HARRIS---Garrett Phillips and Mitsuki Katahira managed to navigate through tough scoring conditions at Sweetgrass Golf Club on Saturday to take the lead heading into Sunday’s final round of the Island Resort Championship.
The pair sits at 2-under and holds only a one-shot lead over Sue Kim, Marina Alex and Taylor Collins.
Patience was key, as high winds kicked in early Saturday morning and continued throughout the day. Scoring conditions proved to be quite difficult for most of the field today, but Katahira manged to find her strength on the greens, dropping 28 putts en route to a 2-under 70.
She only needed three birdies and one bogey to finish the day tied for the lead.
“Today my putting was pretty good, like I started with a five foot birdie,” said Katahira. “Hitting was not that great, but I was saving par a lot, like making five-foot par putts were helping. I was happy with how I finished. I know the scores weren’t going to be low today, so I was patient.”
Katahira is coming off a season-best finish T6 at last week’s Four Winds Invitational in South Bend, Ind. She says the solid finish has given her the momentum she needs to capture her first Symetra Tour victory.
“Last week I kind of fell on the back nine I was really disappointed on how I played,” said Katahira of her final round last week. “But I still managed to finish strong, so I just need to take that into tomorrow too.”
Phillips (pictured above) took the early lead after shooting even-par today with three birdies and three bogeys. Although there wasn’t much excitement on her scorecard, the University of Georgia alum says taking the lead with tough scoring conditions give her confidence that she can finish low tomorrow.
“It was such a struggle out there today with the wind,” said Phillips. “I was fighting back and forth between yardages all day. But I’m really happy with how well I played in this wind and I can’t really care how everyone else shoots. I’m excited for tomorrow.”
Both Katahira and Phillips aren’t getting too comfortable with the lead as three sit within striking distance at 1-under.
Among those include Dacatur-Forsyth Classic winner Sue Kim, who is fighting a wrist injury she endured during last week’s pro-am scramble.
Vanderbilt alum Marina Alex improved on her 1-over 73 finish from Friday’s round with a 2-under 70 today. Alex plans to rally on a T2 finish from last week’s Four Winds Invitational where she fell to Cydney Clanton in a seven-hole playoff.
A group of five sit at even-par through the second round, which includes Haley Millsap, Candace Schepperle, Cathryn Bristow, Frances Bondad and Marta Silva.
After Friday’s round, Canada’s Sue Kim went straight home to ice an injured wrist and returned to Sweetgrass Golf Club today uncertain of how she’d be able to finish another round. Slightly disappointed with her 1-over 73 finish on Friday, Kim fought through the pain and fired a 2-under 70 to jump into a tie for second heading into Sunday’s final round.
Kim endured the injury during her pro-am at last week’s Four Winds Invitational when she was riding on the back of a golf cart.
The vibration from the bars she was holding and the undulation of the course caused irritation in her right wrist which forced her to withdraw from the tournament. Currently No. 1 in the Volvik Race for the Card, Kim took some time away from the course during the practice days to prepare for the weekend.
“I haven’t hit balls on the range other than warming up this week,” said Kim. “So two days out of the six days I’ve been here, I’d say it’s been actually working well for me. I feel comfortable with where I’m at and how I’m feeling.”
High winds swept through Sweetgrass Golf Club early in the morning and never stopped. Topping off at 15 mph, the blustery weather yielded high results during Saturday’s second round. Cathryn Bristow of New Zealand says she’s not surprised.
“I think it’s pretty standard considering the wind,” said Bristow of the higher scores today. “It probably adds two to two-and-a-half clubs to your normal yardage at some points. When there’s water around, people get nervous and it makes for some high scores if you don’t hit the ball well.
But the wind didn’t seem to affect the University of Oregon alum, who flirted with the lead after carding an eagle on the par-5 11th hole. Despite three bogeys coming down the stretch, Bristow feels she had control over the wind as she finished at even-par through day-two.
“I think in the windy conditions you have to hit the ball solid and be able to control it,” said Bristow. “If it takes off in the wind the ball can go anywhere. I was able to judge the winds pretty good and see the trajectory of the shots and that gave me some good birdie chances."
A total of 75 players made the cut which fell at 6-over 150.
Story and photo are courtesy of the Symetra Tour and www.symetratour.com.
The pair sits at 2-under and holds only a one-shot lead over Sue Kim, Marina Alex and Taylor Collins.
Patience was key, as high winds kicked in early Saturday morning and continued throughout the day. Scoring conditions proved to be quite difficult for most of the field today, but Katahira manged to find her strength on the greens, dropping 28 putts en route to a 2-under 70.
She only needed three birdies and one bogey to finish the day tied for the lead.
“Today my putting was pretty good, like I started with a five foot birdie,” said Katahira. “Hitting was not that great, but I was saving par a lot, like making five-foot par putts were helping. I was happy with how I finished. I know the scores weren’t going to be low today, so I was patient.”
Katahira is coming off a season-best finish T6 at last week’s Four Winds Invitational in South Bend, Ind. She says the solid finish has given her the momentum she needs to capture her first Symetra Tour victory.
“Last week I kind of fell on the back nine I was really disappointed on how I played,” said Katahira of her final round last week. “But I still managed to finish strong, so I just need to take that into tomorrow too.”
Phillips (pictured above) took the early lead after shooting even-par today with three birdies and three bogeys. Although there wasn’t much excitement on her scorecard, the University of Georgia alum says taking the lead with tough scoring conditions give her confidence that she can finish low tomorrow.
“It was such a struggle out there today with the wind,” said Phillips. “I was fighting back and forth between yardages all day. But I’m really happy with how well I played in this wind and I can’t really care how everyone else shoots. I’m excited for tomorrow.”
Both Katahira and Phillips aren’t getting too comfortable with the lead as three sit within striking distance at 1-under.
Among those include Dacatur-Forsyth Classic winner Sue Kim, who is fighting a wrist injury she endured during last week’s pro-am scramble.
Vanderbilt alum Marina Alex improved on her 1-over 73 finish from Friday’s round with a 2-under 70 today. Alex plans to rally on a T2 finish from last week’s Four Winds Invitational where she fell to Cydney Clanton in a seven-hole playoff.
A group of five sit at even-par through the second round, which includes Haley Millsap, Candace Schepperle, Cathryn Bristow, Frances Bondad and Marta Silva.
After Friday’s round, Canada’s Sue Kim went straight home to ice an injured wrist and returned to Sweetgrass Golf Club today uncertain of how she’d be able to finish another round. Slightly disappointed with her 1-over 73 finish on Friday, Kim fought through the pain and fired a 2-under 70 to jump into a tie for second heading into Sunday’s final round.
Kim endured the injury during her pro-am at last week’s Four Winds Invitational when she was riding on the back of a golf cart.
The vibration from the bars she was holding and the undulation of the course caused irritation in her right wrist which forced her to withdraw from the tournament. Currently No. 1 in the Volvik Race for the Card, Kim took some time away from the course during the practice days to prepare for the weekend.
“I haven’t hit balls on the range other than warming up this week,” said Kim. “So two days out of the six days I’ve been here, I’d say it’s been actually working well for me. I feel comfortable with where I’m at and how I’m feeling.”
High winds swept through Sweetgrass Golf Club early in the morning and never stopped. Topping off at 15 mph, the blustery weather yielded high results during Saturday’s second round. Cathryn Bristow of New Zealand says she’s not surprised.
“I think it’s pretty standard considering the wind,” said Bristow of the higher scores today. “It probably adds two to two-and-a-half clubs to your normal yardage at some points. When there’s water around, people get nervous and it makes for some high scores if you don’t hit the ball well.
But the wind didn’t seem to affect the University of Oregon alum, who flirted with the lead after carding an eagle on the par-5 11th hole. Despite three bogeys coming down the stretch, Bristow feels she had control over the wind as she finished at even-par through day-two.
“I think in the windy conditions you have to hit the ball solid and be able to control it,” said Bristow. “If it takes off in the wind the ball can go anywhere. I was able to judge the winds pretty good and see the trajectory of the shots and that gave me some good birdie chances."
A total of 75 players made the cut which fell at 6-over 150.
Story and photo are courtesy of the Symetra Tour and www.symetratour.com.
