|
The Thai player had a three-round total of
16-under 200 on the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club course.
She was tied with Ruoning Yin (66) and Haeran Ryu (67) going
into Sunday's final round.
Last year Thitikul lost in a playoff to Celine Boutier of
France. The two players tied for first place at 21-under par,
then played a nine-hole playoff which the French player won. The
playoff tied for the second-longest in LPGA Tour history.
“It’s been like a heaven week, to be honest,” Thitikul said
Saturday. “You know, like KL (Kuala Lumpur) is close to Thailand
and I feel like it's a second home here. All the fans cheering
out here, it’s really nice and amazing to be here. And then also
the golf course, it’s one of my favorites so far.”
Second-round leader Maja Stark shot 70 and was in fourth place,
two behind the leaders. Defending champion Boutier was four
strokes behind Thitikul after a 68 and tied for fifth with
American Marina Alex (71).
“Obviously it’s good to have memories and stuff, but also know I
have to focus on what I’m doing and I feel like this course is
pretty score-able so you have to go out there and be
aggressive,” Boutier said.
Hannah Green, who earned her third victory of 2024 and sixth of
her career last week in South Korea, shot a 68 and was at
8-under, eight strokes behind. She was tied with Brooke
Henderson, who shot 66 Saturday.
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
