Katherine Hull heads into final round of the HSBC Womens Champions with two-stroke lead

Tanah Merah Country Club, Saturday, March 7, 2009 – A 2-hour 19-minute rain delay did not stop Katherine Hull from playing a superb round of 6-under par 66 to jump up to the top of the leaderboard at 11-under. Hull made seven birdies and one bogey to take the lead by two shots.

"It was almost mistake free. But there’s always room for improvement," said Hull. "I’m kind of liking the fact that I have a two?shot lead, and I’m comfortable with the way I’m playing. So, game on. Looking forward to tomorrow. And, yeah, whoever plays the best golf will get the trophy."

Saturday saw several great scores including Angela Stanford who shot a bogey-free round of 6-under par 66, the best score of the day alongside both Hull and young Korean Jiyai Shin.

Following a double bogey on the 18th hole yesterday, 31-year old Stanford recuperated with a solid performance which saw two birdies on the front nine and four birdies on the back nine. She will pair up with good friend Katherine Hull in the final flight and look to go one up against Hull in her bid to win the HSBC Women's Champions 2009.

"I think I played well today because I double bogeyed my last hole yesterday. I was pretty fired up when I came off the course yesterday, said Stanford. "Just really upset with myself. I felt like I'd gotten away from some of the things that have put me in these positions."

"So today I tried to get back to basics. And really get back to the things that I've done the past couple of tournaments that have maybe put me in contention."

Second round leaders Paula Creamer and Jane Park had an up and down performance and fell down the leaderboard. Creamer had four birdies and four bogeys to finish at Even for the day and Park closed off with four birdies and five bogeys for a round of 1-over par.

Creamer is determined to go out strong commenting, "I am going to go and roll some putts, get some confidence and see what happens tomorrow. Hopefully I can start off well and then maybe make her (Hull) nervous and try and put some pressure on the leaderboard."

Defending champion Lorena Ochoa remains in the hunt with a commendable round of 3-under for the day which takes her to 5-under for the tournament. She will be one of the many competitors who will be out to climb up the tight leaderboard in hopes of winning the "Champion of Champions" title.

"I want to win and I believe it's possible so I need to be more aggressive tomorrow, get some birdies early and hopefully continue the momentum," said Ochoa.

Local amateur Joey Poh improved with her best round of the tournament, a respectable 4-over par 76 and talks about her experience playing with veteran Laura Davies and competing in her first LPGA tournament.

"She (Laura Davies) is a very long hitter and I couldn't actually reach her distance but I just played at my own pace. She is really friendly and the first thing she asked me was my age. She has a really great smile so it doesn't make me frightened. Vicky Hurst was also very friendly. She was asking me whether I attend high school and stuff and it was really good fun today. I had two friendly flight mates and I was more relaxed.

"It's really fun and I am learning a lot like what you should do when you have a long distance to hit. Also how to handle the pressure and the media."