Scoring early in the third round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship with birdies on 2,3,7 and 8, Annika Sorenstam never looked back. Two more birdies on 12 and 15 gave her a final score of 66. Poised for her 59th career win and averaging over 271 yards off the tee this week, the 34-year-old swede is on her way to winning her eighth major title. And, comparatively speaking, with over $16 million in earnings to date, Sorenstam would rank 16th on the PGA Tour Money List.
Playing with Annika today was 45-year-old veteran Rosie Jones who is contemplating retirement at the end of this season. Although a co-leader yesterday, Jones could not match Sorenstam. With a birdie putt at 11 to get her to 6-under-par, Jones gave back a stroke at 13, narrowly missed her birdie putt at 17 and finished with par to come in with a 6-under 66 for the tournament.
Mi Hyun Kim rounded out the threesome with Sorenstam and Jones. Kim began her day with a birdie but bogeyed on the second hole. Although Kim birdied the 6th hole, she gave one back at the 17th to finish even for the day.
Cristie Kerr, currently tied for third place with Kim, played even par through nine holes but birdied 11, 13 and 15, giving only one stroke back on 17. Don’t count Kerr out of a top 10 finish for this tournament. With 3 starts this year, Kerr already has two top ten finishes and is in third place on the 2005 ADT Official Money List. Rosie, Annika and Cristie Kerr are paired up for final round action with a start time of 9:45am.
Amateur Michelle Wie remained in the mix but finished with a 1-over 73. With two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine, Wie was playing comfortably. The fifteen-year-old made her move with birdies at 11, 12, and 13, but, with bogeys at 15 and 17 and a disastrous double-bogey at 18, her confidence turned to sorrow. “I Felt really great today, after 15 didn’t go my way, good shots just turned out bad.”
Top-ranked amateur Morgan Pressel played an even round today and is currently tied for fifth place with six others including Lauras Diaz and Davies. Veteran Juli Inkster and calendar girl Natalie Gulbis also played even par today and are tied for 12th. Grace Park, winner of last year’s Kraft Nabisco Championship, started her day with a bogey, bogeyed the 12th and made two back-to-back double bogeys at the 6th and 7th holes finishing with a disappointing round of 76.
Catch the Final Round action Sunday 4-6 pm ET (1PM PT) on ABC, and watch the winner take the traditional celebratory dive into Champion’s Lake.
Photo Credit: © Getty Images.
Great work yet again by Annika.