Mitchell TOC – 3rd Round

Lorena Ochoa carries a five-shot lead into the final round of the Mitchell Company Tournament Of Champions. Her round of 63 puts her at -14 with Paula Creamer in second at -9 and Juli Inkster third at -7.

On a windy overcast day which saw most players struggling to stay under par, Ochoa fired a 63 – one stroke off the course record. Since her bad start on Friday, Lorena has played the last 33 holes in -13. Creamer put together a bogey-less round of 69 to leave herself as the only player with a realistic chance to deny Ochoa the victory, which would clinch the Rolex Player Of The Year title. Starting the day tied for the lead, Inkster could only manage a 73, while co-leader Moira Dunn put herself completely out of the picture with a 78 (-2). Speaking of “out of the picture”, Cristie Kerr went to the tee at 15 at -7 – a double there and then an 8 at the par-3 17th destroyed her chances. She bogeyed 18 for good measure and now stands T22 at +1 after a round of 80.

Stacy Prammanasudh survived “Attrition Saturday” with a 71 and is fourth at -6. Dorothy Delasin passed a lot of players with her round of 66 – she’s tied for fifth at -5 with Angela Stanford and Karen Stupples. Jee Young Lee’s 69 made it four players in the 60s for the second day in a row and has her tied for tenth at -3.