World number two Lydia Ko shot an impressive five-under-par 67 in defiance of tough weather Saturday in the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship, giving her a comfortable edge into the final round of the $2 million event.
The Kiwi golfer now sits on top of the leaderboard at 13-under par, four shots ahead of overnight leader Ji Eun-Hee of South Korea who carded a disappointing par 72 in round three at the Miramar Golf Country Club.
Trailing Ji by a point is England’s Charley Hull, while Ryu So-Yeon of Korea is in fourth at seven-under after completing the round in 70.
Scot Catriona Matthew managed a four-under 68 to bring her six-under par overall.
Ko fired a double bogey on the par-four fifth hole and a bogey on the eighth, but a flurry of birdies and a bogey-free back nine pushed her to the solo lead.
The five-under was the second lowest of the day, next only to the 66 of American Brittany Lang.
Despite her advantage going into the final round, the 18-year-old Ko was modest about her prospects while Hull, when asked how to put pressure on Ko, pledged to “keep making birdies”.
“There’s so many top players at the top of the leaderboard, so it’s hard to say that I’ve got the trophy right now for tomorrow. So I know that I need to play solid golf tomorrow, just enjoy it and not think about it,” Ko said.
Leading scores of the first three rounds of the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship 2015 (par 72):
203 – Lydia Ko (NZL)
207 – Ji Eun-Hee (KOR)
208 – Charley Hull (ENG)
209 – Ryu So-Yeon (KOR)
210 – Catriona Matthew (SCO)
211 – Suzann Pettersen (NOR), Anna Nordqvist (SWE), Lin Xi-Yu (CHN)