Candie Kung of Fountain Valley recorded a 1-under-par 71 to maintain a share of the lead with Lydia Ko of New Zealand heading to the final round of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open at Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, British Columbia.
Kung, a two-time All-American at USC who was born in Taiwan, led after round two with a 64. She made her fourth birdie of an up-and-down day in the third round on the 13th hole and closed with five straight pars.
“I hit the ball good and it was actually one of the best ball-striking days I had all week,” said Kung, who claimed the last of her four LPGA Tour victories in the 2008 Hana Bank-Kolon Championship.
“Just missed a couple putts here and there. Those were all wrong reads. But I’m hitting it good, putting it good.
“Feeling pretty good. … It’s 18 holes, one shot at a time, one putt at a time. We will see what happens at the end of the day.”
Ko, a two-time winner of this tournament who is No. 2 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, posted a 69, and had sole possession of the lead until she made her only bogey of the day on the 18th hole by missing a 10-foot par putt.
Alison Lee of Valencia and UCLA made her only bogey in a 66 on the seventh hole and was two shots back in third, with Karine Icher of France another stroke back in fourth after a 72, while Azahara Munoz of Spain was four shots down in fifth following a 70.
Third-ranked Stacy Lewis shot 71 and was five strokes behind in a tie for sixth with Shanshan Feng (67) of China, Charlie Hull (67) of England, Sei Young Kim (69) of South Korea and Xi Yu Lin (73) of China.
Top-ranked Inbee Park of South Korea, who won the Women’s British Open winner in her last outing, posted a 70 and was six shots behind in a tie for 11th with Lexi Thompson, who totaled 66, and Jaye Marie Green, who came in at 69.
