Dame Laura Davies heads into the final round of the Senior LPGA Championship presented by Old National Bank at French Lick with a two-stroke lead over fellow major champion Brandie Burton at 6-under par.
Davies rebounded on Tuesday after two bogeys in her first four holes to re-claim and extend her lead with a new tournament record 6-under par 138 for the senior women’s major. Just a few months ago, Davies reigned supreme at the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open and she said she’d love to have a good showing on Wednesday and finally conquer the Pete Dye Course.
“It would be fantastic,” Davies said. “You come over here all the way from England, and you want to do well. So, to be in this position after two days is great, it makes it worth-while. The way we get treated here at French Lick is amazing. This course doesn’t suit my eye at all, it’s a fantastic golf course, but not a great one for me so if I can get over the demons tomorrow and have a good round – win or lose – just have another really good round. I’ve never shot three rounds under par around here, so it would be huge for me tomorrow to do that.
“You’ve got to keep being aggressive. If you start playing defensive golf around here, it’s going to get you. Hitting my 2-iron is still quite aggressive on some of these holes because they’re quite short…Just keep it in the fairway, and if you do stray off line, take your medicine because otherwise you could put a big one up.”
With a record of her own, five-time LPGA winner Burton shot up the leader board on Tuesday. Burton’s bogey-free 6-under par round of 66, bests the previous 18-hole tournament record set by 2017 champion Trish Johnson in the first round by one stroke.
Burton is looking forward to a chance to improve upon on a T39 finish at the inaugural event in 2017.
“It’s nice to go into tomorrow with some confidence,” Burton said. “It’s been a long time since I shot this number, I couldn’t even go back to how long it’s been, but it was fun out there and I actually was pretty calm. I was surprised, maybe that comes with age.”
