Click here for complete groups and tee times for the third round of HUGEL-JTBC LA Open.
*All tee times are local
Morgan Pressel (-3), Azahara Munoz (-3), Lexi Thompson (-3)
12:46 p.m. – 1st Tee
Friday, Tour veteran Morgan Pressel rattled off three consecutive birdies to post a 3-under par, 68 and jump into the hunt heading into the weekend at the HUGEL-JTBC LA Open. Pressel credits her success this week to the work she’s put in with instructor Martin Hall. The pair reunited in August 2017, but previously worked together for nine years early in Pressel’s career before splitting in 2008 shortly after she turned professional. She’ll need to make a move on Saturday to make up ground as she starts the weekend five strokes back of leader Moriya Jutanugarn. Pressel is grouped with Azahara Munoz and Lexi Thompson on moving day. Munoz is coming off a season best runner-up finish last week in Hawaii and has kept the momentum rolling this week thanks to improvements in her health following a recent diagnosis with Hashimoto’s disease. Thompson opened with rounds of 68-71 to sit five strokes back heading into the weekend.
Eun-Hee Ji (-5), Inbee Park (-5), Jin Young Ko (-5)
12:56 p.m. – 1st Tee
Major champions Eun-Hee Ji and Inbee Park will play alongside rookie Jin Young Ko on moving day in Los Angeles. Seven years after winning the U.S. Women’s Open, Ji won last Fall and again in March at the Kia Classic with an incredible ace during the final round. She’s continued to put herself in contention with a T11 finish last week in Hawaii and this week she sits just three back of the lead heading into the weekend. Park held the first-round lead in Los Angeles, but for the second consecutive weeks she’s struggled on the greens. Short putts continue to challenge Park, who had no trouble draining the ones from long range. Park will need to get the short ones rolling in to have a chance this weekend. Ko leaped into the penultimate group with a 4-under par, 67 on Friday. The 2018 rookie is already a winner this season having won in her first start of the year in Australia. Her consistency week to week has put her well ahead in the Rolex Rookie of the Year standings, which she could further extend with another solid finish this weekend.
Moriya Jutanugarn (-8), Marina Alex (-7), So Yeon Ryu (-6)
1:10 p.m. – 1st Tee
Two members of the 2013 rookie class, Moriya Jutanugarn and Marina Alex, are in the hunt for their first win on the LPGA Tour. They’re grouped together on moving day alongside two-time major champion So Yeon Ryu. As both Jutanugarn and Alex have grown in confidence, they’ve notched a combined 22 top 10s in the last 16 months. Jutanugarn has worked extensively with Vision 54 on the mental aspects of her game. Their most recent focus is on learning to accept shots that are good enough. She’s had plenty of great ones to accept with a bogey-free 66 on Friday that put her at the top of the leaderboard. Like Jutanugarn, Alex has relied on her mental game in unfamiliar territory atop the leaderboard. It has paid off this week as she opened with rounds of 67-68 to sit just one back of the lead heading into the weekend. Ryu did a bit of her own self talk on Friday. The former world No. 1 has struggled in her start to 2018 with one top 10. She told herself to stop thinking and start feeling. That change in attitude propelled her to a 6-under par, 65 for the low round of the day on Friday.
Click here for complete groups and tee times for the third round of HUGEL-JTBC LA Open.
*All tee times are local
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