(Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
LYDIA Ko, with a spherical that included seven birdies, and Charley Hull, the English participant who focuses as a lot on her early morning working as she does on golf, have the lead after three rounds of the HSBC Ladies’s World Championship.
Ko, the newest member of golf’s Corridor of Fame and a star of the sport, matched Hull’s rating of four-under 68 at the moment to shade her British rival by a stroke going into tomorrow’s last spherical at Sentosa Golf Membership.However they’re each cautious of pre-tournament favorite Jeeno Thitikul, who shot seven birdies in a six-under spherical of 66 – the most effective of the match – to climb into third place, simply three strokes from the lead, and be a part of them in tomorrow’s last group.
Proper behind her are Australians Minjee Lee, who shot a bogey-free four-under 68, and defending champion Hannah Inexperienced, who got here from nowhere with a five-under 67 to be inside placing distance, simply 5 photographs from Ko‘s lead.
On one other sizzling, humid day at Sentosa, the cream rose to the highest, with three of the world’s prime 10 gamers discovering their method to the highest of the chief board.
Ko, whose caddie Paul Cormack was named 2025 Caddie of the Yr earlier than play started, traded her seven birdies with bogeys on the fourth, eighth and eleventh holes as her strategy photographs briefly let her down.“I made a couple of errors however I used to be in a position to bounce again with a couple of good birdies as effectively,” she stated. “I felt like I performed actually strong. So hopefully these previous few days will give me a very good rhythm for tomorrow.
“You simply should play sensible round this golf course. I feel I’ve been doing that pretty effectively. I’ll make a mistake right here and there, however attempt to not get too carried away with that and simply give attention to the following one“There’s loads of golf to be performed and it’s a reasonably packed chief board.”
Hull, who started the day two strokes behind in a single day chief A Lim Kim, birdied the second and fourth holes to attract degree, then performed steadily, with extra birdies on 10 and 13, to shoot her four-under 68.“I awakened this morning and I truly was sick,” Hull stated. “I threw up after which I type of received my head collectively. Then I truly did my private finest in my 5km run in 26 minutes.
“I knocked 30 seconds off my finest time. I used to be fairly comfortable about that. That saved me in a very good area for the remainder of the day. I simply went out on the golf course and performed golf.
“That’s about it, actually. It’s only a sport on the finish of the day. I’m fairly pleased with the best way I’m going and searching ahead to tomorrow, after which another day till I fly residence.”Thitikul, who has been positioned prime 10 in her final eight outings, and can certainly add to that quantity tomorrow, putted brilliantly for birdies at two, 4, 5, 11, 14, 16 and 18 in an excellent spherical, marred solely by a bogey 5 on the ninth.
(Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
She put her enchancment all the way down to a brand new driver which, she stated, allowed her to maintain her ball in play from the tee. “If it’s on the green it’s method simpler than the tough right here,” she stated.
“I had loads of probabilities to make birdies. I missed some, however I made some, too. I feel what labored effectively at the moment is I simply don’t suppose an excessive amount of. Simply line up and putt.”
Minjee Lee is in a powerful place, her 68 lifting her to fourth place, solely 4 strokes from the lead going into tomorrow’s last spherical. She birdied the fifth, seventh, thirteenth and 18th holes in a stellar spherical of golf.“I used to be fairly constant all day,” she stated. “I stayed fairly affected person and gave myself a couple of extra appears for birdie.
“I felt just like the situations have been fairly robust, type of with the wind. I do know we had a couple of tees that have been up, but it surely nonetheless counter-balanced with the pin being in a more durable spot. I didn’t actually really feel prefer it was taking part in all that straightforward on the market.
“Clearly I’ll attempt to get off to a extremely sizzling begin tomorrow. I feel it’s the kind of golf course the place you possibly can’t actually hit them, like, tremendous tight. So I really feel like for those who’re placing from mid-range on, you’re going to have a extremely nice likelihood.”
Additionally making a cost was defending champion Inexperienced, written off by most after a poor first-round 75. However, as she did final yr, the Western Australian bounced again, capturing a five-under-par 67 that would have been even higher.
After discovering the greenside bunker along with her strategy on the 18th gap, Inexperienced exploded from the sand to inside 1.5m of the outlet, solely to overlook the par putt.
“I didn’t drive it nice once more however I felt like my miss-hits have been in higher positions,” she stated. ”But it surely’s nonetheless somewhat bit tough selecting whether or not it could be a flyer or not out of the tough. I holed some very nice putts.”She stated she appreciated having so many individuals supporting her.
“It was only a actually good feeling on the market. I felt like lots of people have been cheering me on,” she stated. ”I feel it’s type of good making an attempt to leap up the chief board, as a substitute of staying on the prime. I’ve put myself in a very good place for tomorrow.”
Fellow Aussies Steph Kyriacou (70) and Grace Kim (72) had their finest rounds of the match, however they’re too far again to contend tomorrow, as is Gabi Ruffels, who scored 76.
Inside Golf is proud to be a media companion of the HSBC Ladies’s World Championship, an occasion that has been claimed by a significant winner in 14 of its 16 stagings.
