RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Jennifer Kupcho began quick and saved on going Saturday in The Chevron Championship to take a six-stroke lead into the final spherical ever at Mission Hills within the main championship.
Kupcho shot an 8-under 64 on anther sizzling and sunny afternoon within the Coachella Valley for a tournament-record 16-under 200 whole.
“Every part was working,” Kupcho mentioned. “I mean, seriously, this week I think my putting is definitely the props. I have putted really well and you got to make putts in a major championship.”
Defending champion Patty Tavatanakit, enjoying alongside Kupcho within the second-to-last group, was second after a 70. The Thai participant declined to remark after the spherical.
Kupcho moved into place to win for the primary time on the LPGA Tour and take the final victory leap in Poppie’s Pond, three years after passing up a spot within the occasion to play and win that week within the inaugural Augusta Nationwide Girls’s Novice. She watched the Augusta occasion earlier than her late tee time Saturday.
“That was pretty cool and just brings back those good memories,” Kupcho mentioned. “I don’t know if that was constructive vibes, however undoubtedly did watch that. I feel it helped to get my thoughts off this event.”
The occasion that began in 1972 because the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle and have become a significant in 1983 is shifting to Houston after failing to draw a sponsor prepared to maintain it at history-packed Mission Hills.
Full-field scores from the Chevron Championship
Kupcho birdied eight of the primary 12 holes in principally calm situations. After a gap par, the 24-year-old former Wake Forest star from Colorado birdied the following 4. She added a birdie on No. 8 and opened the again 9 with three straight birdies.
“Honestly, it’s all a blur,” Kupcho mentioned. “I mean, I hit the fairways, hit the greens and really was just trying to put smooth putting strokes on them. That’s what I did, and they fell.”
Tavatanakit gave the impression to be in place to chop into the lead on the par-5 eleventh when she hit her 256-yard second to six ft, with Kupcho within the left greenside bunker in two. However Tavatanakit missed the eagle putt and Kupcho received up-and-down for birdie, holing a 6-footer to match Tavatanakit.
Each gamers bogeyed the par-4 thirteenth, and Kupcho stretched the result in seven on the par-3 seventeenth when she made a 10-foot birdie putt and Tavatanakit bogeyed the opening. Tavatanakit received one again with a birdie on the par-5 18th.
Kupcho broke the 54-hole document of 14 beneath set by Pernilla Lindberg in 2018 and matched by Tavatanakit final 12 months. Dottie Pepper set the 72-hole mark of 19-under 269 in 1999.
Kupcho additionally matched her lowest tour rating, hitting all however one fairway and three greens in regulation on the tree-lined structure.
“It’s really special, just to be out here,” Kupcho mentioned. “I love this place. I love stepping on property. You just get positive vibes. It’s such a beautiful course, so I think just taking it all in. But then again, just once it’s time to hit a shot, focusing on that shot.”
Jessica Korda was third at 9 beneath after a 67.
“They’re baking out these greens, so it’s really tough and you got to keep figuring out where to land it and how much it might roll out,” Korda said. “It’s playing a pretty big factor, especially on some of these pins.”
Annie Park shot a 73 to fall to 7 beneath.
Lexi Thompson, the 2014 champion, had a 71 to match Brooke Henderson (67), Hannah Inexperienced (68), Gabriela Ruffels (71), Hyo Joo Kim (73) and Nanna Koerstz Madsen (72) at 6 beneath.
“Score-wise, obviously, I have to shoot like lights out, but honestly just overall enjoying every single step of being the last round out here,” Thompson mentioned. “Hopefully, they can get another event out here.”
Koerstz Madsen has a playoff victory and loss in her final two begins, beating Xiyu Lin three weeks in the past in Thailand to turn out to be the primary Danish winner in LPGA Tour historical past and dropping to Atthaya Thitikul final week in Carlsbad.
Second-round chief Hinako Shibuno had a 77 to drop 12 strokes again.
Prime-ranked Jin Younger Ko, the 2019 winner, was even par after a 74.
Brooke Seay, the Stanford junior who turned down a spot at Augusta to play the ultimate occasion at Mission Hills, was the one one of many 4 amateurs within the area to make the lower. She was 1 over after a 75.
