ROGERS -- All Na Yeon Choi needed was a birdie on the 18th-hole Saturday to break the two-day tournament record at the LPGA Northwest Arkansas Championship.
A last-second decision on the fairway and a long putt made left her alone in the record books.
Choi, 27, set the record with a stroke to spare when she made a 45-f0ot eagle putt to break Veronica Feilbert's mark of 131 set in 2012. She also will take a two-stroke lead into today's final round at Pinnacle Country Club after an 8-under 63 on Saturday.
Choi capped a 6-under round on the back nine with a tap-in birdie on the par-3 17th and the eagle putt on 18 that snuck into the left side of the hole. It was her decision to go for the green with a 3-wood instead of laying up that led to her first-ever 29 on any nine holes and a 13-under 129.
"I was really confused, like hit a lay-up or [go] to the green," said Choi who missed the one-round tournament record of 62 shared by Angela Park and Jane Park, both coming in 2008. "I got the 3-wood out first, then changed it to a pitching wedge and then back to 3-wood because there is a small gap to the right side of the green. But the wind helped me a lot, so I just hit 3-wood."
Choi will tee off with a two-stroke lead today over fellow South Korean Mi Jung Hur and Sweden's Anna Nordqvist who made a late-afternoon charge by birdieing 5 of 6 holes mid-round before finishing with a 5-under 66. Lurking four strokes behind Choi is 2014 champion Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks), who birdied four of her final five holes, including the 18th to cap a 6-under 65. Lewis sits in a four-way tie for fourth with Mika Miyazato, Amy Yang and Brittany Lincicome.
World No. 1 Inbee Park missed the 36-hole cut of 2 under. Park found the water with her second shot on No. 12, her third hole of the day on the way to a 1-over 72 and a 1-under 141 total. It was Park's first missed cut in her past 27 starts dating to last May's Airbus LPGA Classic in Mobile, Ala. She was coming off a victory two weeks ago at the Women's PGA Championship.
"I couldn't make any putts today," said Park, who had 34 putts for the round. "I guess it's a good sign I get one more day to get ready for the U.S. Open, and people tend to play good after missing a cut, so that will definitely give me motivation."
Lewis, like Choi and Hur, had to finish her opening round early Saturday morning after weather delays and darkness Friday. Lewis started the second round at 4 under and finished the front nine at the same point after falling back with a double bogey on the par-3, third. A birdie on the 10th moved her to 5 under, but she picked up steam with birdies on the 14th and 15th.
The LPGA touts the par-3 17th as the loudest hole on tour and Lewis didn't disappoint, dropping a birdie putt to incite the crowd and then another on a tricky 10-footer on the same hole where she won the tournament last year.
"The back nine was pretty fun," Lewis said. "I just stayed patient and finally hit some good shots and rolled the rock there at the end. Those two putts on 17 and 18 were huge going into tomorrow. I think I was a couple back last year. So you've got to shoot low numbers on this golf course, and I set myself up to do it again."
Hur probably benefited least of the 63 players left on the course when play was suspended at 8:38 p.m. Friday. She finished her five-birdie string after the horn blew and returned Saturday with four consecutive pars to finish at 63. Playing the back nine first, Hur moved to 10 under after an eagle on the par-5 14th, then took it to 11 under with a birdie on the 18th.
"Yesterday I just didn't think too much," Hur said. "I think my putting was really good yesterday. Today [I had] a lot of lip outs, but I liked today's round."
Besides Park, other notables missing the cut were 2014 U.S. Women's Open champion Michelle Wie (141), Morgan Pressel (141), 2012 Northwest Arkansas Championship winner Ai Miyazato (142) and two-time champion Yani Tseng (143).
Sports on 06/28/2015