KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Choi Hye-jin shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday to take a four-stroke lead into the final round of the Maybank Championship, where she will maintain the lead she has held since the first round and seek her first victory on the LPGA Tour.
Choi Soon-sil, who represented South Korea in the International Crown last week, posted a 54-hole total score of 197, or 19 under, at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. She started the day with a five-shot lead.
Choi, 26, has 28 career top-10 finishes and finished second at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open as a 17-year-old amateur.
It was the first time in her career that she had led after the first three rounds and only the third time that she had led going into the final round. She finished second the first two times.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time [time]I will do my best tomorrow,” Cui said. “I think I will feel like I am living a dream, I am just imagining it. I’m just looking for victory tomorrow. “
China’s Liu Yan (65) ranked second without a bogey in this round, and Hannah Green, a member of the Australian team that won the International Crown last weekend, ranked third with a score of 67, four strokes behind Cui Tiankai.
A Lim Kim shot 64 and was the most improved player. She was 6 shots behind the leader and tied for fourth. King made an eagle on the 18th hole and had six birdies in the round.
“It was a great shot, but it was unlikely,” King said of the 25-foot eagle putt on No. 18. She started the round with four birdies in five holes.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul, the runner-up in Malaysia the past two years, shot 65 to also tie for fourth. She birdied her final three holes on Saturday.
“I don’t know what happened, but it’s good,” Titikul said. She thanked the many fans at the gallery for their support and once again said the venue was like a “mini Thailand” to her.
Defending champion Yin Ruoning shot 69 and ranked seventh, 7 strokes behind Cui Zhiyou and tied with New Zealander Gao Liya (68). Brooke Henderson shot 68 and was 11 shots behind.
The LPGA will conclude its five-week Asian tour next week with the Japan Classic in Shiga.
