The challenging wind seemed to quiet down on Saturday at the Foxconn TLPGA Players Championship. The “moving day” saw the 36-hole leader, Korea’s Im Jin Hee dropped outside of the top-10 with a third-round 78, while Japanese Haruka Kawasaki built a four-shot advantage at 7-under 209 after shooting a 68. The US$1 million event is one of the highest-paying TLPGA own-sanctioned tournaments in tour history. Taiwan-based super brand Foxconn (Hon Hai Technology Group), one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers, is the title sponsor of the event.

The Kyoto-native completed a bogey-free scorecard, decorated with four birdies. “With yesterday’s experience, I tried to pull my shots back straight with a bit of left spin. The strategy played out pretty well,” said Kawasaki, who made 14 greens in regulation and the putt count sit at 30. “I believed I left a couple of birdies out there, maybe on the 13th and 16th, but I’m proud of myself to keep a clean sheet.”

Rio Takeda scored an eagle on the par-4 8th and finished the round with a 2-under 70, which raised her into solo second, four shots behind her Japanese compatriot. “That was an important turning point for my confidence. I felt still a little unsure went I left the 7th with a bogey, but the second-shot attempt on the 8th, with my 58-degree wedge, gave me a big surprise by earning an eagle,” Takeda said. She needed 31 putts in the round.

Taiwan’s own Chen Yu-Ju (陳宇茹) overcame a three-putt double-bogey on no.7 and closed the round with an even-par 72, which put her in solo third with a five-shot deficit. “I think my golf was okay but physically, I was a bit caught up by the fatigue from previous days towards the end, and I also missed some birdie opportunities. I’ll have to try to have a good night’s sleep and rest well for the final round,” Chen said.

Hou Yu-Sang (侯羽桑) rocketed up by 18 places after posting a low-round 67. “The wind calmed down today, so I told myself I needed to take full advantage of that, and I’m glad I did,” said the Taiwanese, who started the third round with a birdie, which was the first of a total of six for her. She is now in a tie for fourth with Cheng Ssu-Chia (程思嘉) (68) and Japanese Kokona Sakurai (72) on 1-under par.

“I tried to bring a more aggressive game plan today, but my accuracy was a little sacrificed, so it did not worked as well as I hoped for,” said Sakurai, who defeated local favorite Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏) on this venue to win the 2023 Hitachi Ladies Classic, in her first appearance on the TLPGA Tour.

Wu, who is just 19, showed amazing resilience, bouncing back from yesterday’s 79 to card a low-round 67 today. “Me and my coach, we stayed and did a bit of working and practice yesterday after the round was finished. I think I was able to do a lot better with my waist motion. The swing was a lot smoother, so I could be more comfortable on the course today,” said Wu.

Lin Tze-Han (林子涵) used the 6-iron to make a hole-in-one on the 174-yard 16th hole. “It was downwind so I tried to take a smaller club. The direction looked great, and the ball just went in after a couple of bounces,” Lin said with a joyful smile. She finished the round with a 2-over 74, which brought her into a tie for 34th.