Jeeno Thitikul maintained her composure Saturday at the Mizuho Americas Open, firing a 2-under 70 to build a two-shot lead heading into the final round at Mountain Ridge. The Thai star is closing in on her first LPGA title of the year.
Thitikul’s three-shot cushion evaporated quickly after a bogey on the second hole coincided with Hannah Green’s fast start. But she steadied herself impressively, making nothing worse than par over her final 16 holes on a rain-softened course that still demanded precision on its contoured greens.
A clutch up-and-down from a delicate spot on the 18th capped her round, leaving her at 10-under 216 through 54 holes. France’s Celine Boutier sits two back after posting a 67, while Hye-Jin Choi’s 66 put her three shots behind.
“It’s a new day and I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Thitikul said. “I’m just going to let golf be golf, stay committed, go with the flow, and give myself a lot of chances. It’s another opportunity under my belt in the final round.”
Green made the strongest early charge, playing a four-hole stretch on the front nine in 4-under, including an eagle at the par-5 eighth that briefly pulled her within one shot. But she couldn’t maintain that momentum, dropping two shots on the back nine including a bogey on 18 when the rain intensified.
“I’m going to have to do exactly what I did on the front nine—put myself in good positions off the tee as well as on the greens,” Green said. “I felt like on the back nine I had a couple of opportunities to make birdie but they were downhill putts, so you just can’t be aggressive.”
China’s Ruoning Yin saw her chances unravel with a triple-bogey on the 15th after getting within one shot of the lead. The disaster included a shocking three-putt from just 5 feet. She bounced back with a birdie on 16 and posted 68, leaving her tied for fourth at 6-under with Green and Allisen Corpuz, who hasn’t won since capturing the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach last year.
“Just my brain, not working on this hole,” Yin admitted. “When I three-putted on 15 I wasn’t angry. I just felt like I still had so many birdie chances coming up… I think my game is in a great spot and I’m starting to figure out this course a little bit.”
Boutier played nearly flawless golf, making her only bogey on the opening hole before reeling off three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the back nine to pull within one shot.
“You have to be pretty smart and kind of patient about it,” Boutier said. “Sometimes you’re tempted to go for things but it’s not always the smartest choice.”
Thitikul showed veteran poise down the stretch, getting up-and-down for birdie from in front of the green on the par-5 17th to extend her lead to two shots. She then made a bold play on 18, carrying cross bunkers from the rough before executing a perfect pitch up the false front to save par.
The timing couldn’t be better for Thitikul, who recently lost her world No. 1 ranking when she missed the cut at The Chevron Championship while Nelly Korda won both that event and the following week in Mexico. Korda isn’t in this week’s field.
