Minjee Lee takes 4-shot lead into final round of Women's PGA - ESPN

FRISCO, Texas — Two-time major champion Minjee Lee took over the lead with the first bogey-free round for anyone during a windy week at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, a 3-under 69 in the third round Saturday to move four strokes ahead of Jeeno Thitikul.

Lee got to 6-under 210 after beginning the round three strokes behind Thitikul, the world No. 2 who led alone at the end of each of the first two days.

Lee, the Australian who lives in nearby Irving, went in front with a 2-foot par at the 405-yard 12th hole when Thitikul had her second consecutive bogey and fourth of the day on the way to a round of 76.

Far from tree-lined Sahalee outside Seattle where the Women's PGA was last year, Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco is much more open and exposed to the ever-present Texas wind that was the strongest it had been all week. There were gusts of more than 30 mph Saturday, with much the same forecast for the final round. Temperatures were again in the mid-90s.

Nelly Korda, the world's top-ranked player, described the conditions as «just brutal» after her round of 72 that began with back-to-back bogeys but ended with two birdies down the stretch. She had five birdies and five bogeys and is tied for sixth at 2-over 218.

Lee and Thitikul were the only players still under par. Lexi Thompson (75), after a triple-bogey start, was tied for third at 1 over with Hye Jin Choi (72) and Miyu Yamashita (73).

Thitikul had the only birdie Saturday among the 78 players on the 172-yard, par-3 eighth hole, which generally plays downwind and where only 29% of the tee shots all week have stayed on the green. That 13-foot birdie was her first of the day and got her to 5 under, two strokes ahead of Lee.

But Thitikul's lead was gone after