Thitikul and Ko still neck and neck, Albane Valenzuela in ambush, Delacour gets closer

Jeeno Thitikul is closing in on a fourth LPGA title at just 21 years old. On Saturday, the Thai prodigy extended her lead over her main rival, Lydia Ko.

The match between Jeeno Thitikul and the gold medalist at the Paris 2024 Games, Lydia Ko, will continue Sunday in Ohio.

The two players were separated by only two shots after a third round where the young Thai did more than resist since she had a lead of up to four shots with three holes to go.

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It was the putter of the winner of the Dow Championship in doubles with Ruoning Yin that worked wonders on the greens of the course of TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, which is hosting the event for the first time.

The youngest winner on the Ladies European Tour At 14 years old in 2017 and the second youngest world number 1 in history, behind Lydia Ko, only needed 26 putts on Saturday to complete the 18 holes.

Albane Valenzuela shines in Maineville

After making his debut in Solheim Cup Last week in Virginia, the first Swiss woman in history to wear the colours of Europe in this competition had a great week in Cincinnati.

With a card of 68, Albane Valenzuela has indeed climbed into the top 5 and with four shots behind the leader. The 26-year-old player can also dream of winning a first title on the great American circuit.

If she maintains her precision on her attacks on the green as in the 3rd round (18/18), the former Stanford student will certainly have her say this Sunday!

Second best card of the day for Perrine Delacour

For her part, the Frenchwoman Perrine Delacour returned one of the beautiful cards of the day after starting from 10.

Six birdies and a bogey marked the day for the Picardy native who hit 13 fairways out of 14 and took 16 greens in regulation!

Having dropped to 32 on the way out, Delacour faltered a little on the way back before recording two birdies at the end which propelled her to the edge of the top 30.

As a reminder, Agathe Laisné missed his 15th cut in 17 tournaments this season on Friday.

The video summary of the 3rd round

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