Four Thais in top thirteen going into final round on the LPGA Tour in Northern Ireland

Pajaree Anannarukarn (T1), Atthaya Thitikul (T5), Wichanee Meechai (T6) and Pornanong Phatlum is (T13)

It’s a packed leaderboard through 54 holes at the inaugural ISPS Handa World Invitational presented by Modest! Golf Management as 12 competitors sit within five shots of the lead shared by Emma Talley, Jennifer Kupcho and Pajaree Anannarukarn. Each individual is 13-under par in Northern Ireland.

Pajaree Anannarukarn

Anannarukarn fired the low score of the third round—and matched the low score this week—with seven birdies and an eagle for a 7-under 66 at Galgorm Golf Club. Her performance marks the first time in her three-year LPGA Tour career that Anannarukarn has held or shared the 54-hole advantage.

“I feel like I should have made par on the 8th, shouldn’t bogey that hole. I wanted to get it back,” said Anannarukarn, who went 7-under par over a nine-hole stretch from Nos. 9-17. “It’s golf. I did my best on that shot and should accept the result. I told myself that it happened and to just keep focusing on your game, try to hit lots of good shots and give yourself opportunities then you will be in a good position.”

Kupcho, the 2019 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion, signed for a 3-under 70 on Saturday. The performance featured five birdies including a closing pair on Nos. 17 and 18 to cap her third round.

Since performance tracking began, Kupcho has one advantage over the field. On approach shots from 150-175 yards, the Wake Forest University alumna’s proximity to the hole (33 feet 6 inches) is nearly a full nine feet closer than the Tour average (42 feet 2 inches). She hopes to continue the trend tomorrow to raise her first trophy on the LPGA.

“Putting stroke was a little off today, so need to get that figured out,” Kupcho said. “To just stay in it and focus on my own game [is the gameplan], come out with the score I want to shoot instead of playing against someone else because I can’t control what anyone else is doing. Go out and play my own game.”

Rounding out the final group off No. 1 tee at 12:34 p.m. local time tomorrow, Talley managed even par on moving day to stay in contention. Like both Anannarukarn and Kupcho, she is striving to become a Rolex First-Time Winner. Meanwhile, the last American player to have her first career victory come in Europe was Mo Martin at the 2014 AIG Women’s Open, a feat Talley and Kupcho hope to accomplish.

“I think just play like the first two days, really didn’t play well at all today,” said Talley, who hit seven of 14 fairways. “I really did not like the way I hit the ball, especially off the tee. You can probably go look at the stats, might have only hit like four fairways. I’m putting so well right now that if I can hit the fairways and greens, hit it a little better than I did today, I don’t think anybody can catch me.”

One stroke back of the lead in outright fourth is Chella Choi. The 2015 Marathon LPGA Classic presented by Dana champion managed a bogey-free showing with two birdies for a third-round 71 at Galgorm.

“I made pretty good shots, but didn’t make that many birdies,” Choi said. “When I missed a shot, I was really good at getting up and down. Being in the final group or out front doesn’t matter. I know my shots and I really am enjoying Northern Ireland. I feel very good here and excited to play.”

Ladies European Tour member Atthaya Thitikul (70) is solo fifth at 10-under par overall.

In a tie for sixth is Su Oh (69) and Wichanee Meechai (67) at -9, while five players are 8-under for the tournament. Four players in the 2021 LPGA season have come back from four shots or more in the final round to win, most recently Minjee Lee at the Amundi Evian Championship where she trailed by seven.

In the men’s draw, Englishman Jordan Smith paces the field by one at -15 overall following a 5-under 65 on Saturday at Galgorm. A total of 40 women and 41 men made the third-round cut of 4-under par in each of the respective tournaments. The final round will again be conducted at Galgorm.

WITH A WIN…

LPGA Tour members Pajaree Anannarukarn, Jennifer Kupcho, or Emma Talley would become a Rolex First-Time Winner, the fifth of the 2021 LPGA Tour season.

Chella Choi would earn a second LPGA win and first since the 2015 Marathon Classic presented by Dana.

Kupcho would capture her second career victory as a professional (she won the 2020 Colorado Women’s Open).

Talley would secure her first LPGA Tour win in her 90th career start.

Talley or Kupcho would become the fifth American to win on the LPGA Tour this season.

Atthaya Thitikul, a non-member, would also become a Rolex First-Time Winner if she accepted LPGA Tour membership immediately after the win.

Anannarukarn or Thitikul would become the fourth Thai to win on the LPGA Tour this season.

Anannarukarn or Thitikul would become the fourth Thai in history to win on the LPGA joining Jasmine Suwannapura, Ariya Jutanugarn, Moriya Jutanugarn and Patty Tavatanakit.
 

ANANNARUKARN CHERISHES ROUND WITH FRIEND, LESSONS FROM MAJOR CHAMP

In the words of her caddie Charlie Ryan, it was a “pretty dang good” day.

A week after playing in the final grouping of the third round at the Amundi Evian Championship, Pajaree Anannarukarn matched the low score of the week at the ISPS Handa World Invitational presented by Modest! Golf Management with a 7-under par 66 in the third round of the inaugural event.

It’s the first time in her three-year career that the Thai has held or shared the 54-hole lead, as she joins Emma Talley and Jennifer Kupcho atop the leaderboard at 13-under overall.

Following consecutive rounds of 6-under par 65 in France, Anannarukarn went 1-over on moving day. It was a different story this time around in Northern Ireland.

“Honestly, I feel like I keep learning every week. Last week was special, playing in the final group [on Saturday] and then playing with Minjee [Lee on Sunday],” said Anannarukarn. “I learned a lot just hitting alongside her. What I learned most is being patient out there, trusting your process and keep doing you.

“I played good golf, but should have been better. Minjee, she’s really patient out there, every shot, and one shot at a time she does really well. She was really focused and concentrated on every shot. I think I learned because sometimes I wasn’t fully focused or committed.”

The 22-year-old is sure to take those lessons she witnessed from the most recent LPGA major champion into the final round at Galgorm Golf Club.

Anannarukarn will also recall the comfort of competing with her good friend Atthaya Thitikul on Saturday. It was the first time that they played a competitive round in the same grouping since 2017 when the duo was members of the Thai national team.

“It was like junior golf, or something,” Anannarukarn said. “I’ve played with her many times, but this is the first time in a tournament [in four years]. After turning professional, we didn’t really see each other much because she’s out on the Ladies European Tour. We’ve played practice rounds and it’s always fun to play with her.”