Rosales drops to 76th; Salas leads

MANILA, Philippines - Lizette Salas sizzled with a bogey-free 64 to break off a three-way tie and zoom to a four-stroke lead over fellow Americans Kris Tamulis and Lexi Thompson in the third round of the Meijer LPGA Classic presented by Kraft in Grand Rapids, Michigan Saturday.

Salas shook off her rivals’ challenge with a solid 32 at the front then capped his birdie-binge with a three-string feat from No. 14 for a pair of 32s as she pulled away with a 16-under 197.

That was four shots up on Tamulis and Thompson, who carded a 67 and 68, respectively, for 201s while German’s Caroline Masson, Brittany Lincicome of the US and Korean So Yeonn Rye shot identical 65s but stood six strokes off Salas at joint fourth with Americans Katie Burnett and Gerina Piller, who made a 66 and 69, respectively.

Jennifer Rosales bogeyed three of the last six holes and fumbled with a two-over 73 to further drop to joint 76th at 225, 28 shots behind Salas.

Over in New York, Dottie Ardina and Mia Piccio shot a 68 and 69, respectively, for joint 14th at 138 with seven others, seven shots off Aussie Breanna Elliott heading to the final round of the $100,000 Fuccillo Kia Championship at the par-71 Capital Hills layout in Albany, New York Saturday.

Ardina, who finished tied for 10th in last week’s Toyota Danielle Downey Classic which she led in the first round in Rochester, NY, rammed in three birdies in a seven-hole stretch from No. 8 to card nines of 35-33 while Piccio, who shared 14th place in Rochester, made two birdies at the back to turn in a second straight 69.

But the Filipina bets stood way behind Elliott, who sustained her first round 65 with a bogey-free 66, including a birdie on the final par-3 hole, for a 131, one shot ahead of Canadian Augusta James, who fired a 67 for a 132.