Rosales ties mark, trails leaders by one

Enjoying top form, Jennifer Rosales moved into the threshold of a breakthrough win in the lucrative LPGA Tour when she fired a career-best, course-record tying eight-under par 64 Saturday to stay within a stroke behind joint leaders Jean Bartholomew and Rachel Teske heading into final round of the rich Giant Eagle Classic in Vienna, Ohio Saturday.

Rosales and Bartholomew actually matched the competitive record at the par-72 Squaw Creek Country Club but it was the ace Filipina shotmaker’s surge which created so much impact in a day when the course remained muddy after more than two inches of rain earlier in the week.

The many-time Philippine Ladies Open champion even had a near ace but her 9-iron tee shot on the 134-yard No. 9 hit it past the hole and spun back, missing the hole-in-one feat by an inch.

"I hit it past the hole, it spun back and I thought I hit it," said Rosales, who spiked a stirring bogey-free round with eight birdies, including six at the front to climb from 40th to a share of third. She used her trusted putter for only 24 times, hitting all but one fairway and rescuing pars in two times that she went out of regulation.

With a 136 aggregate after 36 holes, Rosales tied the fancied Swede Annika Sorenstam, firing a 65, and Joan Mills, shooting a 66, one stroke behind the tandem of Bartholomew and Teske, who shot a 65 for 135.

Rosales said she’s unfazed by the presence of Sorenstam or by the joint leaders, vowing to dish out her very best in her bid for a first-ever title here after blowing her chance in last year’s Weetabix British Open where she carded a previous career-low of 65 in the third round and led the tournament with Carin Koch.

"I didn’t even think of that (tying Sorenstam). I just want to play well, keep myself in contention, and see what happens," said Rosales, who has had three top 10 finishes in 10 tournaments in the season with total earnings of $139,998.

"So far, my year has been really good. I played good in a couple of majors and I am just waiting for that win," said Rosales.

A host of talented rivals, however, are out to foil her.

Teske, for one, has been on a roll. She finished tied for third in last week’s LPGA Championship and birdied the second hole then strung together four in a row starting at the par-5 fifth. Teske had three more birdies at the backside with her only slip also coming on the 14th.

Bartholomew bounced back after a triple-bogey mishap in the first round. Angry about a ruling she disagreed with concerning a free drop out of casual water, she ended up four-putting the par-3 12th hole but started her turnaround with birdies on the next two holes while shooting a first-round 71.

In the second round, Bartholomew had four birdies on each nine without a bogey, just like Rosales, to come within a shot of the lowest round in her seven-year stint on the tour.

Three weeks after becoming the first woman in 58 years to play in a PGA Tour event, Sorenstam birdied the first three holes and then closed the front with three more. The Swede ace, who won the Kellogg-Keebler two weeks ago and took the LPGA Championship last week for her fifth major victory, holed a 45-foot birdie putt on No. 2

And left a 30-foot eagle putt at No. 8 just short.