Kiwi golfer Lydia Ko has plummeted out of contention at the Women's PGA Championship major after a disastrous third round in Pennsylvania on Sunday (NZ time).
Ko carded a four-over par 74 round to sit two-over for the tournament at the Aronimink Golf Club, nine shots behind leader Sei Young Kim of South Korea.
She is now tied for 19th with one round remaining in the third women's golf major of the year.
The 23-year-old started the third round tied for sixth - two shots behind overnight leader Kim - but a poor back nine hurt Ko, as she chases her first tournament win since April 2018.
Ko got off to a poor start in her third round with a bogey on the second hole but recovered with two birdies to finish the front nine.
What followed was a string of errors on the next three holes as she had two bogeys and a double-bogey, before ending the round with another bogey.
Leader Kim has a two-shot lead over Canadian Brooke Henderson and Swede Anna Nordqvist heading into the fourth round.
Meanwhile, Ryan Fox has slipped to a tie for 22nd at the European PGA Championship at Wentworth in England.
Fox fired a third round one-over par 73 to hit five-under for the tournament, nine shots behind the leader Tyrrell Hatton of England.
Fox will return to New Zealand after this tournament.
Elsewhere, Kiwi Danny Lee missed the cut at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas - his first tournament back since his meltdown at September's US Open.
