Thai rookie goes four shots clear on LPGA debut

Chris Kirk’s last win on the PGA Tour was nearly eight years ago. He’s put himself in a position to change that at the Honda Classic.

Kirk battled his way to a 4-under round of 66 on Saturday, putting him at 13-under 197 for the week and giving him a two-shot lead over Eric Cole (66) through three rounds at PGA National.

His last win on tour was at Colonial in 2015 — 180 tournaments ago. He’s a four-time winner on tour, played in the Presidents Cup in 2015, and has been waiting to hoist a trophy again since.

Kirk made a wild birdie on the last, after his second shot on the par-5 18th wound up next to the grandstand and under- neath someone’s bag that was left against structure. He got a drop, chipped on from there and made the putt to restore a two-shot lead.

And now he has a chance to be a winner again — with most of the players nearest to him on the leaderboard looking for their first tour wins.

“It’s been so long since I’ve won,” Kirk said. “I’m going to be plenty nervous, just as nervous as those guys are probably.”

Cole stayed in the mix with his second consecutive round of 66.

“It’s awesome,” Cole said. “I’ve never played this event before. Tried to qualify a bunch of times ... I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

Justin Suh holed out from the fairway for an eagle on the par-4 12th, and is alone in third at 10 under. He shot even-par 70 on Saturday.

Shane Lowry (65) is 9 under, and right in the mix after having a chance to win the Honda last year until the 72nd hole. He’s tied with Ben Taylor (69).

Thai rookie Natthakritta Vongtaveelap shot a bogeyfree 64 to grab a four-stroke lead over fellow countrywoman Atthaya Thitikul after round three of the US$1.7 million LPGA Thailand.

The 20-year-old Vongtaveelap began with an eagle and went on to notch six birdies, including three in a row from the 16th, to finish on 20-under-par-196 in front of thousands of jubilant home fans at the Siam Country Club.

Vongtaveelap will try to become the first player to win on her LPGA Tour debut since Japanese Hinako Shibuno at the 2019 Women’s