During the third round of the Dana Open, Thailand’s Chanettee Wannasaen followed a career-low 36-hole score of 131 with a third-round 66, adding another new career-low to the record book with a 54-hole score of 197. At Highland Meadows Golf Club on Saturday, she recorded one bogey and six birdies, pairing her -5 round with her first-round 66 and second-round 65 to take a three-shot lead heading into Championship Sunday.
Starting her day with a one-shot lead ahead of defending champion Linn Grant and Xiyu Lin, Wannasaen recorded a quick birdie on the par-3 2nd hole for the second day in a row. She managed consistent play throughout the front nine, recording all pars and an additional birdie on the par-4 9th hole, but began to heat up on the back nine. Starting the back with two pars, she went on to record three consecutive birdies on holes 12, 13, and 14. Her first and only bogey of the day came on par-4 No. 16, but she bounced back with a birdie on No. 18 to end her round.
The last time Wannasaen showed such dominance to set career-low scores, she walked away a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2023 Portland Classic. Before that victory, however, Wannasaen had missed eight cuts on the LPGA Tour, including at the Dana Open.
“Yeah, because last year I play in this tournament, too, but I didn't did good,” said Wannasaen, who is coming off her best major championship finish, a T17 result at last week’s Amundi Evian Championship. “But this year is quite like play really good. So I didn't expect like I'm going to play like this for this week because I'm fly from France and I think my body is a little bit tired. Yeah, I didn't expect, but I really play well this week.”
Haeran Ryu stands alone in second place at 13-under. Ryu had one bogey and seven birdies in her third round, with back-to-back birdies on No. 17 and No. 18 to finish the day strong. She began the day tied for fifth place, but her consistent and strong play throughout the back-nine propelled her to make a push closer to the top of the leaderboard. She leads the entire field with 18 total birdies over the course of the tournament.
“Today I think almost same as every day today because I just keep green and I want to just try to one putt on the putting green,” said Ryu, who converted seven one-putts for birdie. “But today I can make some lot of long putts and made some a lot of birdies on the tricky hole That's good today too, I think.”
Three players finished 11-under and are tied for third place, including defending champion Grant. The Swede finds herself in the mix even after recording her worst round of the tournament, a still solid 70. In her 2023 victory at Highland Meadows, Grant held a six-shot lead heading into the final round. She sits alongside Xiyu Lin and Ssu-Chia Cheng in third.
Additionally, three players are T6 and 10-under; rookie Mary Liu and Tour sophomores Lucy Li and Hyo Joon Jang. Native Ohioan Stacy Lewis shot -4 on Saturday to finish -9 overall alongside Sarah Kemp and Hye-Jin Choi.
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