Japan’s Ayaka Furue moved atop the leaderboard with her third-round four-under-par 68 at the HSBC Women’s World Championship on Saturday, keeping cool under sweltering conditions in Singapore.
Furue holds a two-shot lead over Australia’s Hannah Green (67) with overnight leader Celine Boutier of France and American Andrea Lee a further shot back in equal third place after signing for rounds of 72 and 67, respectively.
The 23-year-old Furue, who is chasing her first LPGA victory since 2022, showed her resolve to end her two-year drought by storming out of the blocks with a pair of birdies on holes one and two.
After making pars on holes three and four, she made her way up the leaderboard with birdies on the fifth and seventh holes to reach the turn in 32.
A bogey on the 12th hole proved to be her only blemish as she responded with another birdie on the next hole before carding five straight pars to close with a three-day total of 10-under-par 206.
World number one Lilia Vu of the United States also made up for a disappointing day on Friday by bouncing back with a 68 to stay five shots behind Furue in tied-ninth place.
