Ashleigh Buhai surged into the top 10 on Saturday after the third round of the LPGA Tour’s Honda LPGA Thailand when she followed her second-round 65 with a six-under-par 66 to move to 13-under-par.
She was in a share of seventh heading into the final round on the Pattaya Old Course at Siam Country Club, with the lead being held by Natthakritta Vongtaveelap of Thailand at 20-under. She leads by four from her compatriot Atthaya Thitikul who was on 16-under.
Buhai opened her campaign with a level-par 72 in the first round, but has been making plenty of birdies since then. She had a shaky start to her third round, with a par, two bogeys and a birdie in her first four holes, but she made seven birdies after that, including five on her homeward nine.
She was in a share of seventh with world number one Lydia Ko, as well as former number one, Nelly Korda.
Paula Reto, after a poor second round of five-over 77, went on a tear in the third round with 10 birdies in her nine-under-par 63. That lifted her to a share of 43rd at six-under for the tournament.
