FRISCO, Texas – Two-time main champion Minzie Lee took over the lead within the first bogeyless spherical for anybody in the course of the windy week on the 69-year-old KPMG Girls’s PGA Championship on Saturday, the third spherical, shifting a four-stroke earlier than Jeeno Thitikul.
Lee reached 6 beneath 210 after beginning his third stroke behind world quantity two Thitikul, who led alone on the finish of every of the primary two days.
Lee, an Australian who lives in close by Irving, got here ahead on a 2-foot par on the 405-yard twelfth gap, and entered the fourth day with Thitikul’s second consecutive bogeys on his approach to the 76th spherical.
Removed from the timber lined Saharry exterior Seattle, the place feminine PGA existed final 12 months, Fields Ranch East in PGA Frisco is way more open and uncovered to the strongest Texan winds of the week. There have been greater than 30 miles of gusts on Saturday, with roughly the identical predictions within the last spherical. The temperature was once more within the mid-90s.
Nelly Korda, the world’s top-ranked participant, began with consecutive bogeys after 72 rounds, however ended with two birdies. She had 5 birdies and 5 bogeys, ending sixth in 218 overs.
Lee and Chitickle had been nonetheless the one gamers in the usual. Lexi Thompson (75) tied for third place with Haejinchoi (72) and Yamasita Palace (73) after a triple bogey begin.
Thitikul scored the one birdie out of 78 gamers within the par 3, eighth gap for 172 yards. That is usually downwind, with solely 29% of tee photographs remaining on the inexperienced all through the week. That 13-foot birdie was the primary of the day, and earlier than Lee he made her 5 beneath, two strokes.
Nevertheless, Thitikul’s lead disappeared after Bogeys behind his again. She pushed her 4-foot perch previous her first mistake, 383 yards 11 gap this week. Her drive on gap 12 for 417 yards then proceeded in direction of the penalty space, with Lee shifting ahead.
Lee, who received the 2022 US Girls’s Open and the 2021 Evian Championship in France, was steadily on eight consecutive pars earlier than a 4-foot birdie on the ninth gap of 487 yards. Her different birdies had been 18 ft for 515 yards, 14th in par 5 and 1½ ft on the 236-yard par 4 fifteenth gap surrounded by bunkers.
Thitikul is not any. He had a 3rd bogey on a four-hole stretch when he putts 3 times from 50 ft at 14.
Within the second group, semi-retired Thompson hit a tee shot into the golf green on a 517-yard par-5 first gap and a 517-yard par-5 that was windy on a 207-yard drive. Nevertheless, she broke by means of the second shot, which was solely 117 yards, exhibiting the caddy that the wind had misplaced her steadiness and shank the following shot to the appropriate. She continued with one other bogey within the second gap, however the remainder of the street had solely two birdies and one bogey.
Thompson, who performed for the seventh time in 16 tournaments this season, received the one main on the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship, however his 13 top-five finishes within the majors since 2013 was the a lot of the 20 top-10 finishes in these occasions.
LPGA rookie Rio Tekeda opened with a bogey six within the first gap after beginning the spherical tied up with Lee in second place. Takada later had a double bogey. This features a 315-yard par-four gap. There, a drive acquired caught up within the prime of the greenside bunker, leaving him with a hard stance and unable to get the ball out on the primary attempt.
Grace Kim had the very best rounds at 68, together with 68 birdies and two bogeys, tied up from 68 to tenth. Minjee Lee and Andrea (71) had the one different commonplace spherical.
Among the many 11 gamers who arrived on the weekend with seven over-cuts, Kim was tee-off at 6:55am native time, six hours earlier than Chitickle and Lee’s last group left the primary gap.
There was even a hole-in-one, and Brianna had a fourth gap for 150 yards. It was the third feminine PGA within the final 4 years.
