Leona Maguire added a third round 69 (-3) to her opening rounds of 70 and 71 to be sitting comfortably inside the top-20 at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
Maguire, who is playing in her first tournament after her recent LPGA victory carded five birdies and two bogeys in her round and on 5-under par finds herself in T15 position, seven shots off the lead being set by two-time major winner In Gee Chun.
Chun, who recovered from a tournament threatening neck spasm on Thursday shot a third round bogey free 66 and is at the top of the leaderboard heading into the final round at 12-under par.
After her round she commented on the injury and almost having to withdraw;
“I almost thought like going to withdraw on Thursday because No. 11, it really hurt. And then the pain was really sharp. But then after I finished the third round, I talked to Megan, then we talk about golf. That’s why golf is so much fun, because I almost got withdraw, and then now I made a good score and made a bogey-free round today.
“This is why I said I’m so happy because I made incredible swing today, and it was not much hurt. So that’s why I feel like tomorrow going to be really good,” added Chun.
World No.1 Jin Young Ko lies one back in tied second place, playing in the first event of her season. Ko ominously declared herself rust-free while fellow Korean Major winner, Jeongeun Lee6 fired a stunning 65, the low-round of the day, to leave her well placed to win her first event since her 2019 US Open victory.
In all, there are seven Major winners featuring in the top 10 on the leaderboard ahead of the final round. Danielle Kang is the highest ranked American in T4 alongside Korea’s Amy Yang and rising Thai star, Atthaya Thitikul, while Canada’s Brooke Henderson is in solo 7th a shot clear of Australia’s Hannah Green.
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