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Patty Tavatanakit on 14 under after 54 holes in the first women’s major of the year; Ally Ewing and Mirim Lee lead the chasing group with England’s Charley Hull seven from the lead; Watch the final round of ANA Inspiration live on Sky Sports Golf starting at 11pm on Sunday
Last Updated: 04/04/21 2:52 am
Patty Tavatanakit is competing for a cable-to-cable win at ANA Inspiration on the Dinah Shore Field at Mission Hills Country Club
Thai Patty Tavatanakit produced an impressive display of golf with a 67-under-five in the third round of the ANA Inspiration to storm five clear shots at the top of the rankings.
The 21-year-old, seeking her first LPGA Tour win in the opening major of the year, started the day with a one-shot lead at Mission Hills Country Club.
But she quickly put daylight between her and the rest of the field on another hot and windy day in California with birdies on the first three holes before adding more gains on the ninth and 11th, where she broke a 337-yard drive.
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Tavatanakit’s first bogey came at par four 12, but he left it behind with birdies at 13 and 15, though he slipped again with another bogey at par three 17 after finding a bunker on the green.
Then there was an almost disastrous finish when his third shot at par five 18 was only inches from turning back into the water, but he stayed dry and managed to go up and down from there to finish at 14 under par. 202, equaling the tournament record after 54 holes.
Tavatanakit refused to dwell on his performance, in which he produced an excellent combination of power and touch, and quickly turned his attention to Sunday’s final round.
“Today I’m going to leave it behind,” he said. “It’s a great day, I recognized it, and now it’s in the past. All I can think about is what can I do tomorrow, what can I improve from today’s round. I was getting a little tired at the end. What can I do? Keep my energy level high throughout the day tomorrow? That will be my goal.
“And keep calm out there. I feel like I did pretty well. And just playing golf, so whatever the outcome, I’ll be very happy. It’s been a good week so far.”
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American Ally Ewing was one better than Tavatanakit with a flawless six-under 66, which featured six birdies, to top the chasing group at nine under alongside defending champion Mirim Lee of South Korea, whose 68 included two birdie hat-tricks from the second and 14.
China’s Shanshan Feng, who was one out of the lead overnight, could only hit par 72 to stay at eight under, while England’s Charley Hull shares fifth place with Inbee Park (70) at seven under.
Charley Hull is seven shots off the pace with 18 holes remaining
Hull’s challenge was derailed at first with a triple-bogey seven in the third, but she also managed to make five birdies in the first 11 holes before a bogey in the last left her with a 71.
Despite being seven behind, Hull believes he can still catch Tavatanakit.
“Anything can happen around this golf course, as you see this morning,” he said. “I think Stacy (Lewis) had eight under par on about 13 holes, so you can do one under. So tomorrow I want to go low.
“I like to make some birdies around here, so I hope to do some more tomorrow.”
Georgia Hall had a worse shot than her compatriot at 18 with her double bogey seven after four previous bogeys when she signed for a 77 to return to par.
Mel Reid (70) and Irish Leona Maguire (74) are on two low, with Stephanie Meadow of Northern Ireland (71) on one low.
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