LPGA Tour rookie Rio Takeda carded a 69 to take a two-stroke lead after three rounds on Saturday at the Blue Bay LPGA on Hainan Island, China.
Takeda, 21, sits at 9-under 207 for the tournament and is the only player in the field to post three rounds in the 60s at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course. The last time she had a lead after 54 holes came in 2024 at the Toto Japan Classic, which she won before becoming a tour member.
Tied for second at 209 are Americans Gigi Stoll (68 on Saturday) and Auston Kim (70) along with Cassie Porter of Australia (72).
Kim had a share of the first-round lead, and Porter was atop the leaderboard along with Nasa Hataoka of Japan entering play Saturday. Hataoka recorded a 76 to fall into a tie for 16th at 3-under par.
In a tie for fifth at 6-under 210 are Japan’s Ayaka Furue and Mao Saigo, both with rounds of 70, as well as Minjee Lee of Australia (68) and Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul (68).
For leader Takeda, the moment doesn’t seem to be too big, despite her young age and lack of extensive LPGA Tour experience.
“I’ve had three great days with a lot of confidence, and I want to bring that confidence tomorrow and finish up on a strong note,” she said.
“I don’t want to pay too much attention to the score, but just take it hole by hole and do my best.”
Stoll, 28, is in her second season on the LPGA Tour and looking for her first victory. She is ready for a Sunday battle, especially after weathering ups and downs on Saturday.
She birdied the first three and the last three holes. In between, she recorded two birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.
“The putter has been hot. Definitely got off to a really good start birdieing the first three,” she said. “Some stuff happened in the middle, but it was nice to close with three as well.”
And like Takeda, she heads into the final round with some confidence.
“Golf is funny,” she said. “It’s a long day. You could always come back and you are never really out of it. Anything can happen. I just tell myself a lot to stay really present and stay in there. I’m really proud of myself for doing that.”
Porter started the round at 7 under and ended there, recording a round similar to that of Stoll. The tour rookie, making just her second official LPGA Tour start, mixed five birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey to finish with 72.
“Yeah, that was a lot of fight out there. Bit of a mess in the middle of the round there, but we came back, so that’s all that matters,” Porter, 22, said.
–Field Level Media
