Ko claims four-stroke advantage

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  • October 24, 2015

Lydia Ko claimed a commanding four-shot lead after the third round of the LPGA Taiwan Championship after carding a five-under-par 67 in windy conditions at Miramar on Saturday.

The New Zealander carved out four birdies in five holes on the back nine before closing out with another birdie on the last hole in difficult conditions in Taiwan.

A victory or second-place finish on Sunday would move the world number two back into top spot on the world rankings, although she could also take over from top-ranked Inbee Park should the Korean golfer finish down the field at the LPGA's KB Financial Star Championship, where she was tied for fourth on Saturday.

Ko's round of 65 saw her reach a total of 203 after 54 holes, four strokes ahead of South Korea's Eun-Hee Ji (72), who held a one-shot lead after both the first and second rounds. In third place after a round of 71 is England's Charley Hull, one shot behind Ji.

"On this course anything can happen," Ko said after her round. "It's hard to say, 'hey I've got the trophy today.' I've still go to play a lot of good golf tomorrow. There's still 18 holes to go."

Ko became the youngest golfer in the history of the game to win a major title when she triumphed at the Evian Championship in France last month and is currently tied with Park for the most victories on the LPGA Tour this season. Both players have won on four occasions.

The 18-year-old initially moved into a tie of the lead at the par-four 11th, where she holed a 20-foot chip for a birdie, and moved two shots ahead following a nine-footer for birdie on the par-five 12th.

She then sunk a 14-footer from the fringe on the par-three 14th and extended her lead to four strokes with a 12-footer on the par-four 15th. Another birdie at the par-five 18th followed after holing an eight-foot putt.

Her front nine was less successful, as the three birdies she made was cancelled out by a bogey and a double bogey.

South Korea's So Yeon Ryu (70) is in fourth place after carding a third round 70, while Scotland's Catriona Matthew (68) was finished on six-under.

Norway's Suzann Pettersen (71), Sweden's Anna Nordqvist (71) and China's Xi Yu Lin (74) all finished on five-under, but Taiwan's former world number one Yani Tseng (76) could only reach a score of five-over after the third round and is in a tie for 49th.

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