Kiwi Lydia Ko is breathing down the neck of Thai leader Atthaya Thitikul, entering the final day of the BMW Ladies Champions at Wonju, South Korea.
Teenager Thitikul regained a one-stroke lead with a five-under 67 in the third round at Oak Valley Country Club, with Ko and American Andrea Lee poised to challenge over the final 18 holes.
Thitikul, 19, finished with six birdies and one bogey on her card to move to 15-under, birdying five of her last nine holes, including three straight.
The winner of this year's JTBC Classic, Thitikul is seeking her second career title, while Ko chases her 18th and second this year.
She posted a bogey-free round of six-under 66, hitting 11 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens. She has finished in the top five in eight of her last 11 starts.
"I've just got to play my own game," said Ko. "There are so many players within reach and with golf, who knows how many shots behind you can be and you're still in position to be able to win.
"I don't know what I'm going to finish at the end of today or how many shots behind, but if I am confident and playing the best golf I can, and if somebody plays better than me, I can't do too much about that."
Thitikul would rise to No.1 in world rankings, if she wins or finishes solo fourth or better, but she insists that is not her focus.
"To be honest, I don't really care about the ranking," she said. "I don't really care to be No.1 in the world at all, because I play golf, because I want to take care of my family.
"I want to feed my family. Whatever I am is fine.
"Even my family, they have a good life already. Ranking is not that important for me for real."
Lee's 36-hole lead slipped away during an up-and-down round, when she offset five birdies with three bogeys, en route to a two-under 70.
Fellow American Lilia Vu is in solo fourth at 13-under, after carding a 69, followed by Koreans Hye-Jin Choi and Hyo Joo Kim, who are tied for fifth at 12-under, after identical rounds of 66.
Korean amateur Minsol Kim, 16, turned in a 71 and is alone at 11-under.
Reuters/Newshub
