China’s Feng takes command in Dubai with 5-stroke lead

Shanshan Feng of China studies the fairway during the third round of the Dubai Ladies Masters in Dubai yesterday. (AFP)

AFP/DubaiEven a storming finish by Thai LPGA Tour star Thidapa Suwannapura, who made six birdies in her last six holes, wasn’t enough to stop defending champion Shanshan Feng of China from taking a five-shot lead at the end of the penultimate round of the Dubai Ladies Masters yesterday. World number six Feng, the highest ranked player in the field and two-time winner of the season-ending championship of the Ladies European Tour, shot her third successive round of five-under par 67 to move to 15-under par for the tournament. At one stage, she led the field by a whopping margin of ten shots, but that was whittled down to five as she failed to maintain the momentum on the back nine, while Suwannapura caught fire. Despite playing in pain—the 23-year-old Thai star has been experiencing shooting pain from her glutes down to the right leg since the middle of the year—Suwannapura finished with a seven-under par 65 to move to 10-under par 206. France’s Jade Schaeffer was in solo third place following a 70 at six-under par, while Germany’s Caroline Masson (67) and England’s Melissa Reid (70) were tied fourth at five-under par 211. The 26-year-old Feng had surged to six-under par for the day with six birdies in 11 holes, before making the first bogey of the tournament on the 48th hole with a tee shot that she pulled to the left waste area on the 12th. She quickly followed it up with another bogey on the 14th. “I played really well on the front nine. Made a couple bogeys on the back, but I birdied the 17th to come back. I think five-under is still a pretty good score because the day was a little bit more windy,” said the Chinese star. “I think the back nine, maybe I misjudged the wind a couple of times. And then there was one poor drive on the 12th hole, so I made a bogey there. I’m not really thinking about any score tomorrow. On the course, every time I’m just focusing shot by shot. Tomorrow, I’m just going to do the same thing as the past three days.” Suwannapura’s round went the other way of Feng’s. She started with a bogey and was just one-under par after 12 holes when she started her birdie run. Except for the 17th, where she two-putted for a birdie and the 18th, where she was left with a five-feet birdie putt, her other birdies were all result of putts from 15-20 feet range. “I don’t know what happened. Today, I just see the line and my caddie, Matt, he can see the same thing as me. I was like ‘just knock it’, and it’s in,” said Suwannapura. “I was really not expecting anything. I was just hitting balls and try to knock it on the green. Just par was fine for me. “Can I catch Shanshan? No, I don’t think so. I know she’s pretty good and she hits it a hundred percent. I’m just going to have fun tomorrow and try to finish my round again.” British 52-year-old legend Laura Davies, who was second behind Feng at the halfway stage with two successive rounds of 68, faded away with a 77. English, Kuchar grab lead Americans Matt Kuchar and Harris English combined for a 14-under par 58 in a scramble format to seize a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the 27th annual Franklin Templeton Shootout in Naples, Florida. The three-day invitational event hosted by retired Australian star Greg Norman matches 12 pairs of golf’s top men’s players in three different styles, with the second day featuring a modified alternate shot and the final round utilizing a better-ball format. Kuchar and English, the only pairing to have played the event together more than once, won the Shootout in 2013 and finished second last year. Kuchar comes off a win in October at the Fiji International event on the Australasia PGA Tour while English has a best finish of second this year, losing a playoff at Torrey Pines. Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, who won a US PGA Tour event last month in Mexico, and American Gary Woodland were one stroke adrift, sharing second with the US duo of Hunter Mahan and Billy Horschel. Americans Daniel Berger and Charley Hoffman shared fourth on 60 with Colombia’s Camilo Villegas and American Cameron Tringale. Last year, Tringale won the title alongside Aussie Jason Day, who last week pulled out of defending the title.Ko to defend Australian title

Teenage world number one Lydia Ko said yesterday she will defend her Australian Open title against a strong field next year, including local hope Karrie Webb. Ko was just 17 when she became the youngest player to win the title in Melbourne last February, her first tournament win after topping the rankings. The New Zealander, now 18, said she was eager to take part in the US$1.3 million event, co-sanctioned by the USLPGA, which moves to a new home at Adelaide’s Grange Golf Club next February. “(The Australian Open) really helped to jump-start a great year for me in 2015 and I am thrilled to be the defending champion,” Ko said. “It’s always fun for us to play in front of our fans in Australia and we are already hearing good things about the Grange.” Australia’s former world number one Webb, who has won the tournament a record five times, said she was pleased the tournament was returning to South Australia for the first time in 21 years. “It’s fantastic for the tournament to get back to South Australia and I can’t think of a better way to start a big year than by getting into contention on Sunday afternoon in Adelaide,” she said. While the field is yet to be finalised, organisers said rising star Minjee Lee, 19, from Perth, would add further local interest to the event.