Tokyo Olympics: Tiffany Chan claws up leaderboard with best round so far – ‘I know what I have to do to play better’
- The 27-year-old says the changes she made ahead of round three ‘actually worked out – like the way I expected’
- China’s Lin and Feng still in with a chance for a podium spot – ‘fourth or fifth [place] doesn’t matter’
The 27-year-old sits in tied-51st place at seven-over, 22 shots off leader Nelly Korda as the American climbed to 15-under after round three.
Chan, who finished 37th in the Rio 2016 Games as an amateur five years ago, credited the changing of her irons for her improved performance.
“I changed my loft and lie angle a little bit on my irons. I’ve been trying to figure out if that was the problem,” she told AFP.
“It was just a different game today. My mindset has always been up there, but it’s been difficult. I’ve been struggling a little bit over the past two months. I have some ups and downs with my equipment. I’ve been searching for something better.”
04:52
Gold medals galore for China at Olympics as athletes struggle with stifling heat in Tokyo
“I played great in LA and then I changed my equipment, then immediately my performance just went down,” she said. “I know what I have to do to play better and I’m glad that I made a change this morning and it’s actually worked out – like the way I expected.”
Elsewhere, China’s Lin Xiyu stayed within touching distance of a podium finish after finishing 2-under for the day in joint-10th place. She joins Rio 2016 Games bronze medallist Feng Shanshan on 7-under overall.
“I played better than what I scored. I hit a lot of great shots. I even hit lots of good putts but just missing a bit of luck today,” Lin said.
“In China, we have a saying when you’re burning edges, you’re saving the luck in the bank. So I’ve been saving it for three days. It better give me a good [day] tomorrow.”
Feng, who opened with a disappointing 74, added: “This is the Olympics, like fourth or fifth it doesn’t matter. [I] believe we have the best girls here in the world so everybody’s going to try to go low tomorrow.”
