DENMARK’S Emily Kristine Pedersen shot a 6-under 64 on Saturday and holds a three-shot lead after three rounds of The Annika in Belleair, Florida.
Ms. Pedersen’s bogey-free round leaves her at 18-under 192 at Pelican Golf Club, matching the LPGA record through 54 holes first set by tournament host Annika Sorenstam at the 2003 Mizuno Classic. It was later matched by Japan’s Nasa Hataoka (2018), South Korea’s Sei Young Kim (2018) and Danielle Kang (2021).
Amy Yang of South Korea and Lilia Vu are tied for second, three shots behind Ms. Pedersen. Ms. Yang carded a 61 and Vu shot 62 on Saturday.
Ms. Pedersen set the 36-hole event record on Friday when she was at 12-under 128.
On Saturday, she made consecutive birdies on Nos. 2 and 3 and later made four more on the back nine.
Ms. Yang eagled the par-4 No. 5 also had seven birdies in her bogey-free round. She made four birdies on the front nine and three on the back and said she tried to simplify her mental approach.
Lilia Vu birdied seven of the last 12 holes and had eight overall during her bogey-free round. She finished strong with three birdies in the final four holes.
Alison Lee (62 on Saturday), Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit (62), Spain’s Azahara Munoz (64) and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (65) are all tied for fourth place at 13-under 197.
Lexi Thompson (66) is part of a three-way tie for 12th at 10-under 200. — Reuters