Lee So-mi had played 36 holes without a single bogey, recording one eagle and 15 birdies through the first two rounds. She continued her momentum with a birdie on the second hole (par 4) in the moving day third round. But bogeys suddenly poured in on holes 5 (par 4), 6 (par 4), and 8 (par 3).
Lee shot an even-par 72 in the third round of the LPGA Tour Honda LPGA Thailand at Siam Country Club Old Course (par 72) in Chonburi, Thailand, on February 21. After losing two strokes on the front nine, she appeared to turn things around with three consecutive birdies from holes 9 through 11. However, another bogey on hole 14 prevented her from lowering her score. She started the round with a three-stroke solo lead but dropped to a tie for third place at 17-under 199, three strokes back.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, who played in the final group with Lee, moved into the solo lead. Thitikul carded seven birdies against one bogey for a 6-under round, reaching 20-under 196.
Four players shot lower than Thitikul on the day. Among them was Kim Hyo-joo, who fired a 7-under 65 to climb into solo second place at 18-under 198. Kim recorded nine birdies and two bogeys, delivering the day's most aggressive birdie hunt. After her first birdie on hole 4 (par 3), Kim continued her charge with birdies on holes 6 (par 4) and 7 (par 5). A bogey on hole 9 (par 4) briefly slowed her, but she added birdies on holes 10 (par 5) and 11 (par 4) on the back nine. She offset a bogey on hole 12 (par 3) with a birdie on hole 13 (par 4).
Her birdie run heated up down the stretch. Kim made birdies on holes 15 (par 4) and 16 (par 3), then closed with another birdie on the 18th hole (par 5).
Kim will compete for the title in the final group on championship Sunday alongside Thitikul and co-third place Alison Corpuz of the United States. Kim faces two challenging obstacles in her bid for a come-from-behind victory: Thitikul's momentum from seven consecutive top-10 finishes since the second half of last year and the home crowd's overwhelming support for the Thai star.
Lee will attempt to rally from the group ahead of the champions, playing with co-third place Chisato Iwai of Japan and solo sixth place Lydia Ko of New Zealand (16-under 200).
Choi Hye-jin moved into solo 10th place at 13-under 203 after a 5-under round. Kim Sei-young, who shot 6-under, joined Ryu Hae-ran and Lee Mi-hyang in a tie for 11th at 12-under 204.
Kim A-lim shot an 8-under 64 to finish tied for 22nd at 10-under 206. Yoon Yi-na posted an even-par 72 and sits tied for 46th at 4-under 212, looking to climb the leaderboard on the final day.