Charley Hull squarely in the hunt as stacked Saudi international establishes exciting finale.
Charley Hull is in the thick of it heading to the decisive final round of the PIF Saudi Ladies International and the English star is well placed, albeit with the cut-throat competition on a tightly packed leaderboard.
The Rio Takeda of Japan and the Hye-Jin Choi of South Korea are now on the top of the leaderboard at 15-under-par following three solid rounds at Wilderness Golf Club in Riyadh. Choi had the best day of her life with a superb 65 and Takeda kept pace with her own level of consistency with a calm 66 and this makes the title race a wide gap.
The 12 th par 5 is where Takeda gave one of the most memorable moments of the round as her approach shot bounced fortuitously through a bunker and gave her a chance to take an important eagle. Choi, in the meantime, played steadily and with confidence to win her portion of the lead.
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda is only two shots behind on 13-under after two rounds of 68. She has already had a brilliant moment in her campaign after she filmed a hole-in-one earlier in the week to secure a car.
Hull, the top-ranked in the field is three behind the pace after scoring consecutive 67s. She is also a serious threat with a very big number of competitors, having won earlier at this place and the contestants are divided by four shots going to the final round.
American Alison Lee has too competed her way into the picture. She borrowed clubs in the first rounds, but then returned to her own clubs, and with a great 65, she had an opportunity to share fourth place with Japan’s twin sisters, Chizzy and Akie Iwai, who had a lot of promise in their game.
Mimi Rhodes of England, who was in the lead at the mid-point, fell to 13th following a 72 in a third round, and had a mountain to climb in the final round.
The prize amounted to $750,000 out of the $5 million that is the prize money making the stakes very high. The event is among the most profitable events in the Ladies European Tour and it competes with the financial gains of major LPGA tourism.
Despite the Saudi-supported events still being a contentious issue as there has been a question of the human rights at Saudi Arabia, the emphasis on the game is on what is likely to be a dramatic climax with Hull and some of the stars still in with an actual chance to win the trophy.
