When the LPGA Futures Tour scouted Eagle Bend Golf Course in preparation for the inaugural Lawrence Futures Classic, the tour’s leaders apparently wanted a tough layout.

Eagle Bend’s front and back nines were flip-flopped to create a better atmosphere at the 18th green. Subsequently, what now are the tournament’s final three holes could be the deciding factor in who stands atop the leaderboard after today’s final round.

Want proof? Ask those who survived the 16-17-18 juggernaut.

“I told my caddie after 15, ‘You know, I need to make myself some goals (for the final three holes),'” said Sasha Medina, who at 2-under par is in a three-way tie for second place after Saturday’s second round. “It was a brutal day. You had to stay focused all day long, and it’s pretty hard to do when you have 30-mph wind, and you can’t really stand straight.”

Medina bogeyed the par-4 16th, made par on the par-3 17th and birdied the par-5 18th. She attributed her successes in the wind to growing up in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where she said it was “stupid windy.”

To combat the swirling wind on 17, she punched a 5-iron after her caddy talked her out of hitting a full 4-iron.

But not everyone enjoyed good fortune like Medina on the final three holes.

Even 19-year-old Kyeong “K.B” Bae, who is alone in first place at 5-under par, struggled mightily.

Bae, who posted an even-par 72 Friday, shot a sizzling 67 in Saturday’s second round, including an astonishing seven birdies. She would have a five-stroke lead going into this afternoon if it wasn’t for the dreadful 17th, where she posted a double-bogey — her lone tally worse than a par all day.

Golfer Jeanne Cho, wrapped in rain gear, lines up a putt during the second round of the Lawrence Futures Classic. The field played despite a brief rain Saturday at Eagle Bend Golf Course.

It was the only blemish on a round that saw her take just 26 putts and hit 14 greens in regulation.

“It was a good opportunity,” she said of the tempting par-3 17th. “I tried a knock-down 4-iron shot, into the wind, and it went to the right hazard.”

Christine Boucher, a Kansas State grad and tour rookie, is another member of the second-place pack, and she also ran into trouble late.

After 15 holes, Boucher was tied with K.B. for the lead at 5-under, but she fell victim to the whipping winds that followed a 15-minute rain earlier in the afternoon.

Golfer Seul Ki Kim waves to the gallery after sinking a putt during the second round.

On the 17th hole, Boucher took a different approach, pulling out a 7-wood instead of trying to punch an iron.

“Yesterday, I hit the 7-wood pin-high,” Boucher said. “I hit another 7-wood, and I hit it really solid, and the wind just took it and hooked it over the bunker on the left.”

The four that she carded on the 17th was the second of three bogeys to finish the round as she fell three shots behind Bae. She three-putted for the first time Saturday at 18.

Now, as the final round tees off at 8:00 this morning, the biggest mystery is how to figure out 17, which is followed by the tempting, par-5 18th.

If anyone left in contention knows how tricky Kansas wind could be today, it’s Boucher, who played at Colbert Hills for four years as a Wildcat.

“You never know, the wind might be totally different tomorrow,” Boucher said. “(17) is one of the toughest, yes. I think finishing on a par-5 can be interesting.”