LPGA: Charley Hull in hunt behind Minjee Lee at Kroger Queen City Championship
Hull, who is aiming for her first win this year, recovered from a triple bogey on the first to sit two shots behind leader Minjee Lee; Watch the final round of the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati, live on Sky Sports Golf from 7pm on Sunday
Saturday 9 September 2023 23:22, UK
England's Charley Hull is poised to contend in of the final round of the Kroger Queen City Championship after a round of 68 on Saturday left her two shots off the lead.
Hull bounced back from a triple bogey to start the third round with seven birdies to stay close to leader Minjee Lee at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati.
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Two-time major champion Lee opened with three straight birdies, made up a six-shot deficit at the turn on the way to posting a seven-under 65 to take a two-shot lead into the final round.
Lee played bogey-free on a course that was so firm that even some shots with wedge had a hard time staying on the greens. She leaned on her putter, closing out her round with a 12-foot par save.
That gave her a two-shot lead over Hull and Peiyun Chien of Taiwan, who rallied from a rough start to get back to even par for the day only to go long over the 18th green and miss a five-foot par putt.
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Lee never really slowed after her fast start. She went in front with a delicate flop shot from below the green on the reachable par-four 10th, the ball rolling out to a few feet for birdie. She made a 15-foot birdie on the next hole and at one point was three shots clear.
Hull tried to keep pace with three birdies over his last six holes after her nightmare to begin the round.
"Laughed it off and birdied the next couple," Hull said of her start. "It was quite windy, quite tricky. Patches of them (the greens) are firm, other patches are spinning. It's tricky, which I quite like. It plays into my hands."
Lee was at 15-under to finish as she goes for her first win this year and began to pull away with a two-putt birdie on the par-five 15th, followed by a wedge into 12 feet for birdie on the 16th.
"Having that momentum really helps, especially when you can save your par putts," Lee said. "That's the key for momentum. Making birdies is nice, but key par putts are important, too."
Morgane Metraux of Switzerland birdied the 18th for a 70 and was three shots behind. Metraux came into the tournament at No 107 in the Race to CME Globe and is running out of tournaments to get into the top 80 who have full status for next year.
Ruoning Yin of China, who needs to finish solo fourth or better to reach No 1 in the women's world ranking, began her round with three straight bogeys. She got two of those shots back and had a 73, leaving her six shots behind.
Watch the final round of the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati, live on Sky Sports Golf from 7pm on Sunday.
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