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LYDIA Ko, with a round that included seven birdies, and Charley Hull, the English player who focuses as much on her early morning running as she does on golf, have the lead after three rounds of the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
Ko, the latest member of golf’s Hall of Fame and a star of the game, matched Hull’s score of four-under 68 today to shade her British rival by a stroke going into tomorrow’s final round at Sentosa Golf Club.
But they’re both wary of pre-tournament favourite Jeeno Thitikul, who shot seven birdies in a six-under round of 66 – the best of the tournament – to climb into third place, just three strokes from the lead, and join them in tomorrow’s final group.
Right behind her are Australians Minjee Lee, who shot a bogey-free four-under 68, and defending champion Hannah Green, who came from nowhere with a five-under 67 to be within striking distance, just five shots from Ko‘s lead.
On another hot, humid day at Sentosa, the cream rose to the top, with three of the world’s top 10 players finding their way to the top of the leader board.
Ko, whose caddie Paul Cormack was named 2025 Caddie of the Year before play began, traded her seven birdies with bogeys at the fourth, eighth and 11th holes as her approach shots briefly let her down.
“I made a few mistakes but I was able to bounce back with a few good birdies as well,” she said. “I felt like I played really solid. So hopefully these past few days will give me a good rhythm for tomorrow.
“You just have to play smart around this golf course. I think I’ve been doing that fairly well. I may make a mistake here and there, but try and not get too carried away with that and just focus on the next one
“There’s a lot of golf to be played and it’s a fairly packed leader board.”
Hull, who began the day two strokes behind overnight leader A Lim Kim, birdied the second and fourth holes to draw level, then played steadily, with more birdies on 10 and 13, to shoot her four-under 68.
“I woke up this morning and I actually was sick,” Hull said. “I threw up and then I kind of got my head together. Then I actually did my personal best in my 5km run in 26 minutes.
“I knocked 30 seconds off my best time. I was pretty happy about that. That kept me in a good space for the rest of the day. I just went out on the golf course and played golf.
“That’s about it, really. It’s just a game at the end of the day. I’m pretty happy with the way I’m going and looking forward to tomorrow, and then one more day until I fly home.”
Thitikul, who has been placed top 10 in her last eight outings, and will surely add to that number tomorrow, putted brilliantly for birdies at two, four, five, 11, 14, 16 and 18 in a superb round, marred only by a bogey five at the ninth.
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She put her improvement down to a new driver which, she said, allowed her to keep her ball in play from the tee. “If it’s on the fairway it’s way easier than the rough here,” she said.
“I had a lot of chances to make birdies. I missed some, but I made some, too. I think what worked well today is I just don’t think too much. Just line up and putt.”
Minjee Lee is in a strong position, her 68 lifting her to fourth place, only four strokes from the lead going into tomorrow’s final round. She birdied the fifth, seventh, 13th and 18th holes in a stellar round of golf.
“I was pretty consistent all day,” she said. “I stayed pretty patient and gave myself a few more looks for birdie.
“I felt like the conditions were pretty tough, kind of with the wind. I know we had a few tees that were up, but it still counter-balanced with the pin being in a harder spot. I didn’t really feel like it was playing all that easy out there.
“Obviously I’ll try to get off to a really hot start tomorrow. I think it’s the type of golf course where you can’t really hit them, like, super tight. So I feel like if you’re putting from mid-range on, you’re going to have a really great chance.”
Also making a charge was defending champion Green, written off by most after a poor first-round 75. But, as she did last year, the Western Australian bounced back, shooting a five-under-par 67 that could have been even better.
After finding the greenside bunker with her approach on the 18th hole, Green exploded from the sand to within 1.5m of the hole, only to miss the par putt.
“I didn’t drive it great again but I felt like my miss-hits were in better positions,” she said. ”But it’s still a little bit tricky picking whether it would be a flyer or not out of the rough. I holed some really nice putts.”
She said she appreciated having so many people supporting her.
“It was just a really good feeling out there. I felt like a lot of people were cheering me on,” she said. ”I think it’s kind of nice trying to jump up the leader board, instead of staying at the top. I’ve put myself in a good position for tomorrow.”
Fellow Aussies Steph Kyriacou (70) and Grace Kim (72) had their best rounds of the tournament, but they are too far back to contend tomorrow, as is Gabi Ruffels, who scored 76.
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