Michelle Wie was only one of many players who struggled in round three of the U.S. Women's Open at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wis. (Photo by Getty Images)"I don't know where they can even put some of these pins tomorrow, considering what they did today," said Paula Creamer after posting an early -- and rare -- one-under 71. "But you knew that was going to happen. The USGA doesn't like it when 10, 11 people are under par. They made it hard today. The wind made it even tougher, as did where they put some of the tee boxes for some of these pins. I never thought hole No. 6 would be a back tee box, but it is. I made a par and I felt like I made a birdie."
The tougher conditions, in addition to the already intimidating length of the Blackwolf Run layout, with flags teetering near the water's edge on many holes, resulted in rounds taking painfully long on Saturday. The final pairing of Wie and Pettersen made the turn in 3:06 after being forced to wait for up to three groups to tee off before them on some holes. Slow play has been a hot-button topic on the LPGA Tour this season, culminating in a much-disputed loss-of-hole penalty for Morgan Pressel in the semi-final of the Sybase Match Play Championship in May, but no penalties have been given out so far this week. As long as the sluggish pace is a result of the course setup, it's difficult to penalize the players.
Only one player seemed to have no problem with the grueling conditions on Saturday. The fifth-ranked Na Yeon Choi of Korea, who started the day at -1, four shots behind Pettersen, scored eight birdies on her way to a record-matching 65 while the rest of the field backed up considerably (Saturday's scoring average was just under 77 strokes; Wie and Pettersen both shot 78). Choi, who takes a six-shot lead over Amy Yang into Sunday's final round, called the round "fun," "a great time" and "very exciting."
Even if it took her five and a half hours to finish.
--Stina Sternberg
