Ciganda Takes Lead in North Texas Shootout


Spain's Carlota Ciganda fired one of Saturday's low rounds - a 5-under 66 - to soar to the top of the leaderboard in the North Texas Shootout. The $1.3 million, 72-hole event is taking place at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas.

The 22-year-old from Pamplona carded six birdies and a bogey to reach 11-under 202, two strokes ahead of No. 1-ranked Inbee Park (67) and 36-hole leader, Caroline Masson. Masson, an LPGA rookie from Germany, posted a 69.

It was Ciganda's day. On the 12th hole, she drove left into a concrete drainage ditch but managed to hit her half-submerged ball out of the water to 10 feet and made the birdie putt. The former Arizona State Sun Devil - who became the first player in Pac-10 history to win back-to-back conference championships in 2009 and '10, is a two-time winner on the Ladies European Tour and is seeking her first title in the States.

Alone in fourth at 205 is Na Yeon Choi (66), while tied for fifth another stroke back are South Koreans Jee Young Lee (67) and So Yeon Ryu (68), France's Karine Icher (67) and American Christina Kim (67).

Sharing ninth at 5-under 208 are South Korean I.K. Kim (67), Norway's Suzann Pettersen (68) and China's Shanshan Feng (70). Pettersen won the LPGA's previous tournament, the Lotte Championship last week in Hawaii.

Taiwan's Yani Tseng (71), Thailand's Moriya Jutanugarn (72) and American Brittany Lincicome (71) are in 12th at 209.

The Netherlands' Dewi Claire Schreffel posted Saturday's low round, a 6-under 65 that included seven birdies and a bogey. The 27-year-old former USC player is tied for 15th at 3-under 210 with 10 other players.

The "shootout" format consists of two cuts; the first was made after the second round for the top-70 players and ties, with the second made for the top-50 at the end of Saturday.

The second cut was set at 1-over 214 on the par-71 Las Colinas course. Among those qualifying for the final round is Lizette Salas (72), who lost to Pettersen on the first sudden-death playoff hole in the Lotte Championship.

Failing to make the final-round cut were two Texas high-school amateurs who qualified on Monday and then made the 36-hole cut. Taylor Coleman, a 16-year-old sophomore at Johnson High School in San Antonio, carded a 78, while 18-year-old Haley Mills of Fort Worth - who attends the Jim McLean Junior Academy in Fort Worth, shot a 76. Mills finished at 7-over 220 while Taylor ended up at 223.

For all the scores, visit http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/Leaderboard.