HONOLULU — Second-ranked Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand took a three-stroke lead on a windy Saturday in the LOTTE Championship in a bid for her fourth LPGA Tour victory of the season.
After dropping a shot on the par-4 seventh with her first bogey of the week, Thitikul had three straight birdies to start the back nine at Hoakalei Country Club.
The 23-year-old Thitikul parred the next four holes, then birdied the par-4 17th and par-5 18th. She had a 5-under 67 to get to 17-under 199 with a round left.
Polly Mack, tied for the second-round lead with Thitikul, had a 70 to join Ina Yoon at 14 under. Yoon shot 69.
Maja Stark (67) and Carolina Melgrati (70) were 13 under, and Lilia Vu (66) was another stroke back with Miyu Yamashita (69) and Michelle Zhang (70).
The tournament leads to a month of tournaments in Asia, starting with the Buick LPGA Shanghai on Oct. 15-18.