England’s Charley Hull fired a 2-under 68 on Saturday to stay atop the leaderboard after three rounds of action at The Annika in Belleair, Fla.
Hull entered the day with a two-shot lead that got cut in half. She managed to stay in front despite an up-and-down back nine that included three of her five birdies and three bogeys, and the 28-year-old now sits at 12-under 198 for the tournament.
“Played pretty solid. I felt like I played well all day,” Hull said. “But, yeah, finishing in the dark wasn’t that fun. I wished they moved the tee times back a little bit or forward a little bit.”
Weiwei Zhang of China and Nelly Korda are tied for second at 11-under 199. Zhang put together a stunning performance, capturing low-round honors by collecting nine birdies against one bogey for an 8-under 62 that moved her 20 spots up the leaderboard.
“I can’t say anything. Just I don’t know how to play that well today,” said Zhang, who carded the lowest 18-hole score of her career. “Just keep patient and just like normal and then I hole a lot of (putts). That’s made me so surprised on some (holes). Yeah, just amazing today.”
Meanwhile, Korda recorded a 67. She caught fire after posting two bogeys through her first seven holes, going birdie-birdie-par-birdie at Nos. 8-11 before closing out with another three birdies, three more pars and a bogey.
“I am going to go home, get a good night’s rest, some food in my stomach and hopefully give it my all tomorrow,” Korda said.
South Korean Jin Hee Im (68 on Saturday) and Thailand’s Wichanee Meechai (68) are tied for fourth, three strokes off the lead. German Olivia Cowan has sole possession of sixth thanks to a 5-under 65.
Four golfers are tied for seventh, a logjam that includes Bailey Tardy (67) and Rose Zhang (68).
Lilia Vu, the event’s defending champion, is stuck in a six-way tie for 11th at 6-under 204. She shot a 66 on Saturday. Korda took home the title in both 2022 and 2021.
–Field Level Media