Yani Tseng stretches lead to three over Jiyai Shin after three rounds of Kia Classic

Getty Images

Yani Tseng opened with a 67 for a share of the first-round lead, and had a 68 on Friday to pull two strokes ahead before posting her third-round 69.

9

5

14

0

• PRINT
• TEXT

By 

Associated Press 

Series: LPGA Tour

The breaks evened out for Yani Tseng on the final two holes in the third round of the Kia Classic, though she thought La Costa's bumpy greens still owed her a few strokes.

"I guess I got some good breaks and I got some bad breaks," the top-ranked Taiwanese star said. "This is golf. Some things are going to happen."

She remained in position for her second straight LPGA Tour title and third in five events this year, shooting a bogey-free 3-under 69 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead.

Tseng got a bad break when her short birdie try on the par-5 17th staggered to the right.

"I couldn't believe I missed that," Tseng said. "I made a good stroke. I see my ball, it was like boom, boom, boom, and it jumped to the right. It was just like, what is this happening? I mean, you can see very clear the ball is jumping to the right. It's not like I misread it or something."

She got a good break on the 18th when her drive went right, but stayed on the cart path and crossed over a bridge, traveling about 370 yards. Her second shot, however, went past the flag and she was fortunate to two-putt for par from 45 feet, holing out from 8 feet.

"No. 18, that was a pretty lucky shot," Tseng said. "I don't know how that happened. It goes over the bridge, and the bridge was like 3 yards wide. People are telling me, `Yani, you just hit a 370-yard drive.' So, that was probably the longest drive I've ever hit.

"I was very happy because I just got lucky there. To be able to hit it on the green for the second shot. But overall with my round, I just wasn't happy. I couldn't believe how much short putt I missed."

Tseng missed four putts from 6 feet or closer and finished with 30 putts.

"The green are pretty bumpy," Tseng said. "So when I hit it just straight, it bumped to the right or to the left. I just tried my best, but I was just thinking it was unlucky."

The 23-year-old star won the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup last week in Phoenix for her 14th LPGA Tour title, and also won the Honda LPGA Thailand in February. She led the tour last season with seven victories -- including major victories in the LPGA Championship and Women's British Open -- and finished the year with 12 worldwide titles.

"I kind of feel pretty relaxed," Tseng said. "I was pretty happy. I'm going to go putt a little bit and practice a little bit. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow."

South Korea's Jiyai Shin was second after a 68.

"This tournament is a Korean company that sponsors it, so I'm all the time thinking about that," Shin said. "I appreciate the sponsor every time. In California, here they have a lot of Korean people, so they're watching and cheering for me, so it feels like I'm really ready to go when I play. The last couple years, I played good in this tournament, so I only have good memories."

South Korea's Sun Young Yoo and Sweden's Caroline Hedwall were 7 under. Yoo had a 67 -- the best round of the day -- and Hedwall three-putted from 5 feet for a bogey on the 18th to settle for a 70.

"I just wanted to hole the putt, and got a long second putt," Hedwall said. "Oh, well, I will forget about it pretty soon."

Because of expected stormy weather Sunday, the tour moved up the Sunday tee times four hours and will start the players in threesomes off both the first and 10th tees. Last week in Phoenix, the tour didn't move up the tee times for the final round and nearly didn't finish after the round was delayed three times for a total of three hours because of lightning.

"Hopefully, I stay patient another day," Tseng said.

Tseng opened with a 67 for a share of the first-round lead, and had a 68 on Friday to pull two strokes ahead. In her last six events with the 54-hole lead, she has won five times, the only loss coming last year in the Kraft Nabisco. She's 6-5 overall with the 54-hole lead.

Shin had seven birdies and three bogeys. She birdied the first three holes, and got within a stroke of Tseng with a birdie on No. 6. Shin bogeyed Nos. 9, 10 and 12, and rallied with birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 17.

"I played with Yani in Singapore, and we're very close," Shin said. "We're very good friends, so I'm really excited to play with Yani. She hits it really long, so I just keep focusing on my game."

Se Ri Pak, two strokes behind Tseng after the second round, had a 73 to drop to 6 under.

Scouting The Senior Bowl: Interior Offensive Linemen

Posted Jan 22, 2014

Ryan MinkBaltimoreRavens.com Staff Writer@Ravens All Ryan Mink Articles



The Ravens are looking to beef up the line and the senior centers are big, as is top guard Cyril Richardson.



While juniors rule the top of draft boards at many positions, the interior offensive line – and in particular center – is the domain of the seniors.

Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome said the Ravens need to get bigger inside on the offensive line, and they could certainly do that via the draft if they so choose.

Here are my notes on the centers and guards:
Baylor guard Cyril Richardson is one of the top prospects at the Senior Bowl, a projected second-round pick. He’s played up to that standard.
Richardson is a 6-foot-4, 343-pound monster. He’s the heaviest player at the Senior Bowl. He uses that size to try to physically dominate players. Richardson notched a couple of pancakes Wednesday.
Richardson is more nimble than you would think for 343 pounds. He can pull and get around the edge. But that’s not his strong suit.
Richardson was beat back-to-back times by two different defensive tackles with speed moves. They beat him with their hands and easily got past. Pass protection is where he needs to improve because Baylor runs a quick passing attack, so he didn't need to do too much.
Another guard worth paying attention to is Mississippi State guard Gabe Jackson. He's 6-foot-3, 339 pounds, so he's also a very big player. He started three straight years, and he's can move people off the line of scrimmage.
Michigan’s Michael Schoefield is a big guard at over 6-foot-6, and 303 pounds. He’s a typical Big-10 offensive lineman, tough at the point of attack and sharp. He played alongside one of the best left tackles in the country, Taylor Lewan. Schoefield buried one defender that got turned sideways for one of the best blocks of either Wednesday practice.
Colorado State’s Weston Richburg and Arkansas’ Travis Swanson are most likely contending to be the top centers in the draft. Swanson is bigger at 6-foot-5, 310 pounds, while Richburg is 6-foot-3, 300 pounds. Swanson could definitely still put more bulk on his frame.
Richburg has been a center his entire career, and he started all four years. He’s got the physical mentality of a grinder. He’s had a steady and strong week at the Senior Bowl, and excels in pass protection.
Richburg has very good feet. He flew out to the edge pulling on one play. He's got good balance and anchors well in pass protection too.
Swanson has more position flexibility than Richburg, as he could be flexed to guard. He played both positions during practice. He moves well for his size and is quick at the point of attack. He gets off the snap well and has long arms to keep defenders off him.
Swanson is just the 11th two-time team captain in Arkansas football history.
The Ravens had defensive tackle Cody Larson on the practice squad last year. His younger brother, Utah State’s Tyler Larsen, was on the North squad. The younger Larsen has shorter arms than his peers, but still gets good punch at the line.
Florida State center Bryan Stork was a consensus All-American and winner of the Rimington Trophy (given to the best college center) after anchoring the offensive line for the national champions.
Stork doesn’t have great mobility. He lumbered outside during screens. He’s very aggressive and stout in the middle, controlling the bigger defensive linemen.