Powered by another sub-par round from Albin Choi, Team Canada extended its overall lead at the Copa de las Americas to five shots heading into the final round.
Choi followed his Friday 68 with a 2-under 70 Saturday that featured eight birdies at the TPC Blue Monster Course at Doral, while teammate Corey Connors carded an even-par 72. Augusta James (76) and 15-year-old Brooke Henderson (75) helped pace the leaders on the women’s side of the competition. Overall Canada sits at 19-over 883 after 54 holes, five shots ahead of both the United States and Mexico.
The Americans bounced back from a difficult second round, but could have been in much better position if not for some late-round miscues. Defending U.S. Amateur champion Steven Fox made a double-bogey 6 on the 17th hole en route to a 2-over 74, while Lindy Duncan stumbled to a quadruple-bogey 8 on the home hole after a greenside bunker shot found the water, turning a potential even-par round into a 4-over 76. Chris Williams, the top-ranked amateur in the world, led the Americans with a 2-under 70 Saturday while Erynne Lee fired a 1-under 71.
A biennial competition for amateurs in North, South and Central America as well as the Caribbean, the Copa de las Americas pits two-man and two-woman teams from each country against each other, in addition to an overall competition combining the four scores for each team. Mexico and Canada share the lead in the men’s competition at even-par 432, while the U.S. leads the Canadians by two shots in the women’s competition. This marks the first time that the U.S. has hosted the event, conducted this year by the U.S. Golf Association.