Na Yeon Choi Takes Commanding Lead After 3rd Round Of 2012 US Women’s Open

Na Yeon Choi

The course at Blackwolf Run was said to challenge the best women golfers in the world at the 2012 United States Women’s Open, and so far it has. However, there are good scores to be had if a player gets on a roll. In round 2, Michelle Wie set a course record with a 6-under 66. That record lasted for all of 1 day as 5-time LPGA winner Na Yeon Choi caught fire with a 7-under 65, at times making it look easy. In fact, NYC was 7-under through the first 12 holes. The announcing crew was even wondering if Choi would make a run at Helen Alfredsson’s US Women’s Open low round record of 63 in 1994 at Indianwood, the site of this year’s US Senior Open. Of course, the jinx was immediately in effect as Na Yeon bogeyed 13, although she did get a stroke back with a birdie on the par 3 17th. NYC will sleep on a 6-shot lead at 8-under. With 1 round to play, it’s difficult to imagine anybody catching her unless she comes back to the field a little. NYC has spoken about how this US Women’s Open is especially important to Korean players like herself. It was at Blackwolf Run in 1998 that Se Ri Pak recorded the most important tournament victory in the golf history of her country. While winning any USWO is special, winning at Blackwolf Run would be an extra bonus for NYC. Oddly enough, she has a history of winning in Se Ri’s footsteps. Na Yeon has 5 LPGA victories. She won the 2009 Samsung World Championship, which Se Ri won in 1999. NYC won Hana Bank in 2009 and 2010. Se Ri won it in 2002, when it was the CJ Nine Bridges. Choi won the 2010 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic. Pak owns that event, winning it 5 times (1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2007). NYC’s other LPGA victory was at last year’s (2011) Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. OK, Se Ri hasn’t won that event yet, but she does share the record for low round with a 65 in the 3rd round last year.

NA YEON CHOI

AMY YANG

LEXI THOMPSON

MIKA MIYAZATO

SANDRA GAL

VICKY HURST

PAULA CREAMER

NICOLE CASTRALE

LIZETTE SALAS

INBEE PARK

CRISTIE KERR

SUZANN PETTERSEN

MICHELLE WIE

ANNIKA SORENSTAM (she was in the booth helping to call the action)

LYDIA KO

STACY LEWIS

SE RI PAK

AI MIYAZATO

GERINA PILLER

Pos

Player

Ctry

Total

Hole

Today

Total

1	CHOI, Na Yeon	-8	12:00 p.m.	-7	71	72	65	208
2	YANG, Amy	-2	12:00 p.m.	-3	73	72	69	214
T3	THOMPSON, Lexi	-1	11:50 a.m.	E	70	73	72	215
T3	MIYAZATO, Mika	-1	11:50 a.m.	+1	71	71	73	215
T3	GAL, Sandra	-1	11:40 a.m.	+2	71	70	74	215
6	HURST, Vicky	E	11:40 a.m.	+3	71	70	75	216
T7	CREAMER, Paula	+1	11:30 a.m.	-1	73	73	71	217
T7	CASTRALE, Nicole	+1	11:30 a.m.	+2	73	70	74	217
T7	SALAS, Lizette	+1	11:20 a.m.	+3	69	73	75	217
T7	PARK, Inbee	+1	11:20 a.m.	+4	71	70	76	217
T7	KERR, Cristie	+1	11:10 a.m.	+5	69	71	77	217
T7	PETTERSEN, Suzann	+1	11:10 a.m.	+6	71	68	78	217
T13	SERGAS, Giulia	+2	11:00 a.m.	+1	74	71	73	218
T13	WIE, Michelle	+2	11:00 a.m.	+6	74	66	78	218
T15	FENG, Shanshan	+3	10:50 a.m.	-1	74	74	71	219
T15	KANG, Danielle	+3	10:50 a.m.	-1	78	70	71	219
T15	MUNOZ, Azahara	+3	10:40 a.m.	+1	73	73	73	219
T15	RYU, So Yeon	+3	10:40 a.m.	+2	74	71	74	219
T15	MIYAZATO, Ai	+3	10:30 a.m.	+3	70	74	75	219
T20	JANG, Jeong	+4	10:30 a.m.	+3	73	72	75	220
T20	WALSHE, Alison	+4	10:20 a.m.	+3	74	71	75	220
T20	KORDA, Jessica	+4	10:20 a.m.	+3	74	71	75	220
T20	YOKOMINE, Sakura	+4	10:10 a.m.	+3	75	70	75	220
T20	LEE, Il Hee	+4	10:10 a.m.	+5	72	71	77	220
T25	LACROSSE, Cindy	+5	10:00 a.m.	+2	73	74	74	221
T25	PAK, Se Ri	+5	10:00 a.m.	+4	72	73	76	221
T25	RECARI, Beatriz	+5	9:50 a.m.	+4	70	75	76	221
T25	PHATLUM, Pornanong	+5	9:50 a.m.	+4	76	69	76	221
T29	GULYANAMITTA, Numa	+6	9:40 a.m.	+1	73	76	73	222
T29	FUTCHER, Katie	+6	9:40 a.m.	+2	73	75	74	222
T29	JOHNSON, Jennifer	+6	9:30 a.m.	+4	76	70	76	222
T29	KANG, Jimin	+6	9:30 a.m.	+6	72	72	78	222
T33	LINCICOME, Brittany	+7	9:20 a.m.	+2	69	80	74	223
T33	HARIGAE, Mina	+7	9:20 a.m.	+3	77	71	75	223
T33	REID, Melissa	+7	9:10 a.m.	+3	79	69	75	223
T33	SHIN, Jenny	+7	9:10 a.m.	+4	76	71	76	223
T33	LEE, Jennie	+7	9:00 a.m.	+7	70	74	79	223
T38	LUNA, Diana	+8	9:00 a.m.	+4	76	72	76	224
T38	LANG, Brittany	+8	8:50 a.m.	+5	73	74	77	224
T38	TSENG, Yani	+8	8:50 a.m.	+6	74	72	78	224
T41	LEE, Meena	+9	8:40 a.m.	+4	71	78	76	225
T41	CIGANDA, Carlota	+9	8:40 a.m.	+5	76	72	77	225
T41	YOUNG, Heather Bowie	+9	8:30 a.m.	+5	75	73	77	225
T41	NORDQVIST, Anna	+9	8:30 a.m.	+7	72	74	79	225
T41	KO, Lydia (a)	+9	8:20 a.m.	+7	74	72	79	225
T41	SEO, Hee Kyung	+9	8:20 a.m.	+8	72	73	80	225
T41	PAK, Jinyoung	+9	8:10 a.m.	+8	73	72	80	225
T41	PILLER, Gerina	+9	8:10 a.m.	+9	73	71	81	225
T49	JUNG, Yeon Ju	+10	8:00 a.m.	+8	74	72	80	226
T49	LEWIS, Stacy	+10	8:00 a.m.	+8	77	69	80	226
T51	MCPHERSON, Kristy	+11	7:50 a.m.	+9	75	71	81	227
T51	STANFORD, Angela	+11	7:50 a.m.	+9	75	71	81	227
T51	SONG, Jennifer	+11	7:40 a.m.	+9	72	74	81	227
T54	LEE, Alison (a)	+12	7:40 a.m.	+7	75	74	79	228
T54	WEBB, Karrie	+12	7:30 a.m.	+9	75	72	81	228
T56	OH, Angela	+13	7:30 a.m.	+8	75	74	80	229
T56	TALLEY, Emma (a)	+13	7:20 a.m.	+9	73	75	81	229
T56	YOO, Sun Young	+13	7:20 a.m.	+9	76	72	81	229
T56	HULL, Katherine	+13	7:10 a.m.	+9	75	73	81	229
T60	KANE, Lorie	+15	7:10 a.m.	+10	76	73	82	231
T60	SCHREEFEL, Dewi Claire	+15	7:00 a.m.	+10	73	76	82	231
T62	LEE, Jihee	+16	7:00 a.m.	+11	79	70	83	232
T62	MACKENZIE, Paige	+16	6:50 a.m.	+11	75	74	83	232
T62	KIM, Sue	+16	6:50 a.m.	+13	75	72	85	232
65	GUSTAFSON, Sophie	+17	6:40 a.m.	+12	77	72	84	233
		Missed the Cut
	KIM, I.K.		Cut		74	76		150
	BOELJON, Christel		Cut		75	75		150
	BURNETT, Katie		Cut		72	78		150
	WARD, Wendy		Cut		72	78		150
	TEACHMAN, Tessa		Cut		75	75		150
	KIM, Mindy		Cut		72	78		150
	KIM, Kyung (a)		Cut		77	73		150
	GRANADA, Julieta		Cut		81	70		151
	KUNG, Candie		Cut		74	77		151
	HAN, Hee Won		Cut		77	74		151
	TAMULIS, Kris		Cut		76	75		151
	HUR, Mi Jung		Cut		80	71		151
	MATTHEW, Catriona		Cut		75	76		151
	KIM, Christina		Cut		75	77		152
	LEE, Seon Hwa		Cut		78	74		152
	DO, Brianna		Cut		74	78		152
	STUPPLES, Karen		Cut		76	76		152
	UEDA, Momoko		Cut		77	75		152
	CLANTON, Cydney		Cut		79	73		152
	NOMURA, Haru		Cut		75	77		152
	BERNABE, Elisabeth (a)		Cut		74	79		153
	JACQUES, Kelly		Cut		77	76		153
	HJORTH, Maria		Cut		77	76		153
	WOODS, Cheyenne		Cut		75	78		153
	RANKIN, Reilley		Cut		80	73		153
	GLEASON, Jennifer		Cut		73	80		153
	GREEN, Jaye Marie (a)		Cut		75	78		153
	PARK, Hee Young		Cut		74	79		153
	CHEN, Doris (a)		Cut		76	77		153
	ALTOMARE, Brittany (a)		Cut		78	76		154
	O’SULLIVAN, Hannah (a)		Cut		76	78		154
	AYADA, Hiroko		Cut		76	78		154
	TANCO, Victoria		Cut		81	73		154
	SUH, Jenny		Cut		75	79		154
	JI, Eun-Hee		Cut		76	78		154
	JOH, Tiffany		Cut		75	79		154
	PARK, Jisoo (a)		Cut		76	78		154
	CHOI, Chella		Cut		81	73		154
	DOMINGUEZ, Gabriella (a)		Cut		80	74		154
	MORENO, Paola		Cut		77	78		155
	GULBIS, Natalie		Cut		76	79		155
	PERRY, Katherine (a)		Cut		74	81		155
	SHON, Kelly (a)		Cut		78	77		155
	KHANG, Megan (a)		Cut		75	80		155
	FELIBERT, Veronica		Cut		79	76		155
	BEISIEGEL, Isabelle		Cut		81	74		155
	PANCAKE, Brooke		Cut		79	76		155
	MARTIN, Mo		Cut		78	77		155
	NAKAYAMA, Mina		Cut		78	77		155
	WILSON, Haley		Cut		78	78		156
	HULLETT, Jamie		Cut		78	78		156
	MOZO, Belen		Cut		76	80		156
	PRAMMANASUDH, Stacy		Cut		76	80		156
	JUTANUGARN, Moriya (a)		Cut		80	77		157
	O’TOOLE, Ryann		Cut		75	82		157
	BLUMENHERST, Amanda		Cut		75	82		157
	MORGAN, Becky		Cut		81	76		157
	HEDWALL, Caroline		Cut		77	80		157
	BAE, Kyeong		Cut		78	79		157
	SIM, Hyun Hwa		Cut		81	76		157
	KIM, Birdie		Cut		81	77		158
	BRISTOW, Cathryn		Cut		83	75		158
	KEEL, Jisoo (a)		Cut		81	77		158
	LOPEZ, Gabriela (a)		Cut		80	78		158
	YANG, Soo Jin		Cut		77	82		159
	LEE, Mi Hyang		Cut		74	86		160
	WEAVER, Lindsey (a)		Cut		79	81		160
	PACE, Lee-Anne		Cut		78	83		161
	INKSTER, Juli		Cut		79	82		161
	ALVAREZ, Lili		Cut		84	77		161
	NEFF, Aimee		Cut		81	80		161
	BABA, Yukari		Cut		78	83		161
	GRIMES, Lisa		Cut		83	78		161
	MEADOW, Stephanie (a)		Cut		77	84		161
	HUFFER, Becca		Cut		79	82		161
	AUBERT, Shannon (a)		Cut		82	79		161
	HARRIS, Katy		Cut		82	80		162
	HURST, Pat		Cut		81	81		162
	PULLEY, Kylene		Cut		81	81		162
	ARMSTRONG, Ashley (a)		Cut		80	82		162
	HUNG, Amy		Cut		82	81		163
	MEIER, Christine (a)		Cut		80	84		164
	ALVAREZ, Anya Sarai		Cut		82	82		164
	YIN, Angel (a)		Cut		78	87		165
	PARK, Annie (a)		Cut		81	84		165
	MAO, Briana (a)		Cut		85	81		166
	MARKS, Samantha S. (a)		Cut		87	79		166
	RAH, Jane		Cut		80	88		168
	MITSUNAGA, Rinko (a)		Cut		87	81		168
	STOLL, Gigi (a)		Cut		86	84		170
WD	PRESSEL, Morgan				74			74