In Gee Chun leads by one stroke over fellow South Koreans Jin Young Ko and Jeongeun Lee6 heading into the final round at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
Moving into position to win her first title in more than three years, Chun carded a bogey-free 66 in Saturday’s third round to move to 12 under.
Chun, who tweaked a muscle in her neck on Thursday, had considered withdrawing from the event. The three-time LPGA Tour winner’s last victory came at the 2018 KEB Hana Bank Championship.
“I tried to make good focus on the putting green because I have spasm in my neck, so I didn’t try to hit hard,” Chun said. “I think it went really well on the putting green, and then I could really bring the greens really well. That’s how I made a good score today.”
Chun had three birdies on the front nine and three more on the back, the last one at the par-3 15th to help her stay one shot ahead of Ko and Lee6 at -11.
Ko’s third-round 69 was her 14th straight round in the 60s, tying the record she already shares with So Yeon Ryu and Annika Sorenstam.
“It was a tough round because I had a lot of opportunities for birdies in the front nine, but I missed a lot of putts and then missed some chips,” Ko said. “I finished even on the front nine, and I really tried to make three birdies more on the back nine, but it wasn’t really helped. And I had a little pressure for the record, but I made it.”
Lee6 shot the low round with a 7-under 65 that included a chip-in eagle at No. 13 and six birdies in her first seven holes.
“I’m very satisfied with my results,” she said. “My swing is getting better these days. So I played comfortably.”
Three players are tied for fourth at 9 under. Danielle Kang (68 on Saturday), South Korea’s Amy Yang (71) and Thai teenager Atthaya Thitikul (70) are one shot ahead of Canada’s Brooke Hendersen in solo seventh place at 8 under.
–Field Level Media