New Zealand’s Lydia Ko carded a 4-under 68 on Saturday to remain atop the leaderboard after three rounds at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Fla.
Ko entered the day in a tie for first with Ayaka Furue of Japan before playing bogey-free golf while tallying four birdies at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club. She now sits in sole possession of first at 12-under 204.
Furue struggled on Saturday, posting a 1-over 73 to slip into a tie for fourth.
Alexa Pano (67 on Saturday) is two strokes off the lead in second, while Ally Ewing (68) sits in third at 8-under 208 through 54 holes.
Joining Furue in fourth are Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez, who each fired 1-under 71s.
After making par on each of the first seven holes, Ko started to heat up, sinking back-to-back birdies at the par-4 eighth and the par-5 ninth. She picked up her last two birdies at Nos. 11 and 14 to put herself 18 holes away from her first victory on the LPGA Tour since November 2022, when she won the CME Group Tour Championship.
“I was able to attack pins and not get worried about am I going to miss the fairway or not,” Ko said. “I may not execute it the way that I want to, but I felt comfortable and really good out there.”
Ko hasn’t had a bogey since picking one up in the first round at the par-3 17th.
“I played solid these past few days. It’s just great to kind of feel these nerves and excitement. I think because I am at home in ways maybe the nerves are a little less than if I was somewhere else,” said Ko, who currently resides in Orlando. “I’m excited for (Sunday).”
Meanwhile, Pano finished with five birdies en route to her first career bogey-free round on the LPGA Tour.
“I didn’t know what was my first one ever. I know I’ve been close a few times and bogeyed coming down the stretch,” Pano said. “I am just having a great time out here and been really relaxed the whole week. My game feels like it’s in a very good place, so been a calm, relaxed week.”
England’s Charley Hull (70), Rose Zhang (70) and Canadian Brooke M. Henderson (71) are in a tie for seventh, while Megan Khang (69), Marina Alex (70) and Cheyenne Knight (71) are tied for 10th, seven strokes back from Ko.
Japan’s Mone Inami had the low round of the day with a 6-under 66. With that, she climbed 11 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 23rd.
–Field Level Media
