World No. 2 Nelly Coda (USA) shot a 7-under par on the third day of the Amundi Evian Championship, the fourth major of the season on the Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour, to take a commanding lead at the top of the leaderboard.
Koda carded seven birdies without a bogey for a daily best of 7-under 64 on the third day of play at Evian Resort Golf Club (par 71, 6523 yards) in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Monday (Sept. 29). Koda, who shot rounds of 70-73 in rounds one and two, moved into a tie for fifth place with his strong day.
Koda, who signed an endorsement deal with TaylorMade this year, played with his old Titleist TSR 1 driver on the day and it paid off. He averaged 274 yards with his driver and hit the fairway on eight of the 13 holes. I missed the green on only two holes and had 27 putts.
Koda, who is tied for fifth with Yuka Saso (JPN) at 6-under par, enters the final round five strokes behind leader Celine Boutier (FRA). Boutier, who took the lead the day before, carded five birdies and a bogey to cut four strokes off her total to reach 11-under par, three strokes ahead of second-place Nasa Hataoka (JPN).
Koda is closing in on world No. 1 Jin Young Ko, who won the Ladies European Tour (LET) two weeks ago. They are separated by just 0.23 world ranking points. Ko had three birdies and five bogeys on the day, dropping her to a tie for 30th place at even par. Depending on her final round performance, she could be in line for the No. 1 ranking. 안전놀이터
Defending champion Brooke Henderson (CAN) is in a tie for third place with Lee Min-Ji (AUS) at 7-under-par thanks to four straight birdies on holes six through nine. Lee, last year’s U.S. Women’s Open champion, had seven birdies and two bogeys on the day to cut five strokes off her lead.
Kim Arim was the highest-ranked Korean player. Kim carded an eagle, three birdies and a bogey for a 4-under 67. Her 5-under-par total put her in a tie for seventh place with Allison Lee (USA).
Kim Hyo-joo (KOR), the tournament’s opening favorite, made four birdies without a bogey and is tied for 14th with a 3-under total. Rookie Hae-ran Kim, who entered the third round in a tie for seventh place, struggled with three double bogeys and dropped five strokes to finish at 1-over par and tied for 39th.