ITURRIOS LOOKING FOR WIRE-TO-WIRE WIN
There has been only one name atop the leaderboard throughout the Zimmer Biomet Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez and that trend continues through 54 holes, as Nuria Iturrios (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) will look for a wire-to-wire victory tomorrow in the final round.
“Of course, it is always a good thing to think about the win, but the only thing I know is it’s going to be hot and hard because a lot of players are playing so good,” said Iturrios, who carded a 2-under par 70 this afternoon featuring four birdies. “I want to keep going the way I am, my mind calm and make a lot of putts. Long game is solid, but missed a lot of putts and I hope tomorrow I can make them.”
A two-time champion on the Ladies European Tour (LET) in 2019, Iturrios is searching for her first career victory on the Epson Tour. She’ll begin the final push on Sunday at 9:01 a.m. CT off No. 1 tee.
SZERYK ANTICIPATES FIRST FINAL GROUPING
A rookie on the Epson Tour this season, Maddie Szeryk (London, Ontario, Canada) fired a 3-under par 69 for moving day on the Lake Course at Grand National to jump into solo second and only two shots back of the lead with one round remaining in Opelika.
The alumna of Texas A&M University has now put together back-to-back rounds in the 60s, the first time she has done so this year. Her performance so far leads to another first, as Szeryk will compete in the final grouping tomorrow.
“I’m pretty excited to get the final pairing and I think I played pretty well today,” Szeryk said. “Made a few mistakes, but was able to come back from them. I had four straight birdies to get going and head into the back nine. Struggled the first couple holes, but who says tomorrow will be the same and hopefully have a better finish. I’m super pumped and will focus on just my game, take it hole-by-hole.”
REE PLANS TO SAY HER PRAYERS
Joining Iturrios and Szeryk in the final grouping of the final round is Robynn Ree (Redondo Beach, California) after a third round 1-under par 71. Even with the steady showing, there is one thing on her mind to prepare for a Sunday run.
“Praying to the putting gods tonight for sure,” Ree said laughingly. “I could’ve gone low today, but my putting was not helping at all. It was either too slow, or half an inch too much. I probably missed six or seven within 10 feet, which is ridiculous with my ball striking so good. I hit 16 greens and had 33 putts. It was terrible. Need to get my head straight when it comes to putting and can’t let anybody get to me.”
Despite the difficulty on the greens, Ree heads into the final round just four shots behind at 7-under par overall. A rookie on the LPGA Tour in 2018 and University of Southern California alumna, she will also be competing in the first final grouping of her professional career.
NOTABLE QUOTES
Perrine Delacour (-6, T4) on her 4-under par 68 performance in the third round:
“It was a really good round this afternoon, playing solid golf. I could have dropped a few more putts, but I can’t complain about performing this well on moving day. Five birdies and only one bogey on the card gets me ready for a final round run. I will stay within my game and not change anything. My confidence keeps going up with how I am swinging and being in the hunt.”
Bailey Tardy (-6, T4) on her gameplan for the final round being five shots off the lead:
“For my game, I just need to keep it in the fairway and in play. That’s where I struggled today and got into some trouble. The course is short enough with my distance that I can really attack some of the pin locations and use the confidence for the final round. I’ll take shots where I can, but also play smart because I don’t want to put myself out of it by doing anything dumb.”
Min Seo Kwak (-5, T6) on her putting problems today and how she can score well tomorrow:
“Only the putting was the problem today. My shots were close enough, but I didn’t make almost any putt unless it was a tap-in putt on a par-5. I think I saved them for tomorrow. I’ll play the same and try to make more putts tomorrow. That’s the only goal. Putting is the main thing for me to do well.”
PLAYER NOTES
Nuria Iturrios
- Iturrios, 23, is a native of Palma de Mallorca, Spain
- Member of the Ladies European Tour (LET) since 2016 with total of 36 starts
- Stepped into winner’s circle for the first time as a professional at the 2016 Lalla Meryem Cup
- Rookie on the Epson Tour in 2018 competed in 19 events and made 11 cuts with season-best T5 result at Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic
- Captured back-to-back LET tournament titles between late April and early May of 2019 at the Lalla Meryem Cup and Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic
- Played the weekend five times in six starts on the “Road to the LPGA” this year with a season-best performance of T14 at Florida’s Natural Charity Classic
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