The second and third rounds of the French Lick Resort Charity Classic have ended on a windy Saturday in French Lick, Indiana. The second round finished early in the morning, with only a handful of groups left to finish their rounds. The third round began shortly after, with play beginning at 8:45 a.m. ET, with the leaders teeing off at 12:25 p.m. ET.
Jiwon Jeon continued her impressive play, taking control of the lead at the French Lick Resort Charity Classic with a six-under 66 in her third round. Jeon almost made it two rounds in a row without a bogey, but a wayward second shot on No. 17 gave her the first bogey since her sixteenth hole in the first round. The Republic of Korea native will take a three-shot lead into the final round while trying to pick up her second victory of the season.
"I was just trying to stick to my gameplan today," said Jeon. "This golf course is not easy, so I just tried to keep it in the fairways as much as possible. I did a great job of following my gameplan and making some putts to go with it. It feels amazing to be leading going into the final round."
With a win, Jeon will join Gabriela Ruffels and Jenny Bae as the only two-time winners on the Epson Tour this season. This will be the first time Jeon has carried a lead into the final round this year, with her win earlier this year being a come-from-behind victory where she entered the day two shots back. To put Jeon's play into perspective, the winning score last year was eight-under, and Jeon will enter the final round six shots clear of that total, highlighting just how impressive she has been.
"This is the first time I have held the lead going into the final round," said Jeon. "Patience will be the key for me tomorrow. I need to stay in the present. I try not to watch the leaderboard as much as possible, but if it is there, you are going to see it. It really just depends on how I am playing. If I am playing confident, I love to look at the leaderboard and see what I need to do to win."
Kristen Gillman did her best to chase down Jeon throughout the day, making eight birdies and posting the round of the day with a seven-under 65. Gillman has had back-to-back good rounds, with a four-under round yesterday. The University of Alabama alumna has had the same aggressive mindset throughout the week, with the results coming to the forefront over the last 36 holes.
"With this wind today, you had to play it safe a few times, but even then, I was giving myself good looks," said Gillman. "I could tell my short game was good, which helped me stay aggressive. With this event having such a big purse, it is important to play well this week, but you can't really think about that out there. You just have to try and shoot the best score you can, and hopefully, at the end of the week, it is good enough."
Maddie McCrary sits alone in third, five shots back of the lead, but she definitely had the most colorful scorecard out of anyone. McCrary started her day one-over through two holes, then went eagle-ace and quickly moved to three-under for the round. That would be the last time the Texas native was under par for a hole until her birdie on No. 18 to get her to nine under for the tournament. Between her hole-in-one and the birdie on the last, McCrary struggled a bit to maintain her form in round two. She would have a double and a bogey in that stretch but will still be in contention heading into Sunday.
"The eagle was really great. I hit a really good drive and then had a perfect number for my hybrid and hit it to about 15 feet and made the putt," said McCrary. "Then, on the next hole, I had another really good number into the par 3. I pulled 7 iron, and the ball hit the hill on the green and rolled right in, so it was really fun."
Rounding out the top of the leaderboard are Gabriela Ruffels and Cynthia Lu, who both sit at eight under for the tournament, respectively.
QUICK QUOTES
Cynthia Lu (-8, T4) on her rollercoaster third round:
"The pins were really tucked, but a few tee boxes moved forward, so it was a fun setup today. I did a good job of focusing on where I needed to put the ball and executing. The front nine, though, was really rough. My irons weren't really great, but my putting was awesome. Then on the back nine, it was the total opposite, but I somehow made two eagles on that side, which was awesome.”
Minji Kang (-6, 6) on a four-under round on moving day:
"I was trying not to miss fairways today like I did in my first round this week. I had a disappointing second round but still had a good feeling about my game heading into today. I had really good shot-making today, so that led to a good score."
Miranda Wang (-1, T20) on jumping over 30 spots on moving day:
"Today, I just played a little bit better. The first and second rounds were just so calm but so hot, and I play better when it is a little bit cooler. I liked today's conditions a little bit better, actually, and the wind helped on a lot of the scoring holes. I just needed to make sure I had the right numbers, and I did today."
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