The third round of the Epson Tour Championship was suspended at 6:55 p.m. EDT on Saturday due to darkness. On Friday, second-round play was postponed at 1:50 p.m. due to afternoon thunderstorms and resumed at 8:40 a.m. on Saturday after a morning fog delay. The third round officially started at 2:15 p.m. off Nos. 1 and 10 after 71 players made the cut at +1. Seven groups finished the third round on Saturday, with the remaining set to conclude when competition resumed at 8 a.m. on Sunday.
Daniela Iacobelli (Melbourne, Fla.) sits atop the leaderboard once again at the season finale after posting a third-round 70 at -17. Iacobelli followed up two birdies and a bogey on Saturday with a birdie on No. 12 on Sunday morning, enough to take a two-stroke lead with 18 holes to play. The 54-hole leader, who posted three top-10 finishes in 2021, is looking for her first win since the 2019 Island Resort Championship and the fourth of her career.
“It would be pretty cool to come full circle here with another win. I am really just out here having fun week in and week out, and a win would help me be able to continue to do that for another year,” said Iacobelli. “I love this game. It’s given me more than a sport to play but a family on the road that continues to grow each year. This game, this event, has given me so much.
“I’ve learned a lot in the last 9-10 years, and I hope this community understands the impact these tournaments have on our lives. I’ll be forever grateful.”
After a birdie on No. 5, Prima Thammaraks (Bangkok, Thailand) rebounded from a double bogey on No. 6 to post a 3-under 69, thanks to four more birdies on Nos. 9, 12, 15, and 16. “Honestly, it was just one bad swing and I hit so many shots at that point, like more than 20, so I didn’t want to give it too much energy. It was late in the day, didn’t have a lot in my tank, and said I need to get over this on the rest of the holes that I had left,” said Thammaraks. “I’m trying to stay in the present and go out there and have some fun in my last tournament.”
Six players sit in a tie for third, including No. 3 in the Race for the Card standings, Sophia Schubert ((Oak Ridge, Tenn.), No. 6 Casey Danielson (Osceola, Wis.) and No. 8 Amanda Doherty (Atlanta, Ga.) at -14 along with defending champion Frida Kinhult (Fiskebackskil, Sweden), August Kim (St. Augustine, Fla.) and Allie White (Lancaster Ohio).
“I feel good. I came into this week with a solid plan and I’m sticking with it, and I think that’s all you can do. Late in the season, late in the tournament, you just have to stick to what you know,” said Kim, who is bogey-free through 54 holes after her latest 5-under 67. “I had some really good fundamental keys for all parts of my game. Trying to keep my putting sharp, and trying to keep it one hole at a time, the classic.”
“Having to play a few holes this morning really has me eager to get back out there this afternoon,” said Kinhult, who secured her LPGA Tour card for 2021 with her win at the 2020 Epson Tour Championship. “It feels a little surreal this is my last 18 holes as an LPGA Tour rookie, but no matter what happens this afternoon I am so proud of what I have accomplished so far and I’m excited to continue to work on my game.”
Four players sit in a tie for ninth at -13, highlighted by No. 1 in the Race to the Card standings Lilia Vu (Fountain Valley, Calif.). Vu climbed up the leaderboard thanks to a 66, which included four birdies on her first nine holes and an eagle on the par-5 18th. The final round began at 10:30 a.m. off Nos. 1 and 10.
PROJECTED RACE FOR THE CARD TOP 10
The battle in the Race for the Card Top 10 is as heated as ever with only six LPGA Tour cards secured for 2022. Below is a projection of the top 10 based on the current Epson Tour Championship leaderboard, along with each individual’s projected season money total based on third-round placing.
- Lilia Vu (Fountain Valley, California) - $161,831
- Fatima Fernandez Cano (Santiago de Compostela, Spain) - $119,650
- Sophia Schubert (Oak Ridge, Tennessee) - $108,568
- Casey Danielson (Osceola, Wisconsin) - $101,726
- Ruixin Liu (Guangdong, People’ Republic of China) - $95,281
- Maude-Aimee Leblanc (Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada) - $93,144
- Amanda Doherty (Atlanta, Georgia) - $86,389
- Allison Emrey (Charlotte, North Carolina) - $81,576
- Rachel Rohanna (Marianna, Pennsylvania) - $75,877
- Morgane Metraux (Lausanne, Switzerland) - $74,949
- Beth Wu (Diamond Bar, California) - $72,760
- Daniela Iacobelli (Melbourne, Florida) - $69,744
- Bailey Tardy (Norcross, Georgia) - $66,642
- Isi Gabsa (Munich, Germany) - $64,032
- Sierra Brooks (Orlando, Florida) - $63,105
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