Granada Back in First at CME Group Tour Championship


Julieta Granada found herself in solo first again at the LPGA's season finale, the CME Group Tour Championship.

After setting the 18-hole pace with a 6-under 66, the 28-year-old from Paraguay began the third round tied for the halfway lead with Spain's Carlota Ciganda. Granada carded a 2-under 70 at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla., to take a one-shot lead heading into the final round.

Granada jumped into the top spot thanks to three birdies on the front nine. But on the home half she came back to the field with two bogeys and a birdie to stay up a stroke over Ciganda, who posted a 71, and American Morgan Pressel (70).

Two strokes back is Germany's Sandra Gal (70), while trailing by three are New Zealand's Lydia Ko (68) and South Korea's So Yeon Ryu (70). Two Americans - Michelle Wie (72) and Angela Stanford (67) - are tied for seventh at 211. Stanford's 67 was Saturday's low round.

Brittany Lang had a 70 and is in solo ninth at 212. Sharing 10th at 213 are Americans Lizette Salas (68), Stacy Lewis (70) and Jennifer Johnson (71), Scotland's Catriona Matthew (70), Norway's Suzann Pettersen (70) and Thailand's Moriya Jutanugarn (72).

Nine players have a chance this week to win the Race to the CME Globe and its $1 million bonus. They are - in order on the points' standings - Lewis followed by Inbee Park, Ko, Wie, Ryu, Shanshan Feng, Anna Nordqvist, Chella Choi and Karrie Webb.

Lewis, Park and Ko are the only players in control of their own destiny and would win the bonus with an outright victory. The other players would need to win and receive some help from the points' leaders.

Lewis is in the best position to win the $1 million bonus. When asked whether she was planning on going onto a computer and determining what's involved in her situation, the three-time winner in 2014 answered, "I don't know exactly how it all works, but I can tell - there are people on the leaderboard I'm definitely cheering for over others.

"I'm not going to wish any bad on anybody else, but there are definitely some people I'm cheering for. You know, I just got to take care of business tomorrow more than anything. I've been sleeping really good at night because I've been so tired, so I don't think that's going to be a problem. Actually, I just want to get that first tee shot over with tomorrow and we'll be good to go."

Park struggled for the second straight round. After opening with a 71, the 26-year-old from Seoul has carded rounds of 74 and 73 and goes into Sunday 11 strokes behind Granada. Park later told reporters that her problems on the short grass have continued to plague her.

"The struggle has been definitely the putter," she said. "I mean, the greens are, you know, really tough to read and I don't like - I don't know whether I'm hitting it wrong or reading it wrong, but it just hasn't seemed to go in. I mean, today I think I putted a little bit better than other days, but just it was tough conditions with the wind. Just didn't play well at all."

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