Apr 01, 2018: Pernilla Lindberg is right on target. Her laser focus on shooting a specific number each round has kept the first, second and now third round leader on top at the ANA Inspiration. With a birdie on her final hole of the day, the Swede carded a 2-under par, 70 and broke the 54-hole Tournament scoring record at Mission Hills at 14-under par. While her target score each day remains a secret, she said she hit it again on Saturday. Lindberg takes a three-stroke lead into the final round ahead of Amy Olson, her playing partner on Sunday. A pack of players sit four-back of Lindberg, including major champions Inbee Park and Sung Hyun Park. Moriya Jutanugarn, Jennifer Song, Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Charley Hull also sit at 10-under par.
“I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing for three days when I go out there tomorrow,” Lindberg said. “Obviously it’s going to be different. I’ll have, I don’t know how many girls chasing me tomorrow, and that’s going to be different. Someone’s going to go out there and shoot a low round, so I just need to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Lindberg, a rookie in 2010 on the LPGA Tour, is poised to win her first event on Sunday. She has never held the 54-hole lead in a Tour event, much less a major. And yet she’s playing with the calm and confidence of a veteran who has played herself into the lead on golf’s grandest stage.
“I’ve been on Tour long enough to still be in a lot of heated moments,” Lindberg said. “I just keep collecting experience each and every year around here. I’ve played a lot of golf in my life, and I just feel like the pieces are kind of falling together. I’m just letting it happen.”
Park, who started the day tied for the lead with Lindberg at 12-under par, struggled early. She left putts short throughout the round and required multiple shots to get out of a bunker at the par 4, 15th which resulted in a double bogey. A day after posting the low round of the day with a 64 on Friday, Park shot 10-strokes higher on Saturday with a 2-over par, 74 to tumble back into a share of third at 10-under par.
“Even though I didn’t like my score today, I still had a lot of good shots and good saves so, I’m just thinking about going out there tomorrow and playing my game,” Park said after her round.
Lindberg is paired with Olson in Sunday’s final round. Olson was a rookie in 2014 and like Lindberg is in unfamiliar territory as she hopes to win for the first time on Tour.
“I’ve never been in this position before, but I’m excited about it,” Olson said. “I definitely look at it as an awesome learning experience. You can’t really learn until you’ve been there. So, I’m really excited about that.”
Olson and Lindberg tee off Sunday at 2:01 p.m. PT.
LPGA Tour Release
