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PHOENIX -- There were too many players close behind and too many low scores to be had for Lydia Ko to feel at ease at the top of the JTBC Founders Cup leaderboard. Phil Rizzuto Yankees Jersey . That wont change the 16-year-old New Zealanders approach Sunday at Desert Mountain. "Im just going to play my own game," Ko said. "If somebody goes crazy low like shooting 10 under, 9 under or whatever, its not something I can control." She shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday to reach 16-under 200. Jessica Korda and Mirim Lee were a stroke back, and a dozen players were within four shots on a course that gave up a 63 and two 64s in the third round. "Obviously, theres going to be some nerves," Ko said. "Of course, thats always there." Ko was 3 under on Wildfires Arnold Palmer-designed front nine Saturday after playing it in even par the first two days. She eagled the par-5 fifth after hitting a 5-wood to 7 feet. "I played much better on the front nine, so I was really happy with that," Ko said. Ko tapped in for birdie on the par-5 15th after missing an eagle try and took the outright lead with a 10-footer on the par-3 17th. Shes 13 under on the Nick Faldo-designed back nine, where the tournament will be decided. "You never know until the last hole, last putt," Ko said. Ko won the Canadian Womens Open as an amateur the last two years and took the Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters in December in Thailand in her second start as a professional. She has five victories in pro events, also winning in Australia and New Zealand. "It would be pretty special and especially at the Founders Cup," Ko said. "Without the founders, there would be no LPGA. This has been my dream tour." Ko will play alongside Korda. They also played together in the first two rounds. "Its always cool to play with her," Ko said. Korda, the winner in the season-opening event in the Bahamas, birdied the final two holes for her second bogey-free 66 in a row. "I look at her like a little sister," Korda said about Ko. "Shes a great girl." Lee, the leader after each of the first two rounds, bogeyed the 15th and shot 70. Shes making her third start on the LPGA Tour after winning three times on the Korean LPGA. Sun Young Yoo, the 2012 Kraft Nabisco winner, was 14 under after a 68. Michelle Wie had a 67 to join Azahara Munoz, So Yeon Ryu, Amy Yang and Chella Choi at 13 under. "I couldnt get anything to the hole, but scrambled and shot 5 under," Wie said. "Im really happy to be in the position that I am. Im really excited for tomorrow." Munoz, coming off a playoff loss to Paula Creamer three weeks ago in Singapore, shot 64 -- one of 19 rounds of 67 or better in the 74-player field Saturday. Yang had a 67, and Ryu and Choi shot 68. Choi holed out from the fairway for eagle on the par-4 18th. Creamer had a 64 to match defending champion Stacy Lewis and Morgan Pressel at 12 under. Creamer played the first 15 holes in 9 under, then bogeyed the short par-4 16 after driving into a bunker. "I have hit the ball great this week," Creamer said. "Ive given myself so many opportunities, its kind of ridiculous. I just didnt putt my best the last two days." In Singapore, she holed a 75-foot eagle putt to beat Munoz on the second extra hole. Lewis and Pressel, 9 under after 11 holes Thursday, shot 67. "Pretty disappointing," Lewis said. "I left a ton of shots out there today. The greens were a bit softer and I just didnt quite adjust to it. Speed was a little bit different." Scottsdale resident Cristie Kerr matched the course record with a 63 to reach 11 under, finishing an hour before the leaders teed off. "I saw Cristie shot 9 under and Paula was 8 and I was like, Wow! Thats serious scoring," Korda said. "But the greens are a little bit bouncier in the afternoon and you can kind of see where people have walked." Kerr, playing a new set of irons this week, had an eagle, eight birdies and a three-putt bogey. "Im glad that I had the courage to switch because Im just so much more consistent now," Kerr said. DIVOTS: The third-round scoring average was 69.421. ... Top-ranked Inbee Park was 11 under after a 70. ... Ai Miyazato set the course record in the first round last year. ... Fifty-year-old Laura Davies shot 66 to reach 11 under. Alex Rodriguez Jersey . All that matters to the son of a high school coaching legend is that hes the one they selected. "Its been my life-long dream to be an NFL head coach," Pettine said Thursday, "and however that opportunity presents itself, its fine with me. Wade Boggs Jersey . -- Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford took a look at the Cowboys assist total against Robert Morris on Monday night and smiled the smile of an old point guard. VANCOUVER -- The man nicknamed after a cartoon character put in another superhero-like performance. Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson dominated Ali (Puncher) Bagautinov from start to finish Saturday to win a unanimous decision and retain his flyweight title at UFC 174. Johnson showed his pedigree against a challenger who took a beating and was never really a threat at Rogers Arena. "It was a great performance," said Johnson. "Ali Bagauntinov, hes a tough guy. I hit him with a lot of shots with my knees to his face ... my knees are hurting pretty bad. "Usually when I hit people with those shots in the gym they go down." The bout marked the first time the flyweight division has headlined a UFC pay-per view card and was scored 50-45 by all three judges. "(Bagauntinov) likes to back up a lot and draw his opponents in and then go underneath them for a shot," said Johnson. "We knew that he was going to try to wrestle me to slow me down." In the co-main event, Canadian welterweight Rory (Ares) MacDonald defeated Tyron (The Chosen One) Woodley in an impressive unanimous decision in the most exciting bout of the night. Johnson almost connected with a spinning kick with under a minute to go in the fifth and final round, but Bagautinov was able to avoid the blow to send the bout to the scorecards. The five-foot-three Johnson (20-2-1, 8-1-1) won the UFCs inaugural flyweight title back in 2012 and has now successfully defended the 125-pound belt four times. The 27-year-old who fights out of Parkland, Wash., said this week that the five-foot-four Bagautinov (13-3, 3-1) would pose a unique challenge because the 29-year-old Russian specializes in Sambo fighting, a form of mixed martial arts that he has never faced. But in the end, Baugatinov was overmatched and at times just seemed happy to be in the ring with Johnson, even hugging his opponent before the start of the fifth round. MacDonald, who came into his fight as the No. 2 contender in the 170-division, controlled Woodley from the middle of the first round on, using his superior reach to keep the two-time All-American wrestler at bay, while also connecting with both kicks and punches. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for MacDonald. The 24-year-old MacDonald (17-2, 8-2) took Woodley down two minutes into the third and final round and relentlessly pounded the No. 3-ranked welterweight until the bell sounded. MacDonalds team rushed into the octagon to congratulate their fighter as the crowd of 13,506 roared in approval. "I trained very hard," he said. "I wanted this fight to be the best performance of my career." Born in Quesnel, B.C., but now fighting out of Montreals Tristar Gym, MacDonald was mentored by Georges St-Pierre before the former champion stepped away from the sport late last year. The soft-spoken MacDonald lost to Robbie Lawler in a split decision at Novembers UFC 167, but rebounded to take a unanimous decision against Demian Maia at UFC 170 in February. "I feel like Im falling into a groove," said MacDonald. "Somethings clicking." The 32-year-old Woodley (13-3, 3-2), who scored a technical knockout of Carlos Condit at UFC 171 in March, said bbefore the fight he expected the crowd to be split, but he was sorely mistaken as the Canadian support found its way firmly behind MacDonald from the start, including chants of "Lets go Rory" throughout the tilt. Joe Girardi Authentic Jersey. MacDonald lost to Condit at UFC 115 in Vancouver back in June 2010 and he admitted this week that the moment got to him four years ago -- something that didnt happen Saturday. "Ive grown a lot since then," he said. "It was nice being in Vancouver. The response was great." Saturday marked the UFCs first foray into Vancouver since UFC 131 back in June 2011. There were large pockets of empty seats in the arenas upper level on this night and the crowd didnt really get into the action until MacDonald and Woodley entered the octagon. Earlier Saturday night, light heavyweight Ryan (Darth) Bader defeated Rafael (Feijao) Cavalcante by unanimous decision in a fight that had fans getting a little restless due to a lack of action. Bader (18-4, 10-4) was the more ambitious fighter in the first two rounds, and perhaps sensing a need to score a knockout to win the bout, Cavalcante (12-5, 2-2) came out swinging in the third, but the Brazilian was unable to land any decisive blows. In the heavyweight division, former champion Andrei (The Pit Bull) Arlovski defeated Brendan (The Hybrid) Schaub by a split decision in his return to UFC after more than six years away from the company. Arlovski (22-10 with one no contest) looked tentative early and spent the majority of the last round on his back, but did enough to earn the victory on two of the judges three scorecards to improve his UFC record to 11-4. A bloodied Schaub (11-4, 6-4) raised his arms at the end of the fight thinking that he had done enough to win, and seemed surprised by the decision. Meanwhile, light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux won by submission after breaking the left arm of Ryan (The Big Deal) Jimmo at 2:10 of the second round. Jimmo (19-4, 3-3) -- who is from Saint John, N.B., but now fights out of Edmonton -- was bloodied in the first round and nearly had his arm ripped out of its socket before the referee stopped the fight to keep Saint Preux (16-6, 4-0) perfect in the UFC. In the preliminary fights: welterweight Kiichi (Strasser) Kunimoto defeated Daniel Sarafian by submission at 2:52 of the first round; womens bantamweight Valerie (Trouble) Letourneau of Montreal defeated Elizabeth Phillips in a brutal slugfest by a split decision; bantamweight Yves (Tiger) Jabouin scored a unanimous decision over Mike (The Hulk) Easton; lightweight Tae Hyun (Supernatural) Bang knocked out (Ragin) Kajan Johnson of Burns Lake, B.C., at 2:01 of the third round; bantamweight Roland Delorme of Winnipeg dropped a unanimous decision to Michinori Tanaka; and lightweight Jason Saggo of Toronto defeated Josh Shockley by technical knockout at 4:57 of the first round. Notes: The gate brought in US$1.14 million. ... Bang got fight of the night honours, as well as performance of the night. Kunimoto was also awarded for performance of the night. ... Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was in attendance. The crowd booed the former NFLer when he was shown on the big screens perched around Rogers Arena. wholesale nfl jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
