Michelle Wie and Jiyai Shin Share Lead Heading Into Final-Round

Winnipeg (Golf Canada) - Michelle Wie and Jiyai Shin are tied for the lead at 10-under-par 206 entering the final round of play at the CN Canadian Women's Open in Winnipeg.

Wie, the first and second-round leader, shot even-par 72 on Saturday in rainy conditions at St. Charles Country Club. The 20-year-old has held sole possession or a share of the lead heading into the final-round of an LPGA event three previous times, including the 2009 Lorena Ochoa Invitational Presented by Banamex and Corona Light, where she became a Rolex First-Time Winner.

"I'm not thinking about winning or losing tomorrow," said Wie.  "I'm only thinking about doing better than today. I'm just going to go out there and play.  It's not up to me if I win or lose. I'll try to go out there and play my own game. If I shoot a score that I'm happy about and if someone shoots a really low round, there's nothing I can do about it."

Shin started the day three shots back of Wie, but overcame the deficit with a five-birdie, two-bogey effort on Saturday.  The 22-year-old carded birdies on three of her final six holes to catch Wie and guarantee a spot in the final pairing on Sunday afternoon.  Shin, who has won on three of the four occasions she has entered the final round with the lead or a share of the lead, has the opportunity for her eighth career LPGA Tour victory tomorrow.

Suzann Pettersen is still within sight of defending her 2009 CN Canadian Women's Open title. Just four shots back after struggling to an even-par 72 on Saturday, the 29-year-old Norwegian is tied with Na Yeon Choi and Jee Young Lee for third place at 6-under through 54 holes.

Not rain, wind, an injured thumb, or a 24-hour stomach bug could stop Paula Creamer from giving the Winnipeg fans what they came to see. The reigning U.S. Women's Open champion woke up feeling ill on Saturday, but managed to card her best round of the week - a 2-under par 70 - in dreary weather conditions. Creamer, seen in obvious discomfort on the course all day, is six strokes off the lead heading into tomorrow's final round.

"I've played through a lot of pain and I've played through being sick a bunch, but this was a hard one," she said after her round.

Canadian Lorie Kane posted an impressive third-round 68 to leap up the leaderboard on moving day.  Kane went into Saturday's round in a tie for 59th and now sits in a tie for 26th heading Sunday. Fellow Canadian Lisa Meldrum shot a one-under par 71 while Adrienne White followed up a second-round 68 and with a third-round 75.

The sunny skies enjoyed through the opening two rounds quickly faded as rain fell continually throughout the third round. Rain suits were the outfit of choice for many golfers on a day when wet conditions softened up the golf course and made for favorable scoring conditions. A total of 34 players were under par in the third round.

Top LPGA talent is on display in Winnipeg this week as four of the top-5 players on the leaderboard are in the top-15 on the Rolex Rankings.

CN MIRACLE MATCH UPDATE
For every birdie made on the 18th hole at St. Charles during championship play, CN will make an additional contribution to the CN Miracle Match.  With 24 birdies made through three rounds at $500 a piece, an additional $12,000 will be contributed to the CN Miracle Match.

THE FOLLOWING ARE THIRD-ROUND CANADIAN SCORES FOR SATURDAY, AUGUST 28TH, 2010:

T26 - Lorie Kane - 75-73-68-216, E
T41 - Lisa Meldrum - 77-70-71-218, +3
T53 - Adrienne White - 77-68-75-220, +4
--- MISSED CUT ---
Samantha Richdale - 77-72-149, +5
Kirby Dreher - 78-72-150, +6
(a) Sara-Maude Juneau - 77-74-151, +7
(a) Jennifer Kirby - 78-74-152, +8
Sue Kim - 74-79-153, +9
Jessica Shepley - 76-77-153, +9
Stephanie Sherlock - 80-74-154, +10
Alena Sharp - 76-79-155, +11
Seema Sadekar - 73-83-156, +12
(a) Rebecca Lee-Bentham - 75-82-157, +13
(a) Christine Wong - 84-81-165, +21