CANADIAN LAKES, Michigan, July 1, 2017 - Lindsey Weaver (Bellefontaine, Ohio) was dynamite again on Saturday with her second straight 7-under, 65 to build a two-shot lead at the Tullymore Classic. Weaver is 14-under, 130 through 36 holes and has made just one bogey. Weaver, who ranks 15th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list, will aim for her first Epson Tour victory on Sunday. Yu Liu (Beijing, China) birdied seven of her final 12 holes to pull within two of Weaver at 12-under, 132.
No. 1 on the money list, Nanna Koerstz Madsen (Copenhagen, Demark), Jessica Welch (Thomasville, Ga.) and Sophia Popov (Heidelberg, Germany) are in a tie for third at 10-under, 134.
The first-place payout of $15,000 would move Weaver inside the top 10 on the money list.
The cut was made at even-par, 144 and 76 players will tee it up on Sunday in the final-round, which begins at 7:30 a.m. Weaver and Liu will play in the final pairing on Sunday at 1:40 p.m.
Weaver, 23, turned in a clean scorecard with seven birdies, five on the front nine and two on the back.
“I’ve worked the last two weeks on my putting and I’ve given myself a lot of opportunities this week,” said Weaver. “It is nice to see all the grinding on the putting green pay off. I have a lot of wedge shots into these greens and I’ve hit a lot within ten feet.”
Weaver ended her round with a 15-footer on 18 that just slid inside the right side of the cup. She lifted her left leg in the air and willed the putt home.
“That was pretty special, it was a good one,” said Weaver of her putt on 18. “I was hoping to just ease it close, but if it didn’t hit the hole it was going far past it so I was happy that one went into the hole.”
Weaver has four top 10 finishes this season and has been in contention a number of times. This will be the first time she sleeps on the 36 hole lead.
“I’m excited to be in this position going into the last day, it is good to get that type of experience regardless of how tomorrow pans out,” said Weaver. “It’ll be a good learning experience for sure.”
Weaver said that she will talk to her mom before the round on Sunday to relieve some of the pressure.
“My mom always texts me before and right after my rounds regardless of how I play,” said Weaver. “I’ll probably give her a phone call to talk about things.”
The statistics tell the story this week for Weaver. She has been deadly accurate off the tee (24-of-26 fairways), precise with her irons (32-of-36 greens in regulation) and solid with the putter (55 putts).
We could see history tomorrow as the all-time 54-hole scoring record on the Epson Tour is 18-under (Vicky Hurst in 2008 and Christine Song in 2010).
Weaver would be the sixth rookie to win this season (Daniela Darquea, Hannah Green, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Celine Boutier, Chorphaka Jaengkit).
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