Ariya Jutanugarn carded the joint low round of this year’s tournament to move back to the top of the leader board at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
World No.1 Ariya Jutanugarn carded the joint low round of this year’s tournament on Saturday to move back to the top of the leader board as the HSBC Women’s World Championship enters the final day.
The Thai shot a 6-under par 66, to leave her on 11-under par, one shot ahead of World No.3 Minjee Lee on 10-under. Three birdies either side of the turn with no dropped shots was the difference between her and Lee, the Australian dropping shots on the seventh and eleventh holes.
Jutanugarn, who had previously said that she was struggling to read the greens, certainly found her eye on Saturday.
At the prospect of a first win on Asian soil, the 10-time LPGA Tour winner commented, “You know, one of my dreams, going back five years, is that I really want to win in Asia because I never have.”
A shot further back at 9-under par is England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff whose consistency on the New Tanjong course has put her into contention to claim Asia’s top prize. Despite 18 top-10 finishes, Ewart Shadoff is yet to claim a maiden Tour victory.
“I've had a couple of really good finishes this year already. I experienced it recently, so hopefully I can take that experience into tomorrow. Just stay in the moment and not get ahead of myself. I'm striking the ball well and hitting a lot of fairways. As long as I stick to the task at hand, I'll hopefully do well,” said Ewart Shadoff.
Tied in fourth place at eight-under par are Koreans Jin Young Ko, who also shot six-under for the round, and Hyo Joo Kim. The pair sit alongside round two leader Amy Olson from the US and Spain’s Azahara Munoz.
Former World No.1s Inbee Park and Lydia Ko are a shot further back in tenth place. In the early stages of her round, Park did look to be making her move for a third title in Singapore, with three birdies on the front nine but was unable to maintain the pace, dropping three shots after the turn to post an even par score for the day. PUBLIC
Three other players to impress on ‘moving day’ were Canadian Brooke Henderson, who shot five under par, China’s Shanshan Feng and Brittany Altomare from the US (both four-under par). The trio are tied in fourteenth place alongside Americans Nelly Korda and Cristie Kerr.
The final round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship tees off at 8.15am on Sunday, 3 March at Sentosa Golf Club as the battle to be crowned champion reaches its climax. For more information on the HSBC Women’s World Championship 2019, visit the tournament website at HSBCgolf.com/womens.
Image credit: Getty Images
