NORTON, Mass. — Miranda Wang left the TPC Boston with a three-shot lead for the second straight day, this time having to overcome a three-shot deficit with brilliant putting that led to a 7-under 65 in the FM Championship as she goes after her first LPGA victory.
Wang took only 24 putts on the rain-softened course and might have been helped by having to play only 18 holes. Some of the Chinese player’s challengers faced much longer days because of storms that interrupted so much play the day before.
She holed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to cap off a bogey-free round that gave her a three-shot lead over Sei Young Kim (71) and Rose Zhang (67).
Wang was at 18-under 198.
“This is where all the players want to be, so it’s definitely special going into the final round being the sole leader,” Wang said. “This is what we try to do every week, so I’m just happy that I did my job really well. I hope to continue doing what I did today.”
Kim had a big scoring runs on both nines Saturday morning when she played 14 holes to complete her second round at 65 to build a three-shot lead. The afternoon wasn’t so smooth, and her lead was gone in three holes.
She didn’t get out of bunker on the par-5 second hole, leading to bogey that felt much worse. Then, she failed to get up-and-down on the par-3 third.
Wang pulled ahead for the first time with a birdie on the sixth, and she showed what kind of day it would be on the next hole. She fanned her approach on the par-5 seventh to the right and off a tree. She pulled her third shot some 60 feet long, and then made it for birdie.
Wang also made a 40-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole and ended the day on a streak of 27 consecutive holes without a bogey.
Key to the week for the former Duke player was her back nine on Thursday. Wang had eight birdies (along with a bogey) for a 29 on the front nine, an indication that she felt comfortable on the greens.
“Ever since I had really hot back nine on first round my putting has been clicking. I was getting speed and line really well and I made super long putts on No. 7 today, and that gave me even more confidence,” she said. “I know that I’m doing well on these greens so when putting I’m more confident and comfortable.”
Zhang, who won her first LPGA event as a pro two years ago, has not had a top 10 against full field all year as she tried to split time between playing and finishing up at Stanford.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in contention, so I’m very, very grateful,” Zhang said.
She had to play 32 holes — 14 in the morning when she had a 64, and then she had four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn in the afternoon as she tried to keep pace with Wang.
“Feel like I’ll I’ve been doing today is eating and drinking water and electrolytes,” Zhang said. “It’s been a while since I played 32 holes. I needed to grind it out a little bit. I needed to stay focused. But I felt like I took a lot of positives today knowing that I have resilience to play consistent golf and keep trying to be better it.”
Jeeno Thitikul (65) and Andrea Lee (66) were four shots behind.
Nelly Korda’s search for her first LPGA victory this year likely will have to wait. She was in range when she left the course Friday night, but she could only manage a 70 in the morning and a 70 in the afternoon. Korda failed to birdie any of the four par 5s.
She was nine shots behind.
Wang, an LPGA rookie, will try to extend a remarkable streak on the LPGA Tour this year. There have been 22 tournaments, all of them won by different players.
