Four-way tie for lead at Congressional

Four-way tie for lead at Congressional










June 29, 2013 6:59 PM

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Roberto Castro of the U.S. lines up his putt on the seventh hole during the first round of The Players …


(Reuters) - A tumultuous day at the AT&T National ended with a four-way tie for the lead heading into Sunday's final round at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

Roberto Castro pitched in after hitting his approach shot into the water to save par at the 18th and complete a 71 to join the party at seven-under-par 206 along with Andres Romero of Argentina, and Americans Bill Haas and James Driscoll.

One stroke back was long-hitting Jason Kokrak, who powered a 349-yard drive at 18 on his way to finishing a 70 for 207, one stroke better than Tom Gillis and South Korea's Charlie Wi.

Wi made nine birdies, including seven on the front nine, on his way to a 65.

Jordan Spieth, a 19-year-old who began the round sharing the lead with Castro, held an early two-stroke lead after opening the third round with a pair of birdies to reach nine under par, slipped back to four under, three strokes off the pace.


Romero, who had to finish five holes early Saturday morning to complete the weather-interrupted second round, made four early birdies in the third round to reach 10 under par and seize a three-stroke lead.

But the Argentine double-bogeyed the 11th and bogeyed the 12th to set up the log jam at the top.

Haas triple-bogeyed the 11th after dumping a wedge shot into the pond right of the green as player fortunes rose and fell throughout the round as they aimed at pins often placed on the edge of trouble.

Because of a threat of stormy weather forecast for late Sunday afternoon, players will again go off both tees in groups of three beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT) with the final groups teeing off two hours later.

(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York,; Editing by Gene Cherry)

No day in the Park, but Inbee leads by 4

No day in the Park, but Inbee leads by 4









Joe Pantorno, The Sports Xchange June 29, 2013 7:00 PMThe SportsXchange



SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. -- After the first round on Thursday, Inbee Park mentioned that the United States Golf Associationwas "generous" in how it they laid out Sebonack Golf Club for day one of the 68th U.S. Women's Open.

When Sebonack was done with the best women's golfers in the world on day three however, only five of the 68 players who made the cut were under par, and only Park broke the par of 72 on Saturday.

While the rain stayed away, the wind swept through making an already difficult course that much harder.

Park, the No. 1 player in the Rolex Women's Golf Rankings from South Korea, had everything going to plan until the back nine. That's when things started to go wrong.

Eight pars and a birdie on the front nine were wiped out by three straight bogeys on Nos. 11-13.

No need to panic though, as Park rebounded with on Nos. 14-15 with one more on 18 to finish at 1-under-par 71 and ended the day at 10-under for the tournament with four-stroke lead over I.K. Kim, also of South Korea, going into the final round.

Park, who has won five times on the LPGA Tour this season, is trying to match Babe Zaharias, who in 1950 became the only player to win the first three women's majors of the year.

While Park cruised the front nine, it looked like the wheels would fall off for Kim. Following rounds of 68-69 to trail Park by only two strokes, she carded three bogeys and a double bogey in the first seven holes.

Kim shot 4-over on her first seven holes, but turned things around with birdies on the eighth, ninth, 14th and 18th to salvage a 73 and remain in second place.

Jodi Ewart Shadoff of England, who had to finish her second round Saturday morning because of the fog suspension the evening before, birdied her final hole to shoot 74.

Shadoff is seven strokes back and will join Park and Kim in the final threesome Sunday.

Shadoff matched Park's par parade with seven in a row to start, but she fell back with four bogeys on the back nine.

So Yeon Ryu of South Korea, the 2011 U.S. Open champion, shot 73 on her 23rd birthday to follow a 69 and is tied for fourth with Angela Stanford, who followed a second-round 68 with a 74.

Lizette Salas, who came into round three five strokes off the lead, fell out of contention with four bogeys and two double bogeys en route to an 82 that dropped her to a tie for 25th.

Park takes four-stroke lead at U.S. Women's Open

Park takes four-stroke lead at U.S. Women's Open









Joe Pantorno, The Sports Xchange June 29, 2013 7:42 PMThe SportsXchange


SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. -- After the first round on Thursday, Inbee Park mentioned that the United States Golf Associationwas "generous" in how it laid out Sebonack Golf Club for Day 1 of the 68th U.S. Women's Open.



While the rain stayed away, the wind swept through, making an already difficult course that much harder.



Park, the No. 1 player in the Rolex Women's Golf Rankings, had everything going to plan until the back nine. That's when things started to go wrong.



"11 and 12 were not bad bogeys. You could make up a couple bogeys," Park said. "But 13 was a little bit disappointing. I think that actually got to me."



"Those three bogeys were tough to handle," Park said. "On 14 I thought I hit it a little too strong, but I was lucky."




"I'm just going to try and do the same things I've done the last three days," Park said. "It will be a big day, but it's just another round of golf."



"I was tired. But it was tough out there all day," Kim said. "I'm not sure it was the wind that got me, but playing conditions were very tough. I had some tough lies, tough breaks."



"I was able to stay focused," Kim said. "I mean, it's the U.S. Open. It's going to test you in every way."



"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous on the first tee," Shadoff said. "But the first couple holes steadied me down."



Shadoff matched Park's par parade with seven in a row to start, but she fell back with four bogeys on the back nine.



So Yeon Ryu of South Korea, the 2011 U.S. Open champion, shot 73 on her 23rd birthday to follow a 69 and is tied for fourth with Angela Stanford, who followed a second-round 68 with a 74.