Grace continued her charge. She was now at 4 under, and a birdie three on 16 moved her into a tie with Se Ri at 5 under, well in the top ten and with a good chance for a second (Lorena Ochoa was in the clubhouse at 7 under; Rachel Teske, meanwhile, had moved to 9 under and looked all but certain of taking the title). The par 5 17th loomed, and Grace hit two great shots, as if she had never had trouble with her driving all week. This left her with a very makeable eagle putt, and hitting an eagle here might be enough to give her second; it would also put the pressure on Se Ri, for if Grace finished even one shot ahead of Se Ri this week, she would move ahead of Se Ri on the money list. Alas, the putt was just a hair, I mean a very fine hair, too, away from dropping, and she settled for birdie. A par on 18, and she finished at 6 under, good for third place and a final round 68. So now, could Se Ri answer?

Grace drives in rd 3
Reuters/Gary Wiepert

Se Ri gave eagle a try herself on 17, but also ended up with birdie. This moved her to 5 under, which meant she needed to birdie 18 to tie Grace and stay ahead of her on the money list. Alas, she could not pull it off, and finished in a tie for fourth, while Grace finished solo third. So for now, at least, Grace moves ahead of Se Ri on the money list, into second place.

Perhaps this doesn't mean a 'changing of the guard' at the top for the Korean players; anyone who follows Se Ri regularly knows she is in a putting slump, and when she is she becomes much less effective than normally. But it certainly does mean that Grace has become a force to be reckoned with. Again, she pulled off this third place finish with a truly weak effort tee to green in the first three rounds. There are not many players good enough to rebound from something like that to have any chance of a top ten, let alone a win. One of those players who can do that is Se Ri; Grace has proved she is another. So when they both start playing the best they can, it will be interesting to see how they match up. And exciting for fans of both ladies!