Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen shot a 6-under 64 on Saturday and holds a three-shot lead after three rounds of The Annika in Belleair, Fla.
Pedersen’s bogey-free round leaves her at 18-under 192 at Pelican Golf Club, matching the LPGA record through 54 holes first set by tournament host Annika Sorenstam at the 2003 Mizuno Classic. It was later matched by Japan’s Nasa Hataoka (2018), South Korea’s Sei Young Kim (2018) and Danielle Kang (2021).
Amy Yang of South Korea and Lilia Vu are tied for second, three shots behind Pedersen. Yang carded a 61 and Vu shot 62 on Saturday.
Pedersen set the 36-hole event record on Friday when she was at 12-under 128.
On Saturday, she made consecutive birdies on Nos. 2 and 3 and later made four more on the back nine.
“My short game was pretty good today,” Pedersen said. “I got up and down every time I missed a green, and I holed a chip, so that definitely kept me in the game, especially early in the round.
“It’s not been great the last couple days, but today was good. That’s kind of what kept the bogeys off the card and kept the momentum going, I think.”
Yang eagled the par-4 No. 5 also had seven birdies in her bogey-free round. She made four birdies on the front nine and three on the back and said she tried to simplify her mental approach.
“I was thinking about what did I do so well to play low score,” Yang said. “It was just, you know, I committed. I was really committed to each shot.”
Vu birdied seven of the last 12 holes and had eight overall during her bogey-free round. She finished strong with three birdies in the final four holes.
“This week I made a point to have fun,” Vu said. “I really enjoy this type of golf course, playing one shot at a time. This course is not easy by all means. It’s kind of difficult, so just helps me be disciplined and play one shot at a time.”
Alison Lee (62 on Saturday), Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit (62), Spain’s Azahara Munoz (64) and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (65) are all tied for fourth place at 13-under 197.
Lexi Thompson (66) is part of a three-way tie for 12th at 10-under 200.
Two-time defending champion Nelly Korda (67) and Canada’s Brooke Henderson (65) are part of a tie for 17th at 8 under.
–Field Level Media
