The Tribune

GERINA Piller leads the Pure Silk-

Bahamas LPGA Classic heading into the final day on Sunday at 10 under par - but a host of players are snapping at her heels after the third round was suspended in darkness this evening. Piller made a three-foot birdie putt at the difficult par-four eighth hole to move a stroke ahead of a group of six players and a congested field which sees 26 players within four shots of the lead heading into the final day at the Ocean Club course, Paradise Island.

Only six of the 74 players who made the cut completed the third round before play ended at 5.53pm. The tournament will resume at 8am on Sunday and the final round will begin immediately after at 9.38am without the field being paired in the normal reverse leaderboard order in an effort to save time and stay on schedule for a finish around 5pm.

A sixth-year professional from Plano, Texas, Piller was three under par through nine holes and was first the player to reach 10 under par. She is seeking her first LPGA title.

“I just made a few birdies coming in and just really tried to stay patient as far as taking my time out there and really being committed to my target, my number we picked, my club and everything,” said Piller, 29, whose best career finish was second place at the 2013 CME Group Titleholders. “Yeah, it's worked so far.”

The large group tied for second includes Kraft Nabisco winner Lexi Thompson, who is seven under par for her round with two holes remaining. Thompson, who began on the 10th tee, had five straight birdies starting at the 15th to climb into contention. Stacy Lewis, who finished runner-up in the tournament last year and is playing in the same group, is six under for her round and one of six players at eight under par.

Also at nine under is first- and second round co-leader Brooke Pancake, who also seeks her first LPGA victory. She was one under par through seven holes. Others at that mark are Perrine Delacour, four under through 12; Kelly Shon, the South Korean amateur who is three under through 10; Sandra Gal, two under through 9; and Sei Young Kim, another who shared the second round lead and is one under through nine holes.

Inbee Park, the other second-round co-leader, was at even par after seven holes and level with Lewis and four others at eight under par.

The second round was completed around 12.30pm with 74 players making the cut at 147, one over par. Among those who failed to advance to the final rounds included Women’s British Open champion Mo Martin, US Women’s Open champion Michelle Wie, former US Open winner Cristie Kerr and Na Yeon Choi, who last week won the LPGA season opener in Ocala, Florida.

Winds that gusted up to 25 miles per hour on Friday dissipated in the morning but strengthened again in the afternoon. But that did not keep several players from making a move. Chief among them was Thompson, who is on target for the low round of the tournament. With Lewis also pressing to get into contention, the two found themselves gaining momentum together.

“Yeah, we were talking about that. We probably had the best golf going on today, we had so many birdies,” Thompson said. “The first two days we were ball‑striking it well, just didn't make that many putts, but today we were definitely feeding off each other off of birdies.”

Despite there being more than two dozen players bunched together, Lewis did not find the task daunting of trying to emerge from the pack. “In one aspect it's almost easier,” she said, “because you can't worry about one person. You can't pay attention to one person because then somebody else is going to jump up and pass you.”

Leaderboard

-10 Gerina Piller (after 45 holes)

-9 Lexi Thompson (52), Perrine Delacour (48), Kelly Shon (46), Sandra Gal (45), Sei Young Kim (43), Brooke Pancake (43)

-8 Stacy Lewis (51), Brittany Lincicome (49), Hee Young Park (48), Ariya Jutanugarn (46), Sun Young Yoo (45), Inbee Park (43)

-7 Mina Harigae (50), Danielle Kang (50), Jenny Shin (46)

-6 Minjee Lee (54), Amelia Lewis (54), Ai Miyazato (54), Christina Kim (52), Kathleen Ekey (49), Jaye Maria Green (49), Anna Nordqvist (49), Azahara Munoz (48), Moriya Jutanugarn (46), Lina Vedel Hansen (46)