Lydia Ko and Bailey Tardy finished with 6-under-par 66s on Saturday to join second-round co-leader Sarah Schmelzel atop the leaderboard heading into the final round of the Blue Bay LPGA in Hainan Island, China.
Schmelzel shot a 69 at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course, her third straight round in the 60s as she looks for her first LPGA Tour win.
Ko, a 20-time tour winner from New Zealand, started with four birdies and an eagle on the front nine. A bogey on No. 10 and two birdies on the back nine left her at 12-under 204 for the tournament.
Tardy scattered four birdies before an eagle on the par-5 No. 14, while Schmelzel had an up-and-down round of five birdies and two bogeys.
The trio takes a two-shot lead into the final round over China’s Ruixin Liu, who shot a 69 to stand at 10-under. Savannah Grewal of Canada fired the day’s low round of 64 to land in tie for fifth with Australia’s Minjee Lee (70) at 9-under.
Grewal’s 64 set an 18-hole tournament record.
The co-leader entering play Saturday, Narin An of Japan, finished with a 76 to fall into a tie for 12th, seven strokes behind the leaders.
Ko, who already has a win this year at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, said this tournament is up for grabs.
“Still a lot of golf to be played, and it seems like someone shoots a really low score at least one of the rounds,” she said. “We all know the pin positions dictate the scores, so I just got to stay patient and keep giving myself good looks and see where that puts me.”
Tardy, playing with Ko on Saturday, matched her more experienced competitor and is looking forward to the final round.
“Each week your goal is to be in contention come Sunday, and I’ve done that for myself, so just excited to go out there and compete against the best,” she said.
Schmelzel said she stuck with her game plan on Saturday to stay aggressive and it paid off. And she’s excited to be paired with the veteran Ko and second-year player Tardy on Sunday.
“I know Bailey and her caddie and it’ll be fun to be chatting with them. Got to know Lydia a little bit. She is just such a great representative of the game, and someone that I think we can all kind of look up to.
“I think it’s going to be a real treat for me to be able to learn from her on a Sunday like that and just be around her and get to experience what a Sunday as Lydia is like. It’s what we dream about, so it’ll be fun.”
With a win, Ko would earn one point toward LPGA Hall of Fame induction, which would qualify her for the honor at age 26.
–Field Level Media