Saturday On the links More pro golf results

JTBC FOUNDERS CUP

PHOENIX

Sei Young Kim stumbled late Saturday afternoon in the JTBC Founders Cup, handing the lead to Eun-Hee Ji and putting Stacy Lewis, Lydia Ko and many others in far better position than they expected.

Three strokes ahead after an eagle on the par-4 13th, Kim failed to birdie the par-5 15th and bogeyed the par-4 16th and par-3 17th. Her 2-under 70 dropped her into a tie for second with Lewis, a stroke behind Ji.

“It’s OK. I have one day, tomorrow,” said Kim, the 23-year-old South Korean player who won three times last season and was the LPGA Tour’s rookie of the year.

Ji made a 12-foot birdie putt on 17 and finished with a 65 to reach 18-under 198 on another perfect day at Desert Ridge’s Wildfire Golf Club. She won last year in Alabama for her second LPGA Tour title.

“My putting was really good,” Ji said. “My iron shot was really good, too. I was really struggling with my irons the last couple of weeks, but it’s getting better this week.”

Lewis had a 64, closing with a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th.

“These scores are just ridiculous,” Lewis said. “You just can’t look at a leaderboard. You just go out there and make as many birdies as you can.”

The Texan won the event in 2013 and finished second the last two years. She has nine runner-up finishes in a 43-event victory drought that dates to June 2014.

“I’m just really happy to see some good scores going up,” Lewis said.

Jacqui Concolino was two strokes back after a 68. The top-ranked Ko, Carlota Ciganda and Paula Creamer were another shot behind. Ko and Ciganda shot 64, and Paula Creamer had a 67.

INDIAN OPEN

NEW DELHI

Just like last year, SSP Chawrasia leads the Indian Open after a flawless third-round 68 on Saturday.

The 37-year-old, who won the 2008 Indian Masters over the same tree-lined layout, has a two-shot lead over Terry Pilkadaris (73) of Australia.

Chawrasia went four under for the first eight holes. There were no birdies afterward but Chawrasia scrambled from extremely difficult positions to register 10 straight pars from the ninth to the 18th.

“I want to win it because I have finished second over here four times,” said Chawrasia, who is 14 under overall.

Chawrasia holed a 10-footer at the first, almost chipped in from the bunker on the third, and then reeled off three birdies from Nos. 6 to 8, including a 20-foot putt on the seventh.

He had to hole difficult par putts on the 10th and 17th, including a chip-in from a grassy hollow after being stuck in thorny bushes on the par-3 12th.

Chawrasia has been here before. In 2015 he led by two over Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh, before Anirban Lahiri took the title in a playoff against Chawrasia.

Associated Press