02 March, 2019: Ariya Jutanugarn started the day two shots off the pace but shot a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 for the outright lead on Saturday at the 2019 HSBC Women’s World Championship. This is Jutanugarn’s 12th start where she has held the lead or a share of the lead after 54 holes; she has won nine of the previous 11 events when she’s held the top spot going into the final round.
World No. 3 Minjee Lee carded a 5-under-par 67 for an overall total of -10, one shot shy of Jutanugarn’s lead, while England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff remains close behind at -9 after shooting a 4-under-par 68 in the third round. Sitting three shots behind Jutanugarn is a quartet of players vying for their first HSBC Women’s World Championship win – Jin Young Ko, Hyo Joo Kim, Amy Olson and Azahara Munoz.
Ariya Jutanugarn, the young 23-year-old from Thailand has accomplished many feats as a professional in her four years on the LPGA Tour including sweeping every major LPGA award in 2018; however, Jutanugarn is making a strong big to accomplish something that she’s never done before—claim an LPGA Tour victory in Asia.
“You know, one of my dreams, maybe started five years ago—I really want to win in Asia because I never have,” said the 10-time LPGA Tour winner.
Jutanugarn started out the two-week Asia stretch feeling very little confidence and shaky about her game, especially in Thailand where the pressure of playing well in front of huge home crowds made her nervous but her self-assessed game in Singapore at Sentosa Golf Club is showing much improvement.
Minjee Lee, a four-time winner on the LPGA Tour, is giving third-round leader Ariya Jutanugarn a good run with 18 holes to play in Singapore. Lee sits one shot off the lead after finishing at 5-under-par on the day.
Coming off the heels of a runner-up finish last week in Thailand and jumping four spots on the Rolex World Rankings, Lee’s competitive nature remains underrated but she continues to set her sights on much more than rankings.
Source: LPGA Tour
