Australia’s Sarah Jane Smith shot the second-best round of the day, a 68, to move into the top 10 in the third women’s major of the season, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes near Chicago today.
Smith’s six-birdie round saw her climb up the leaderboard to 10th at three-under par on the third day but South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu will enter the final round with a three-shot lead at 11-under par.
The 33-year-old Smith, from Queensland via Geelong, is winless in her long career on the LPGA Tour but she continues to play consistent golf, ranked 80th in the world. She was tied-fifth in the Women’s US Open earlier this season, having led the tournament for the first two days, her best result in a major.
World No. 9 Minjee Lee is tied-34th through three rounds and the best of the other Australians.
Ryu, the winner of six tour titles including two previous majors, was brilliant in round three with a 67 including a closing birdie for an exclamation mark.
The world No. 5 leads by three from Canadian Brooke Henderson and another shot from fellow-Korean Sung Hyun Park.