Rolex Rankings no. 2 Lydia Ko, unrattled by the capricious wind and rain in the third round of the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship, fired a brilliant 67 on the back of a chip-in birdie and laser-sharp putting, en route to a total score of 13-under and a four-shot lead over overnight leader Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea. Ko not only has her fifth win this season in sight, she is mostly likely to retain her world no.1 title tomorrow.



The 18-year-old New Zealander was red hot with her putter on the back nine, as she did not even need to use her putter at the 11th hole, thanks to a chip-in birdie from greenside. She shot an impressive 8 birdies against one double-bogey and one lone bogey. Ji, playing with a sprained back, could only manage an even-par 72 to finish in second at 9-under. England’s Charley Hull sits alone in third at 8-under after taking a demoralizing triple-bogey at the 10th hole, despite charging to the top momentarily.
Ko, who trailed by one shot after two rounds, said the chip-in at 11th really got her going as she continued to have her way with her putter while playing with more smile down the stretch. Even though she could still overtake Inbee Park of South Korea with a first runner-up finish tomorrow, Ko said winning means more to her and world no. 1 is “added bonus”.

Ko not only picked up her first win as a professional golfer in Taiwan, she also triumphed twice at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic, another tournament hosted by Taiwanese in San Francisco. As a result, Ko is very appreciative of Taiwanese fans, “You can even see in the weather, they are still here. Even if my favorite player was here and it was rainy and windy, I don't think I would be out here watching.”

On the other hand, Rolex Rankings no. 8 So Yeon Ryu of South Korea carded a 70 today for an aggregate score of 7-under, one shot ahead of Scottish veteran Catriona Matthew. Two-time LPGA Taiwan Championship winner Suzann Pettersen continued her climb up the leader board with a 71 today to move up to T6.

After a forgettable round of 76 yesterday, Shanshan Feng finally showed her mettle as the number one player from China, as she collected 6 birdies during a 9-hole streak midway through her third round. Feng ended up with a 67 to improve to 3-under and T9.“I felt a bit dazed and tired after playing for four straight weeks. So I got some relaxing body and foot massage last night and it really helped. I was able to shoot my approach shot close to the pin and lined up my putts well.”

On the contrary, Yani Tseng could not get anything going today as she took two double-bogeys with a drive that went out of bound and another unlucky approach shot that found water. She finished with a disappointing 76.
Yani could not hold back her frustration and burst into tears afterwards, “Actually I felt this (could have been) the best round for me, but the score certainly did not reflect that. There were sudden spells of rain and wind at some holes, and I felt my frustration and emotion got in the way… I had no idea the green was so slow.”

Taiwanese LPGA rookie Wei-Ling Hsu made the most of her precise iron shots and putter to shoot a 3-under 69, as her total score moves up to even par, good for T24 with Michelle Wie of the US, compatriot Pei-Ying Tsai and Yu-Ling Hsieh, who also shot a 69.

Hsu credited her nice showing to improved putting stroke on the green as her new putting grip (reversed grip for putting within 12 feet) started to work. For more information, please visit: http://www.fubonlpga.com/