Cheyenne Knight fired a 4-under-par 67 to jump into the lead by two shots after the third round of the inaugural JM Eagle LA Championship on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Knight, who began the day in a three-way tie for second, had an eagle on the par-5 13th hole, two birdies and all pars the rest of the way at Wilshire Country Club.
She has a two-shot lead over South Korea’s Hae Ran Ryu and Australia’s Hannah Green.
“I just kind of felt calm out there and confident, I would say,” said Knight, whose only previous LPGA Tour victory came in 2019. “I just tried to do everything right and visualize my shot well, and then just let it go and trust my swing. Just kind of free-wheel it out there.”
Ryu, an LPGA Tour rookie, shot 4-under on a round that included six birdies and two bogeys.
Green, who along with Knight and Pernilla Lindberg, began the day one shot behind Aditi Ashok. Green rescued a potentially disastrous round with five birdies in her final six holes. They were her only under-par holes on the day, and they came after she had a bogey 5 on the eighth hole and a double-bogey 6 on the 11th.
“There was a couple of tricky pins to actually be able to go for,” Green said. “Unfortunately, I made a bogey on 8 and then also a double on 11. I made a solid par on 12, and my caddie said, ‘There’s a few gettable holes, let’s just hang in there.’ “
Gemma Dryburgh of Scotland, one of two golfers to shoot a best-round 66, was alone in fourth place at 6-under 207. China’s Xiyu Lin, the other golfer to fire a 66, and Ashok of India were tied for fifth at 5 under. Ashok had one birdie and two bogies as she was 1-over for the day. Lin had seven birdies but also had a double-bogey on 11.
Lindberg of Sweden shot 3-over for the day and was in a large group tied for 16th. First-round leader Linnea Johansson of Sweden had her second straight over-par day, her 77 leaving her in a tie for 58th.
–Field Level Media
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