Rosales, Delasin closing in

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Jennifer Rosales of the Philippines and Fil-Am Dorothy Delasin both fired bogey-free rounds in an amazing display of fine shot-making Saturday as they grabbed a share of 13th place heading into the final round of the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic here.

Rosales, the 23-year-old former US NCAA individual champion, shot down five birdies, four of them coming in the front nine, en route to a 66 and a 209 total that pushed her back into contention after dropping to 49th place the other day.

Rosales had earlier rounds of 70-71 at the Highland Meadows layout, sustaining the form that gave her a tie for seventh in last week’s US Open at Prairie Dunes where she was either bit or stung in her leg by an unidentified creature along the rough in the final round.

The five-time RP Open champion is seeking her third top-10 finish in 14 starts this year after tying for fifth in the Wegman’s Rochester last month. She has made the cut in her last five tournaments, banking a total of $160,922 (P8 million) this year alone.

Delasin, 21, already a three-leg winner in the LPGA, was almost as successful as Rosales in the third round, sinking two birdies for a two-under 69 and a similar 209. She fired a 68 and trailed the leader by a stroke in the first round then followed it up with a 72.

The bubbly resident of San Francisco, California has just had one top-10 finish this year – a share of seventh at the Welch’s Circle K. She finished tied for 64th in the US Open, earning $7,084, and moving $33,362 short of the $1 million mark in LPGA earnings.

Tied with Rosales and Delasin six strokes off joint leaders Karrie Webb and Beth Bauer were Michell McGann (66), Meg Mallon (69), Fiona Pike (70) and fast-rising Korean Mi Hyun Kim (68). At 210 were 14 players led by Pat Hurst (66), Grace Park (66) and Betsy King (67).