Olympic champion Lydia Ko takes the lead after third round of HSBC Women’s World C’ship

SINGAPORE – Going into the final day of the HSBC Women’s World Championship, Lydia Ko finds herself in a familiar position – at the top of the leaderboard and in contention for another title.

A four-under 68 in the third round of the US$2.4 million (S$3.2 million) event on March 1 saw world No. 3 Ko take the outright lead on 10-under 206, a stroke ahead of England’s Charley Hull (68) at Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course.

This is the 20th time in Ko’s career that she has been in the lead after the third round, with the New Zealander winning nine of the previous 19 times.

But Ko is not thinking too much about the possibility of claiming her first win in 11 appearances in Singapore, which would bring her LPGA title tally to 23.

Instead, she will just be focusing on herself, an approach that has helped her on some of golf’s biggest stages, including the 2024 Women’s British Open, which she won to end an eight-year Major title drought.

Recalling her experience at St Andrews, where she was three shots off the lead after the third round, the 27-year-old said: “I wasn’t really looking at where I was on the leaderboard, I was just kind of trying to putt one hole at a time and I did that really well.

“That’s a really good mindset to be in, in any circumstances.”

The Paris Olympic champion and three-time Major winner, who had a flawless second round at Sentosa, had a less straightforward third round, mixing four birdies and three bogeys in the first 11 holes.

But she bounced back with consecutive birdies in the next two holes, before sinking a birdie putt on the par-five 16th that gave her the sole lead, which she did not relinquish.

After finishing tied-48th at the Founders Cup on Feb 9, Ko used the next few weeks to “reset” and get ready for the Singapore event and is glad to see her work pay off.

She said: “Regardless of what happens tomorrow, I’m just really excited for the season ahead.

“I’m excited to be in contention and hopefully I can play some good golf and see where that puts me at the end of the day.”

Looking forward to playing with Ko in the championship flight is Hull, who could pick up her first LPGA victory since 2022.

From her four-under 68 in the third round, it would have been hard to tell that the world No. 9 had thrown up in the morning after she woke up feeling unwell.

But that did not stop her from clocking a 5km run in a personal-best time before her round and giving herself a shot at the title.

Looking ahead to the final round, the 28-year-old said: “I just played pretty solid out there and felt pretty confident. I hit some nice, close shots that were tap-ins.

“My mindset is going to be no different from literally the last three days – just go out there, play golf, hole some putts and have fun... It’s just a game at the end of the day.”

Nine other players are within five shots of the lead, including Jeeno Thitikul, who climbed to third from joint-16th after shooting the low round of the day with a 66 for a 209 total, and second-round leader Kim A-Lim (73), who slipped to joint-fourth on 210.

Thai world No. 2 Jeeno was surprised to find herself among the leading group, after shooting a 71 and 72 in the first two rounds.

After a hectic few weeks following her win at the PIF Saudi Ladies International in February, the 22-year-old said that her energy levels were low, especially with the heat in Singapore.

But she was happy with how her third round turned out, saying: “It feels good. I thought I wasn’t going to be on top of the leaderboard that much. But I’m now in contention, which is more than I expected.”

Singaporean golfer Shannon Tan is tied-17th with nine others after firing a 69 for a 214 total, while compatriot Chen Xingtong (73) is 62nd on 230.

After a slow start with two birdies and two bogeys on the back nine, the 20-year-old Tan clawed her way back with four birdies and a bogey in her closing stretch.

Defending champion Hannah Green gave herself a chance at back-to-back titles after shooting a 67 to go from tied-27th to joint-seventh on 211, five strokes behind Ko.

Meanwhile, Angel Yin and Jenny Shin withdrew from the tournament due to illness.