PHOENIX — Ai Miyazato pulled back in front in the LPGA Founders Cup on Saturday, making three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the back nine and saving par with a long putt on the par-4 finishing hole.
The diminutive Japanese star shot her second straight 5-under 67 after opening with a tournament-record 64. At 19-under 197, she had a four-stroke lead over Stacy Lewis and Jee Young Lee.
Lewis was penalized two strokes after the round when it was determined that caddie Travis Wilson tested the sand before Lewis played out of a bunker on the par-4 16th. That turned a 66 into a 68, making the third-ranked Texan’s bid to take over the top spot in the world from Yani Tseng more difficult Sunday.
Coming off a victory two weeks ago in Singapore, Lewis would jump to No. 1 with a victory Sunday, as long as Tseng — tied for 63rd at 2 under after a 72 — finishes third or worse.
Lee, the second-round leader, had a 72 in cooler conditions on the cactus-lined course. After two days in the low-90s, it only reached the mid-80s on Saturday at Desert Ridge’s Wildfire layout.