LPGA Tour rookie Rio Takeda carded a 69 to take a two-stroke lead after three rounds on Saturday on the Blue Bay LPGA on Hainan Island, China.
Takeda, 21, sits at 9-under 207 for the event and is the one participant within the discipline to publish three rounds within the 60s on the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course. The final time she had a lead after 54 holes got here in 2024 on the Toto Japan Traditional, which she received earlier than turning into a tour member.
Tied for second at 209 are People Gigi Stoll (68 on Saturday) and Auston Kim (70) together with Cassie Porter of Australia (72).
Kim had a share of the first-round lead, and Porter was atop the leaderboard together with Nasa Hataoka of Japan getting into play Saturday. Hataoka recorded a 76 to fall right into a tie for sixteenth at 3-under par.
In a tie for fifth at 6-under 210 are Japan’s Ayaka Furue and Mao Saigo, each with rounds of 70, in addition to Minjee Lee of Australia (68) and Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul (68).
For chief Takeda, the second does not appear to be too huge, regardless of her younger age and lack of intensive LPGA Tour expertise.
“I’ve had three nice days with a number of confidence, and I need to carry that confidence tomorrow and end up on a robust observe,” she stated.
“I do not need to pay an excessive amount of consideration to the rating, however simply take it gap by gap and do my greatest.”
Stoll, 28, is in her second season on the LPGA Tour and searching for her first victory. She is prepared for a Sunday battle, particularly after weathering ups and downs on Saturday.
She birdied the primary three and the final three holes. In between, she recorded two birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.
“The putter has been sizzling. Positively bought off to a very good begin birdieing the primary three,” she stated. “Some stuff occurred within the center, but it surely was good to shut with three as nicely.”
And like Takeda, she heads into the ultimate spherical with some confidence.
“Golf is humorous,” she stated. “It is a lengthy day. You could possibly at all times come again and you might be by no means actually out of it. Something can occur. I simply inform myself rather a lot to remain actually current and keep in there. I am actually pleased with myself for doing that.”
Porter began the spherical at 7 beneath and ended there, recording a spherical just like that of Stoll. The tour rookie, making simply her second official LPGA Tour begin, combined 5 birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey to complete with 72.
“Yeah, that was a number of combat on the market. Little bit of a multitude in the course of the spherical there, however we got here again, in order that’s all that issues,” Porter, 22, stated.
–Discipline Degree Media