BEIJING: The final round of the LPGA Blue Bay Championship in China was suspended yesterday due to darkness, with South African Lee-Anne Pace atop the leaderboard after rain delayed play.
Play at the par-72 Jian Lake club in Sanya on the southern island of Hainan was set to continue today morning, according to the event’s website.
Pace (67, 66) stood at 15 under par Sunday through 13 holes, four shots ahead of Michelle Wie of the United States (67, 68) who finished the same hole.
The South African scored four birdies yesterday including on the par-4 12th hole before play was suspended.
Jessica Korda of the US (66, 67), who had shared the lead with Pace going into the final round, stood at 10 under par through 13 holes after racking up a pair of bogeys on the ninth and 12th holes.
Germany’s Caroline Masson (67, 69) was at 10 under par through 14 holes, while Danielle Kang (68, 68) of the US was at nine under through the same hole.
Lydia Ko of New Zealand (69, 70, 68) was one of only two golfers among the top 10 names on the leaderboard to finish the final round, firing a four-under par 68 to end the tournament at nine under.
Jenny Shin of South Korea (71-70-67) was the other, finishing at eight-under par. Pace is aiming for her first LPGA Tour career win after coming off a ninth career victory on the Ladies European Tour in South Africa.
Meanwhile Australia’s Antonio Murdaca will play in the 2015 Augusta Masters and the British Open Qualifying Series this year after winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne yesterday.
Murdaca, 19, from Adelaide, became the first Australian winner of the regional championship, closing with a one-under-par 71 to finish seven shots clear of the field for the biggest winning margin in the event’s history.
Heading into the final round eight shots clear, the two-time Australian junior champion saw his lead shrink to five shots through nine holes as Japan’s Mikumu Horikawa briefly threatened. AFP
