Ariya chases leader Wie in Singapore

The world No 2, with five birdies against two bogeys, shot a three-day total of 12-under-par-204 for tied second with world No 1 Lydia Ko and South Korean rising star Park Sung-hyun at the Sentosa Golf Club, Tanjong Course.
“I hit pretty well on the front nine and made some long putts. But I didn’t make some short putts on the back nine,” said the winner of five LPGA titles.
Play was suspended for almost two hours due to inclement weather. Ariya had to return to play amidst the drizzle. “The rain didn’t bother me. Although I realised I was not committed to my shots like I was before the rain, I tried to pull myself back. When I hit bogeys, I thought it was like I just missed some shots. I was not really worried about that. I tried to concentrate on my other shots,” said Ariya, who posted back-to-back top 10 finishes in her last two LPGA events in Australia and Pattaya.
“ I will hit some balls on the range and work on my putting later. Tomorrow I will fight. I will play aggressive. I will go for my shots,” Ariya said.

 Wie shot a brilliant third round of five-under-par 67 on Saturday to open up a two-stroke lead heading into the final day of the in Singapore.

The 27-year-old American, chasing her first LPGA title since she won the 2014 US Open, posted her third straight sub-70 round to get to 14-under 202 and head a star-studded field at the $1.5 million event.

“I'm having a lot of fun this week,” said Wie. “That was my goal at the beginning of the week, just play as hard as I can and have fun. I've been having some great groups out there and just having a lot of fun.”

“I've been in this position before, and that's what I practice for is to be in this position. That's what I wake up and practice long hours for is to be in this position, and try to do my best in it,” she said.

Michelle Wie 

Wie sits at -14 for the week, marking the first time since October 2014 she’s been at double-digits under par at an LPGA event.

“It's fun being in contention. It's fun being in this position. I'm going to go out with the same mind-set that I had today and just go out and play as hard as I can,” Wie explained. “There definitely is some butterflies out there, but it's exciting getting that feeling again and being in this position. It's a great feeling. It's really exciting. I just want to go out there and have fun tomorrow and really enjoy it.”

Ko, who matched Wie’s 5-under-par 67 Saturday, started her day with two-straight birdies, and was -4 on her front nine. Her seven birdies on the day were offset by two bogeys, and the 19-year-old has gotten progressively better as the tournament has gone on, firing rounds of 69-68-67.

“The girls are playing great, and every time I look at the screen, somebody is making another putt. It just shows how well the girls are playing and you know how many birdies are actually happening,” said Ko of her fellow competitors. “That's what I've been trying to do the past few days, and that's the mind-set I've got to take on to tomorrow, because there are birdies out there. I think I need to just focus on my game. The holes that I can be aggressive on, be aggressive, and the holes where par is a good score, be smart.”

 

New Zealand's world number one Ko hit a 67  while South Korean  Park Sung-Hyun shot a 68.

South Korea's Rio Olympic gold medallist Park In-Bee was a shot further back at 11-under after firing a 71, level with her compatriot Jang Ha-Na (68), who won in Singapore last year and also won in Australia last month.