Nelly Korda left Memorial Park on Saturday with a five-shot lead, a share of the tournament record, and some frustration after missing three putts from four feet. That is the only reason Sunday is not already decided.

The world No. 2 shot a 2-under 70 in the third round of The Chevron Championship in Houston to reach 16-under 200, matching the 54-hole record set by Jennifer Kupcho in 2022. At one stage, Korda had an eight-shot lead.

But a few short missed putts on the back nine reduced it to five shots.

She did not sugarcoat it afterward. "On the back nine, I learned that I needed to stay in it and not focus so much on my mis-hits with my putts," Korda said.

"I don't want it to bleed into the other parts of my game."

Her irons were surgical all day, but the putter was not. She took 32 putts and missed only two greens. Three putts from inside four feet did not drop when they should have.

The short missed putts have become a problem. Earlier this year, she finished second two weeks in a row behind Hyo Joo Kim. Right now, putting is the only thing stopping Korda from a big win on Sunday.

Nelly Korda And Her Rivals Did Just Enough to Stay Alive

Thailand golfer Patty Tavatanakit, the 2021 Chevron champion, played 48 holes without a bogey before making one on the 13th hole. She came back strongly with two birdies in the last five holes, shot 69, and moved within five shots of the lead.

She converted seven of eight scrambling opportunities, which contributed to her bogey-free stretch of 48 holes, keeping her round alive.

China’s Ruoning Yin, a former world No. 1 and Women’s PGA champion, shot a 66 and is six shots behind the lead. France’s Pauline Roussin-Bouchard also shot 67 and is in the same position.

If Korda wins on Sunday, she will return to No. 1 in the women’s world rankings and earn her third major title.

"I'm just going to focus on myself," Korda said. "Really dial into that, make sure that I have tunnel vision."

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav