Houston (AFP) – Nelly Korda tied the 54-hole scoring record but saw her lead reduced to five strokes with a third-round 70 at the LPGA Chevron Championship on Saturday. The world number two had been rampant across the first couple of days at Houston’s Memorial Park, firing consecutive rounds of 65. And Korda got off to an explosive start again Saturday with four birdies on the opening six holes, including a precision eight-iron off the tee on the second hole to within tap-in distance of the pin.
But just as the first women’s major of the year threatened to become a procession, the 27-year-old American did not make another birdie all day. Korda played the rest of her round two-over par, consistently finding greens but failing to convert her putts, to finish 16-under par and give the distant pack a hint of a chance. “I mean, the front nine was great,” said Korda. “But yeah, I missed that putt on the par-five eighth, and then kind of just slowed down since. And all my misses with my putts were right, so I’m going to go to the putting green after. Just got to reset and hopefully it goes my way tomorrow.”
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Korda reached the turn seven strokes clear of her closest rival, Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit, who had managed two birdies on the front nine, curling in a long putt on the sixth. Both golfers bogeyed the tricky 13th — Patty’s first bogey of the entire tournament. But the lead shrank back to five strokes as Patty’s pinpoint pitch on 14 gave her a straightforward birdie, followed by another on 16, for a round of 69.
China’s Yin Ruoning scored a bogey-free 66 — the joint-best of the day — to finish her round on 10-under par, alongside France’s Pauline Rossin-Bouchard, who had started the day with three straight birdies. Korda is seeking her second Chevron crown in three seasons, knowing a win would propel her to the top of the world rankings after incumbent Jeeno Thitikul missed the cut. Korda captured the season-opening LPGA Tournament of Champions and finished second in her other three starts this year. Her 16-under-par 200 after three rounds matches Jennifer Kupcho’s Chevron Championship record, set four years ago. Patty’s only major win to date is also the Chevron, then known as the ANA Inspiration, back in 2021.
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