As the thunder, lightning and rain hammered at the course and the
leaders' nerves, Shin had the outright lead on 12 under par, with
Stanford a shot behind.
Na Yeon Choi, meanwhile, was safely in the clubhouse at 10 under par along with Shanshan Feng.
Before the storm, the biggest shock centred around Yani Tseng. The World No. 1 had been in a share of the lead with Shin after turning
in a five-under-par 31 when she amassed a six at the eleventh to plummet
from the top of the board.
Though she was given a free drop from a plugged lie at the top of a
green-side bunker, the player still had to deal with an awkward uphill
stance. She knocked her third through the back of the green and, though
another free drop was in order when there was a TV tower in her way, she
took three more to get down.
Most felt she would make a come-back at the 15th and 16th, two obvious
birdie holes for one with her length and strength. As it was, she came
away with an anticlimactic par from both before missing the tiddler she
needed to make a birdie at the par-four 17th.
"I would have needed more luck to win this tournament," said this
popular competitor. "It was just one of those days when I didn't have
any."
Tseng, who met with a not dissimilar fate in last year's HSBC Women's
Champions, says her confidence remains intact. She is ready for the rest
of the year.
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