(Springfield Gardens) Leona Maguire birdied the final hole for her eighth straight round and took a one-stroke lead over fast closing Jenny Shin on a sunny Saturday heading into the final round of the KPMG PGA Tour Championship.
Maguire, in the lead at the halfway point and looking for a second straight victory and a first major title, birdied in two shots to end a seesaw third round. It has a total of 54 holes of 7 under par on a Baltusrol course that was challenging but accessible after two days of intermittent rain that softened the greens.
Shin tied the tournament fastest lap with a bogey-free 66 and five birdies. A 30-year-old South Korean who has lived in the United States since the age of nine, Shin has not won on the LPGA Tour since 2016.
Stephanie Meadow of Northern Ireland, a close friend of Maguire, was alone in third place after a 68 and five under par. South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace (70), leading in the first round, and China’s Ruoning Yin (69) were three shots away, while Lauren Coughlin (68) and South Korea’s Jin Young Ko (69), world number one, were another shot away from the lead.
Rose Zhang, who won on her professional debut earlier this month, raced to one under par with a 68, finishing with an eagle on the par-5 of hole 18.
