot didn’t quite come out as we were expecting,” Fassi said. “We were kind of saying that it was honestly the worst spot I could have left myself for my third shot, and my only thought was just try to hit it as high as you can.
“Of course, the result was extra, but I hit a fantastic golf shot and just very happy that it just went in and I could get some momentum for the last few holes.”
This is Fassi’s best position heading into a final round, still in search of her first career LPGA Tour win.
“I’ve said it with my team and the people around me know that this has been a tough year,” Fassi said. “But the golf was there. The golf has always been there, and it was just ‒ for me to believe that it was there, for me to see that I was actually able to hit the shots that I’m able to hit this week, it’s been a huge reward because I’ve worked harder than ever this last year and a half.
“I haven’t seen the results yet, so I’m super excited to see what tomorrow holds, and keep doing what we’re doing of having a lot of fun on the golf course with Gary. I’m just excited that we get 18 more holes to do it again.”
Xiyu Lin, the first-round leader on Thursday, sits in third place at 14 under, and she’s followed by a group of four women – Megan Khang, Sarah Kemp, Ariya Jutanugarn and Jeongeun Lee6 – at 12 under.
“I have nothing to lose and already have three good days, so I’m just going to keep being positive and keep chasing,” said Lin.
There has already been one 9-under round of 63, two 8-under rounds of 64 and a 7-under round of 65 this week. That leaves the possibility of some fireworks from the leaders on Sunday. Last week, Gaby Lopez won the Dana Open in Toledo by shooting a 63 in the final round.
The LPGA is moving Sunday’s tee times up earlier to try and avoid any potential weather later in the afternoon. The leaders will tee off at 9:42 a.m.
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