Mexico’s Playa del Carmen – Jenny Beau started with three straight birdies and had a big one-shot lead, except for Saturday’s soft finish at the Mexican Riviera Maya Open.
Bee didn’t make another birdie after the third hole. It was a simple scoring hole that held her back, so I bogeyed when I took two shots of her to get out of the crushed coral on the green’s left on the 18th.
Bae shot 71 and was at 7 under 209. The LPGA rookie faces a major test on Sunday and chases her in search of her first LPGA victory.
“It didn’t finish as much as I’d like, but it’s fine,” Bee said. “I’m just saying we need to fight more with the last 18 holes.”
Mayakoba’s El Camaleon course was set for scoring, with the tee moving up to 17th place on par 4, making it reachable with fairway metal and par 5 closing holes.
China’s Yahui Zhang completed the birdie bidi with 68 and was with Japan Chiwai, who birded the last two holes at 6 under 210.
Another shotback was Australia’s Gabriella Raffels, who had the strongest closing kick of all. Raffel was over three years old in the round when he drilled a 15-foot birdie putt in the 14-foot hole. On the par 4 16th, the toughest on the back nine, she drilled a birdie putt from 20 feet.
Raffel left a tee shot in front of Green on the 17th, pitching on the backpin about four feet away for a birdie, and then straightening it in the final three straight on the 18th with a birdie. That allowed her to save 71 and left her very much in the mix.
“I was proud to be stuck there and felt like I gave myself the opportunity to come back,” Raffels said. “It’s really good to finish my way and I have momentum for tomorrow.”
It was also China’s Miranda Wang who finished strong, even if it was to keep her head above the water. She was five shots when the king went missing to the left. On the 16th, the bushes were shot by the bushes, leading to a penalty shot, and on the 17th, he was shot in the green left water.
In both cases, the king created a 15-foot putt to save par, and after pulling an approach to the left of the 18th green, she went up and down it for a birdie at 73.
Bae was happy to be in front, but she missed the opportunity to have a little more room for error. She missed a 6-foot birdie putt in 13th place on par 5. She was in good position just below the green on the 17th, but her pitch was strong, too big to the right, rolling towards the collar. She had to settle for Pa.
On the 18th, she pulled her approach into a squashed patch of coral. She caught a good golf ball and left it in the Sandy area before catching all the balls and passing the collar pins 25 feet. From there, two putts led to bogeys.
“I definitely feel like I’ve left a few birdies behind, but I know I might have missed it today, so that’s fine,” Bee said.
This was the final week before the US Women’s Open, and with the LPGA returning to Mexico for the first time since 2017, it didn’t attract the strong field where 15th place Charlie Hull is the highest-ranked player.
But it’s a great opportunity for everyone else. The top 11 players on the leaderboard (all under the age of 4 are excellent) are aiming for their first LPGA victory.