Thailand's Thitikul and Yin of America share lead in Florida as Maguire cards 71
by AFP · The42THAILAND’S JEENO THITIKUL fired a nine-under par 63 to capture a share of the lead with American Angel Yin after Saturday’s third round of the LPGA’s season-ending Tour Championship.
Leona Maguire is on even par after a third round of 71 which included birdies on the eighth and 18th holes, along with a bogey on the 17th.
A bogey-free round by the 21-year-old Thai star, closed with an eagle at the par-5 17th and a birdie at 18, left her level with Yin on 15-under 201 after 54 holes at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
China’s Yin Ruoning was third on 204, three strokes adrift, with England’s Charley Hull and South Korean An Na-rin on 205 and American Lucy Li and Russian Nataliya Guseva on 206.
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The top 60 players in the season points chase qualified for the $11 million showdown, which offers a $4 million top prize.
Jeeno seeks her fourth career LPGA title after the 2022 JTBC Classic, 2022 Northwest Arkansas Championship and this year’s Dow Championship pairs event with Yin.
Yin, ranked 34th, won her only LPGA title last year at Shanghai.
World number seven Jeeno opened with a birdie and added birdies at the par-3 fifth and eighth holes, then began the back nine with three consecutive birdies.
Jeeno grabbed a share of the lead at 14-under with an eagle at the par-5 17th and seized the solo lead with a closing birdie.
Yin birdied the par-3 fifth then eagled the par-5 sixth, sinking a long pitch from just off the green, and answered a bogey at seven with birdies at the eighth and ninth.
She added a birdie at the par-3 12th but stumbled with a bogey at 15 only to answer with a birdie at 17 to reclaim a share of the lead.
Top-ranked Nelly Korda, who has already clinched the LPGA Player of the Year award, closed with birdies at 17 and 18 to fire a 69.
The 26-year-old American, chasing her eighth title of the season, stood on 207 in an eighth-place pack with France’s Celine Boutier, Japan’s Ayaka Furue and South Korean Choi Hye-jin.