Source : ABC NEWS
Nelly Korda has been forced to settle for a five-shot lead heading into the final round of the Chevron Championship, the largest 54-hole lead of her career.
The American’s score of 16-under-par 200 tied the tournament record set by Jennifer Kupcho in 2022, the last year the major was at Mission Hills in the California desert.
Korda had stretched her lead to eight shots until she missed a series of short putts that stopped her from improving on her six-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the first women’s golf major of the year.
But the work is not over for the world number two, who looked close to unbeatable for much of her round of 2-under 70 with another clinic controlling her irons on the heavily sloped greens of Memorial Park, even as her competitors did just enough to stay in range.
“I played really solid on the front and then just kind of … not may have lost concentration, but the wind started picking up and then I just put myself into great positions [and] didn’t kind of execute really well,” Korda said.
The heat and humidity also took a toll, and Korda often walked the fairways with an umbrella to shield her from the Sun.
Patty Tavatanakit, who went 48 holes without a bogey before making one on the 13th, bounced back with a pair of birdies over the last five holes for a 69 to get within five shots.
Cassie Porter leads the Australian charge, but is 13 shots behind the leader. (Getty Images: Sarah Stier)
It was a remarkable scrambling performance for Tavatanakit, who won this major as a rookie in 2021.
Ruoning Yin of China, a Women’s PGA champion and former world number one, shot 66 and was six shots behind, along with Pauline Roussin-Bouchard of France, who had a 67.
Cassie Porter is the best of the four Australians, still well back in a tie for 20th on 3-under.
Fifth-ranked Hannah Green shot a 70 for her best round of the tournament so far to move to 2-under in a tie for 29th, while Minjee Lee (71) and Karis Davidson (74) are both 1-over heading into the final day’s play.
AP
