Wonju: Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand grabbed a one-stroke lead after the third round at the US$2 million BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea yesterday.
Atthaya fired a five-under 67 to reach 15-under 201 after three rounds at the Oak Valley Country Club in Wonju, the lone LPGA stop in South Korea this year.
On the par-72 course, the 19-year-old rookie recorded six birdies and one bogey.
Atthaya will be vying for her third title in 2022, with two other Korean-descent players, Andrea Lee of the United States and Lydia Ko of New Zealand, lying one stroke behind.
Ko Jin-Young, South Korea's defending champion and world No.1, withdrew before the third round began, after having a disastrous first two rounds.
She shot 80-79 on Thursday and Friday, having just returned from two months out with a wrist injury.
With a victory this week, Atthaya could replace Ko at the top of the world rankings.
But the Thai golfer said rankings were not her foremost focus.
"To be honest, I don't really care about the ranking," she said, according to Seoul's Yonhap news agency.
"I play golf because I want to take care of my family. Ranking is not that important for me."
Lilia Vu of the US is alone in fourth place at 13-under 203, followed by two South Koreans, Kim Hyo-Joo and Choi Hye-Jin who both shot 66s to end the third round on 12 under. Amateur Kim Min-Sol was a stroke further back after a one-under 71.
Two-time major champion Ariya Jutanugarn was eighth on 10-under 206 after firing the day's lowest score of seven-under 65.
Fellow Thais Wichanee Meechai (68) and Jasmine Suwannapura (69) were in a group at jointh 15th on seven-under 209.