Lexi Thompson eagled the par-5 18th hole on Saturday to take a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the ANA Inspiration. Thompson, who won her first major championship here in 2014, leads Rolex Rankings No. 1 Lydia Ko, reigning U.S. Women’s Open champ In Gee Chun and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn by one shot. Charley Hull and Ai Miyazato are tied for fifth, two shots back at 8-under par. It’s a crowded leaderboard as a total of fourteen players, including six major champions, are within four shots of the lead with just 18 holes to play.

Thompson walked to the 18th tee trailing Ko and Jutanugarn, who were both in the clubhouse at 9-under par, by one shot. With the tee moved up on the par-5 for Saturday’s third round, Thompson hit her second shot to 15 feet and converted on her eagle putt to shoot 69 and to get to 10-under par. She played her final four holes in 4-under, having picked up back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16.

“That was definitely big to finish that well on the third day,” said Thompson. “I struggled a bit through my first 10 holes. I was hitting it well, just couldn’t get the putts to drop. I was just putting a little timid and then hit a few good shots coming in, so I had a few short birdie putts, but to knock it in on 18 is always the most amazing feeling here at the ANA.”

This will mark the eighth time in Thompson’s career that she will hold at least a share of the 54-hole lead and she has gone on to win five of those times, most recently at the 2016 Honda LPGA Thailand in February.

“I don’t really think it’s too much different mentality-wise,” Thompson said on going into the final 18 holes with the lead. “I’m just trying to focus on my own game. That’s all I can control is my attitude, my game on the golf course, and going into to-morrow I’m just going to have the same mindset, be positive, focus on doing my routine on every shot, take it slow, and just try to visualize my shots out there.”

The 21-year old is trying to become only the second player to win this major twice in a three-year span (Annika Sorenstam won back-to-back in 2001 and 2002). She has a star-studded pack of pursuers including 18-year old Lydia Ko who is chasing yet another piece of history. Ko is trying to become the youngest two-time major winner, man or woman, since Young Tom Morris in 1869. She won her first major title at the Tour’s last major, the 2015 Evian Championship. Ko’s best finish at the ANA Inspiration was T25 in 2013 and said she definitely feels more comfortable at Mission Hills this time around.

“I think obviously winning last week helps with the confidence coming into the first major of the year,” said Ko. “But I’ve been trying to just have fun out there, enjoy being out there with the girls, and I think that’s a big key for me, and obviously in a major but any event, just enjoy it, just enjoy being here.”

Thompson shared the 54-hole lead with Michelle Wie at this event in 2014 when she captured her first major title. She shot a final-round 68 to win by three shots.

“Yeah, I do know what it takes to win on this golf course,” said Thompson. “I mean, I absolutely love this golf course. It’s just a great setup, and just the tournament in gen-eral, there’s so much history and tradition behind it, so it’s always an honor to put your name on that trophy. But there’s a lot of golf to be played, 18 holes tomorrow, and just got to focus on your own game and see where it goes.”

PUTTING WOES CAN’T SLOW HER DOWN
Lexi Thompson showed signs of frustration on the greens in her round on Saturday. The 7-time winner on the LPLGA Tour hadn’t had a three-putt all week but had two in the third round. She was 2-over for the day through 10 holes but played her final four holes in 4-under par with two birdies and an eagle on the last. She’s ranked tied for 34th in the field in putting average (1.65) and tied for 16th in putts per GIR (1.8).

“Yeah, it was definitely a bit frustrating,” said Thompson. “I missed two shorter putts on my first nine, but I just tried to stay positive. I did get frustrated. I’m not going to lie. But I just tried to remind myself the putts I did make the last two days, and remember those strokes and getting that feeling, and basically telling myself to just put a more confident stroke on it, put some more speed on it. I was leaving them a little bit short today, so just try to be a little bit more aggressive.”

NO BLIND SPOT
After dealing with eyesight issues in Friday’s second round, Lydia Ko admitted that she was a little bit concerned how her allergies might affect her vision for the third round of the ANA Inspiration. But thankfully for Ko, her biggest concern on Saturday at had nothing to do with vision but rather the speed of her putts on the greens at Mission Hills.

“I’ve been leaving my putts short the last few days, and there were a few where I was perfectly online and I ended up short, and I said, when it’s short, it’s never in, so might as well hit it one or two feet by,” Ko said. “I think the green speed has been one of the key things we’ve been trying to work on the last few days.”

Despite a few putts coming up short, Ko finds herself just one shot off the lead and in the penultimate group entering Sunday’s final round of the first major of the season. Ko will try to make it back-to-back major championships, after becoming the youngest ever major winner at the final major of the 2015 season, the Evian Championship.

HULL GETS RIGHT ON SATURDAY
The third round has been kind to Charley Hull over the years at the ANA Inspiration and Saturday was no different.

Hull birdied the last four holes to finish with a 3-under 69 and to get within two shots of the lead. On the week, the back nine has played to her advantage, as she has made a few long putts and is a combined 6-under overall on the back nine through three rounds.

Hull first played at Mission Hills Country Club as an amateur in 2012 when she was 16 years old and vividly remembers shooting a low round. This season, her best finish in an LPGA event was fourth at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open back in February.

“Yeah, I’m buzzing for it. I love this golf course. It reminds me of a couple years ago,” said Hull. “I was in a similar position a couple behind the lead going into the final round. I’m going to hit a couple of balls, work on my driver in a minute, and have an early night.”

Charley Hull ANA Inspiration Results
2015: T-26th
2014: T-7th
2013: DNP
2012: T-38th

Charley Hull is a combined 12-under par in the third round in her career at Mission Hills:
2016: 69 (-3)
2015: 73 (+1)
2014: 66 (-6)
2012: 68 (-4)

QUOTABLES
“The difference to now is I feel like I’m a little bit more mature, and actually someone -- the guy who first caddied for me in this tournament four years ago is a pro here, and he came up to me. I said to him, you look like you’ve lost weight, and he goes, so do you; you’re less chubby now. I’m like, yeah, I’ve lost my puppy fat I reckon. No more Chubby Charley hopefully, but I will be eating plenty of chocolate”
-Charley Hull on the difference in her now from when she first played this event 4 years ago as a 16-year-old amateur

“We’d cause a tsunami I reckon”
-Charley Hull on what the jump into Poppie’s Pond would look like by her and caddie Adam Woodward if she won the ANA Inspiration

“The scoreboard is definitely packed. There’s a lot of big names up there, a lot of players that have won major championships, as well. So tomorrow is going to definitely be a test, and hopefully I’m just going to go out there and not think about anyone else and just try to play the golf course that I know how to play”
-Michelle Wie on the advice Butch Harmon gave her coming into the first major of the year

“I didn’t bring my driver out this week, so no driver, only 3-wood and 2-iron”
-Ariya Jutanugarn on who is 10th in driving distance this week with a 264.3 yard average

NUMBERS TO KNOW

2 – Lexi Thompson and In Gee Chun are the only two players to score three rounds in the 60s; both Thompson and Chun have one bogey each on hole No. 16, which is playing the fourth most difficult hole this week
4 - Michelle Wie was a perfect 4 for 4 in sand saves on Saturday
5 - Mi Jung Hur took advantage of the par 5s on Saturday as she was a combined 5-under-par on them; Hur is tied with Catriona Matthews with the best par 5 scores this week shooting 8 under par
14 – Number of players within four strokes of the lead heading into the final round; the lead all week has only been 1 stroke after each round
17 – Pernilla Lindberg hit the most greens on Saturday, making 17 of 18 (94.4%) which led her to make 2 eagles
26 – Michelle Wie’s number of putts on Saturday, the fewest number of putts she’s had in a round this season

ANA Inspiration Round 3 Notes

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