RICOH Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham& St Annes Golf Club

Saturday August 1st Third round

A beautiful day on the english west coast with enough wind ,though ,to make the course a perfect golf test for the ladies.

Catriona Matthew from Scotland is leading by 3 strokes at -4 over Christina Kim (USA) at -1.They are the only players under par after 54 holes completed at the Women’s British Open . After a shaky start with bogeys at the 3rd and 4th holes Matthew came back with 3 birdies at the 5th,10th and 13th for a 1 under par 71.She didn’t lose her composure when she dropped 2 consecutive shots at the beginning of the day and showed great patience and local knowledge,playing in harmony with the wind and the terrain. Christina Kim birdied the 18 for a 71 to put herself in the last group on Sunday.She hit a lot of greens but failed to convert her birdie chances with the putter.

Defending champion Jiyai Shin(KOR) shot the best round of the day 4 under par 68 which puts her at level par for the championship,tied for 3rd place with Ai Miyazato(JPN) who shot 70. Mika Miyazato(JPN) with an excellent 69 is tied 5th with Song-Hee Kim (KOR 74 today) at +1. Paula Creamer(USA) is T 7 with Kyeong Bae(KOR),Jane Park(USA) and Shinobu Moromizato(JPN).

A lone Scott Catriona Matthew is leading with 3 Americans ,3 Korean and 3 Japanese in the top 10.Will 3 shots be enough to hold on to the lead ?

The pairing in the last round between outgoing and emotionnal Christina Kim and calm and poised Catriona Matthew will be fun to watch.The most prestigious title of all is to grab on Sunday,who will hold the Trophy at the end of the day?

U.S. Senior Open at Crooked Stick Carmel, Indiana

Fred Funk takes the lead at-13 with a 4 under par 3rd round 68. Greg Norman(68 today) and Joey Sindelar(70) are T 2nd at -12. The pros finally took control of the Senior U.S. Open after amateur Tim Jackson led the first 2 days.Jackson shot 1 over par 73 on his 3rd round he is in 4th place alone at10.Superb effort considering the pressure he must have felt with the attention of the medias and all the world of golf centered on him after he destroyed every amateur record of senior’s major championships in his first 2 rounds.He is by no means out of it,seating 3 shots from the lead with 1 round to go. Mark O’Meara is 5th at -9,Dan Forsman is T 6 at -8 with Scott Simpson and Russ Cochran who shot the best round of the championship 8 under par 64. Robin Freeman and and Bruce Vaughan T 9 at -7 complete the top 10 of the leaderboard.

Low scores are possible at Crooked Stick providing the conditions stay the same,I look for a great finish on Sunday.Will it be Greg Norman’s day?

Buick Open at Warwick Hills Grand Blanc, Michigan

Tiger Woods at -17 leads by 1 going to the last round,thanks to Michael Letzig double bogey at 18. Letzig had a 1 shot lead on the 18th tee but made a 6 from the greenside bunker to drop to 2nd place at -16.He will have the pleasure(or is it?) to play in the last group on Sunday with the world # 1 Tiger Woods who has won 46 time out of 49 when starting the last round in the lead. Tiger shot the best round of the day 65 (with 3 other players),not big news.The way he did it is amazing ! He birdied the par 5 13th playing his 3rd shot from the 4th fairway and the other one the 16th hitting his 3rd shot from 223 yards after chipping out of the trees on the right side. Then came the best at the par 3 17th where the crowd,lined up all along and at the sides and back of the hole, is enthousiastic and very loud by traditon,when he sank a 33’ putt for another birdie after a poor shot with an 8 iron.The roar was incredible. John Senden is 3rd at -15,Matt Bettencourt and Vaughn Taylor T 4 at -14,Charles Warren,Greg Chalmers and Jimmy Walker T 6 at -13.

The stage is set up for another Tiger win and though the course is there for the taking and it will probably be a shot out on the last round I don’t see who is capable to pass the world # 1 on Sunday.

Check out the betting lines at BetPhoenix.com Sportsbook and put a wager on your favorite players for Sunday’s last rounds of the Women’s British Open,the Senior U.S. Open and the PGA Tour Buick Open.