Andrea Lee fired a 5-under-par 67 to move into first place at 19 under Saturday after three rounds of the Portland Classic in Oregon.
Lee, who won the 2022 Portland Classic for her only win, bogeyed the par-4 first hole but then birdied five of the next eight to close the front nine at -18-under, then managed one birdie and all pars the rest of the way.
“Obviously, I love this golf course. I feel really comfortable out here,” Lee said afterward. “Just played really steady golf. Managed to get some putts to drop on the front nine. I thought the pin locations on the back were a little trickier. Just tried to stay really patient.”
Alexa Pano and Dewi Weber of the Netherlands ended the day tied for second, one shot off the lead.
Weber, who held a two-stroke lead after shooting a 62 on Friday, managed a 2-under 70 on Saturday, finishing with two bogeys and four birdies. She had one bogey and two birdies on the front and back nines at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.
Weber said her round “was more for me about doing the same things that I have been doing and just trying to keep making good swings, which honestly I was doing. I hit good putts, with the exception of maybe one or two.
“For me it was more like, ‘Oh, I’m doing the right things. It’s just not going in the hole.’ So then it’s easier, I think, to adjust as opposed to I’m hitting bad shots or hitting bad putts or whatever. That way I can stay patient as well.”
Pano’s up-and-down round of 66 began with two bogeys, but she ran off five straight birdies. She ended with nine birdies and three bogeys, after her second-round 64.
“I feel like I get pretty focused on the golf course. I lost my focus a little bit on 16 (a bogey). We were put on the clock, and I rushed a little bit, and that’s something I’m still learning to handle,” Pano said.
Angel Yin (66 on Saturday) and Polly Mack (69) of Germany go into Sunday’s final round tied for fourth at 17 under. Mack led the first round after firing a 63 on Thursday.
Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Nataliya Guseva of Russia each posted 64s for the low round of the day and were in a three-way tie for sixth, along with South Korea’s So Mi Lee (67).
Defending champion Chantette Wannasaen (68) of Thailand is among a large group tied for 28th.
–Field Level Media
