Piller Takes Lead at Bahamas LPGA Classic


Gerina Piller heads into the final round of the weather-delayed Bahamas LPGA Classic with a one-stroke lead over the field in the $1.3 million, bad weather-delayed event, which began Thursday at Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island.

After polishing off her second round with a 3-under 70 Saturday morning, the 29-year-old from New Mexico was 3-under on midway through the third round before darkness sent players off the course.

The tournament got off to a rocky start as heavy rains washed out most of the opening round, then on Friday high winds interrupted play. Only a handful of players completed their third rounds Saturday.

Piller, who needs to finish the back nine of the third round Sunday morning before starting the final round, stands at 10-under, a stroke ahead of fellow Americans Lexi Thompson (7-under through 16 holes), Kelly Shon (3-under through 10) and Brooke Pancake (1-under through seven).

Also at 9-under is France's Perrine Delacour (4-under through 12), Germany's Sandra Gal (2-under after nine) and South Korean Sei Young Kim (1-under through seven holes).

Piller, who's searching for her first LPGA victory, is pleased with her play so far. "I've been hitting it good and putting it well, so you've just kind of got to go out there with a mentality of just because it's windy doesn't mean you're going to play bad," she said.

"I still just wanted to go out there and be confident and just kind of take my time almost because I tend to get a little quicker when the wind is picking up. You know, the wind, you can't really control where it's going to take the ball, so just really focusing on hitting solid shots and picking targets and just really committing to the club and the distance, which is huge on a day like this."

One stroke further back at 8-under are Americans Stacy Lewis (6-under through 15) and Brittany Lincicome (3-under through 13), South Koreans Hee Young Park (3-under through 12), Sun Young Yoo (1-under through nine) and Inbee Park (even-par through seven) and Thailand's Ariya Juntanugarn (1-under through 10).

The cut was set at 1-over 147. After qualifying for the final two rounds, defending champion Jessica Korda was 1-over through 11 holes before darkness halted play.

For updated scores, visit www.lpga.com.