Rancho Mirage, California, United States: Patty Tavatanakit will play without fear as she seeks to retain her title at The Chevron Championship, the year’s first Major tournament.
The big-hitting Thai posted a third-round 70 on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills. With a 10-under aggregate of 206, Tavatanakit has sole possession of second place, although she’s six strokes in arrears to runaway leader Jennifer Kupcho.
But she’s not giving up hope of becoming the seventh multiple winner of The Chevron Championship and just the second person to successfully defend her title, joining Annika Sorenstam in 2001 and 2002.
If she's able to overturn the overnight deficit, Tavatanakit would also join Koreans Pak Se-ri and Chun In-gee as the only players in LPGA Tour history to win Majors as their first two LPGA Tour titles.
Despite the tall order ahead of her, Tavatanakit promised to adopt a attacking final-round approach in a bid to reel in the leader.
“I like chasing. Yeah, for sure. It’s a better feeling. You play without fear and I love doing that,” said Tavatanakit, who herself held a five-stroke advantage heading into the final round last year.
Making up a six-stroke deficit here isn’t without precedent. In 2006, Australian Karrie Webb trailed by seven at Mission Hills after 54 holes before holing out for eagle on the 72nd hole to force a play-off with Mexican Lorena Ochoa. Webb birdied the first hole of sudden-death to clinch the greatest come-from-behind win in the championship’s history.
Following her imperious third-day 64, Kupcho enters Sunday not only looking for her first Major championship title, but also aiming to become the fourth Rolex First-Time Winner of the season.
She’s only co-led/led after 54 holes once in her career, at the 2021 ISPS Handa World Invitational, where she ultimately finished third.
Winner of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019, Kupcho has come close before in a Major championship setting, most notably in 2019 at the Amundi Evian Championship, finishing in a tie for second. It is that past experience plus a focus on her own game that Kupcho will use to her benefit on the final day at Mission Hills.
She said: “I can’t control what anyone else is doing, so I will just go out and play my game. Someone else can go out and do what I did today. So I’ll just focus on hitting the fairways and greens and putting good strokes on putts.”
Japan's Hinako Shibuno, the half-way leader, struggled to a 77 and dropped into a share of 21st place on 212.
Korean Kim Hyo-joo, a former Queen Sirikit Cup individual winner, enters the final round tied for fifth on 210, alongside Australians Hannah Green and Gabriela Ruffels, the former US Women's Amateur champion.
Thai Atthaya Thitikul, inaugural winner of the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific in 2018 and fresh from her maiden LPGA Tour triumph last week, shares 11th place with Yuka Saso, the reigning US Women's Open champion.