Leona Maguire holds 1-shot lead entering final round of Women's PGA Championship

Leona Maguire birdied the final hole for her eighth straight round in the 60s and took a one-shot lead over fast-closing Jenny Shin on an unexpected sunny Saturday heading into the final round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship.

Maguire, the halfway leader who is looking for her second straight win and first major title, had a two-putt birdie to finish an up-and-down third round of 2-under 69. She has a 54-hole total of 7 under on a Baltusrol course that was tough, but gettable, after two days of intermittent rain softened the greens in Springfield, N.J.

Shin matched the best round of the tournament with a bogey-free 66 that featured five birdies. A 30-year-old South Korean who has lived in the United States since she was nine, Shin has not won on the LPGA Tour since 2016.

Stephanie Meadow of Northern Ireland, a close friend of Maguire, was alone in third place after a 68 put her at 5-under 208. First-round leader Lee-Anne Pace (70) of South Africa and Ruoning Yin (69) of China were three shots back, and Lauren Coughlin (68) and world No. 1 Jin Young Ko (69) of South Korea were another stroke off the pace on a day in which forecast storms never developed.

The 36-hole leader is now the 54-hole leader!<a href="https://twitter.com/leona_maguire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@leona_maguire</a> tops the <a href="https://twitter.com/KPMGWomensPGA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KPMGWomensPGA</a> leaderboard heading into the final day!<br><br>FULL LEADERBOARD ⬇

With the threat of severe weather for the final round on Sunday, the PGA announced play will start at 8:15 a.m. EDT ,and the field will be grouped in threesomes playing off both nines. The leaders are scheduled to tee off at 10:38 a.m., with Maguire and Meadow playing with Shin.

Xiyu