Kiwi Lydia Ko has put together her most consistent performance in months to sit one stroke off the lead, as she tries to defend her BMW Ladies Championship in Korea.
Ko carded a third round of three-under-par 69 to trail South African Ashleigh Buhai and Australian Minjee Lee into the final day at Seowon Valley Country Club.
Starting the day at eight under, she dropped a shot at the par-four second, but recovered with birdies at the fourth, sixth, 14th and 17th to remain in contention.
Her 67-69-69 sequence represents the first time she has compiled three consecutive sub-par rounds since March, as the world No.13 struggles to regain the form that carried her to the top of the rankings 12 months ago.
Ko won this event last year, beating American Andrew Lee by four strokes, with a 65 on the final day, before claiming the LPGA Tour Championship four weeks later, but her game has fallen away alarmingly in 2023.
She won the Saudi Ladies International in February and finished sixth equal at the season-opening LPGA Thailand that same month, but her best performance since was a tie for 31st at the Women's World Championship the following month, a period that has seen her miss four cuts.
Sitting 101st in the Race to the CME Globe, Ko is competing at Seowon under sponsor invitation, but this probably represents her best chance of LPGA victory this year.
