Azahara Muñoz (-5) will still have options to win this Sunday at the Shoprite LPGA Classic, one of the traditional stops on the LPGA Tour that takes place at the Bay course in Seaview, Galloway, New Jersey. The Malagueña will start five strokes behind the leader, Jenny Shin (-10), from the 27th position. It seems impossible and it really almost is because of the number of players in between, but the ranking changes on this course and this week, with difficult conditions due to the wind, are tremendous.
Take as a reference the Thai Arpichaya Yubol (-6). She started the tournament on Friday with a round of 61 strokes, matching the course record, and on Saturday, on the other hand, she handed in a card with 75 strokes. Brutal difference of 14 strokes. It’s not the norm, but it’s an indicator that things can change a lot and very quickly on this course.
In addition, Azahara has shown this week that her golf is fine and that she can make many birdies at the Bay course. She has made nine birdies in two days and there was a moment on Saturday when she was eyeing the lead. She started the round impeccably, with three birdies in the first nine holes, two in a row at 8 and 9. There she was only two strokes behind Shin, who had placed the lead at -10.
However, a bad sequence of three bogeys in just four holes (12-15) abruptly stopped the Malagueña’s attack and made her lose many positions. The equality is huge in the ranking and the difference between a birdie or a bogey can be more than ten strokes. In any case, she should not be ruled out of the fight for victory and, much less, of course, of getting into the top 10. She is only two strokes away. Within reach.
The best demonstration of the tournament’s equality is that the difference between the lead and the last one who made the cut is only seven strokes. In this sense, Ana Peláez (-3), although she made it into the weekend just at the required number, still has a lot of room for manoeuvre this Sunday in the last round of this three-day tournament. The Malagueña made 70 strokes and suffered a bit in the final stretch. She was comfortable, with a partial of -5 with three holes to go, but two bogeys at 7 and 8 (she started at 10) tightened the situation. She made par at 9, par 5, and earned two more rounds.
As we say, Shin (-10) is the leader, but really anything can happen on Sunday. The Korean is looking for her first victory since 2016 and was not the leader before the last round on the American circuit since 2015. We’ll see if so much time without being in that situation doesn’t end up weighing on her. One stroke behind is the Swiss Albane Valenzuela (-9), who has been knocking on the door of victory for some time, while two strokes behind are Megan Khang, Ssu Chia Cheng, Wei Ling Hsu and Narin Na. By the way, South Korea is still looking for its first victory in 2024 on the LPGA.
As for the cut, the most striking thing is that Yuka Saso, the newly crowned US Open champion, was left out with two rounds of 69 and 73 strokes, in a new demonstration of this golfer’s inconsistency.
