Kiwi golfer Lydia Ko is on the cusp of her first LPGA title in over two years, as she takes a four-shot lead into the final round of the Marathon Classic event in Ohio.
A three-under 68 third round saw Ko move to 16-under for the tournament, with her nearest rival, American Danielle Kang, four behind, while England's Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Australia's Minjee Lee are a further two behind.
Her last tournament victory was the Mediheal Championship in April 2018, but she has fond memories of the Sylvania course, where she's won twice before in 2014 and 2016 and made the top 10 twice.
Ko, 23, started the third round on good terms as she birdied the second hole, but she went and got a bogey on the next hole.
She recovered for her second birdie on the sixth, before nine successive pars. She ended the round with back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th holes.
Despite sitting atop the standings after 54 holes, Ko is battling a tight back but isn’t too worried about it.
It was great when I woke up, but I started playing and started hurting. The big thing for me is for me to go out there and hit it confidently and aggressively.
"Even though the pain is there, my body isn't flinching, so I can't worry about it."
