Lee, Lewis co-leaders going into LPGA Shootout final round

DALLAS; World No. 3 Stacy Lewis fired a two-under par 69 Saturday to match South Korea’s Meena Lee for the lead after the third round of the LPGA North Texas Shootout.
US star Lewis and Lee, who shot 70 Saturday, enter the final round deadlocked atop the leaderboard at nine-under 204 after 54 holes in the $1.3 million event.
Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, Paraguay’s Julieta Granada and American Dori Carter shared third on 205.
“It’s going to be a shoot-out tomorrow,” said Lewis, who thinks the windy weather forecast for Sunday might be to her advantage.
Thailand’s Thidapa Suwannapura and South Korean Jenny Shin were in a pack on 206 that also included Americans Kim Kaufman, Jennifer Johnson, Cristie Kerr, Christina Kim and Natalie Gulbis.
Lewis birdied the par-5 seventh but closed the front nine with a bogey. She answered with birdies at the par-5 10th and par-4 12th.
Lee birdied the par-5 third and answered a bogey at the fourth hole with birdies at the par-3 sixth and par-5 seventh. But a bogey at the 14th, her only stumble with 10 pars in the last 11 holes, dropped her back into sharing the lead with Lewis.
Lewis left the course wishing a few more putts had dropped.
“It was a bit frustrating,” she said. “I hit the ball really, really good today and gave myself a lot of chances, but I hit a lot of good putts.
“You know, some days they go in and some days they don’t.”
Lewis is seeking her first victory since her triumph at the Women’s British Open last August. But she has plenty of experience sleeping on a third-round lead and has won five of eight times when she has held or shared the 54-hole lead.
“I’ve put myself in this position so many times lately, it’s kind of become normal, which is a good thing,” said Lewis. “It’s a good problem to have.”
Lee, on the other hand, has never led after 54 holes, but she’s delighted to be in the hunt for a first LPGA title since the 2006 Fields Open in Hawaii.
“My last one was 2006,” she said. “It’s been a while. I’m very excited and kind of nervous, but I’m enjoying definitely the moment.”
Lee, who hasn’t needed more than 29 putts in a round this week, thinks the title will be won on the greens.
“It definitely is going to be the putting,” she said. “I didn’t really take advantage of a lot of birdie chances today, so I want to make more birdies tomorrow and see how it goes.”