Thitikulhasher eye on grabbing the No. 1 spot
There were plenty of red numbers on the leaderboard yesterday at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea and one of those belonged to two-time LPGA Tour winner Atthaya Thitikul.
The 19-year-old fired a five-under-par 67 on Moving Day with six birdies and one bogey on the card, five of which came in her final nine holes with three consecutive birdies made on holes 13, 14 and 15. That late push on the back side of Oak Valley Country Club helped her recapture the lead, and it’s only the second time in her career that Thitikul has held the 54-hole lead or co-lead.
The last time she did so was at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship where Thitikul collected her second LPGA Tour title after defeating Danielle Kang in a playoff with a birdie on the second extra hole.
Being in contentionisold hat at this point for the teenager, and while a third victory is within reach, the rookie will take a veteran’s mindset with her to the first tee early this morning.
Thitikul has a shot to head home to Thailand as World No. 1 if she wins or finishes solo fourth or better today and would become the first Thai player since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2019 to accomplish the feat.
Sitting in a tie for second are 2022 Portland Classic winner Andrea Lee and 17-time LPGA Tour winner Lydia Ko.
Ko fired a bogey-free, six-under 66 on Moving Day, hitting 11 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, her best ballstriking performance so far this week.
The 25-year-old has had eight topfive finishes in her last 11 starts and is looking to add to her 2022 trophy count, a win that would be much overdue considering how solid she’s played as of late.
Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh lies in a tie for 29th on four-under-par.
Meanwhile, on the Ladies European Tour, home player Amandeep Drall (inset above) holds a single-shot advantage heading into today’s final round of the Hero Women’s Indian Open at DLF Golf and Country Club.
Drall shot a third-round five-underpar 67 to finish at 10-under-par, one clear of Germany’s Olivia Cowan, who also fired a 67, and Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall following her 68