Jeeno Thitikul ended the third round of the Honda LPGA Thailand with a flourish on Saturday, recording birdies on the final three holes to grab a two-stroke lead.
The World No. 1, playing in front a cheering home-country crowd, mixed seven birdies and a bogey to finish with a 66 and move to a 20-under196 for the tournament.
“I think [the] driver has been really good for the past few days,” said Thitikul, who opened with rounds of 67 and 63 at the Siam Country Club Old Course in Pattaya.”Keep gaining confidence.
“And also the irons-wise, better than I expected, and also I think I rolling the putts kind of well this past three days as well.”
Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea stands second on the leaderboard after her round of 65 moved her to 18-under for the tournament. She carded nine birdies, including three on the final four holes, to offset her two bogeys on the round.
At 17-under and three strokes back are Allisen Corpuz (67 on Saturday), Chizzy Iwai of Japan (68) and second-round leader Somi Lee (72) of South Korea.
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, who has 23 LPGA Tour wins, is another shot back at 16-under after her round of 69.
Thitikul, who turned 23 on Friday, will have an edge on Sunday with a large crowd firmly on her side.
“Every time I come to Honda, it’s always getting bigger, bigger — all the fans,” she said. Yeah, today, Saturday, all the kids come off from school and also all the parents and everyone off from the work. They just came a long way to watch us play.
“It’s really motivating and inspiring that I really want to play good in front of them.”
And there’s one fan she especially wants to please: her mother, who rarely watches her play in person.
“My mom wouldn’t come for the whole year. This is only like event that she going to came out and watch me play, so it’s mean a lot to me,” she said. “You know, like my mom is not really coming out, so playing in front of her and then I think if she saw so many people cheering for me and grabbing for me she would be so proud.”
Corpuz, a Hawaii native, is seeking a second career victory. She won the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach and is prepared to challenge Thitikul and the rest of the leaderboard.
“I’m really not a leaderboard checker but I love just being in contention and having the opportunity it throw up a nice Sunday round,” Corpuz said. “I’m really excited for it.”
