Japan’s Haru Nomura maintained her three-shot lead in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic on Saturday, firing a one-under par 71 in the third round in San Francisco.
On another breezy day, Nomura had three birdies and two bogeys to build a 54-hole total of 10-under 206.
Nomura found 11 of 14 fairways as she maintained the lead she held overnight. She reached 11-under after a birdie at the 10th hole but gave back a shot with a bogey at 12 before finishing with six consecutive pars.
“You could say it’s confidence, but what I feel right now is, I feel very comfortable about golf,” Nomura said. “I just want to have fun. I’m not thinking about trying to beat someone, it’s really about having fun.”
Nomura’s day did include a tense moment over a possible rules infraction, after a viewer notified officials she may have “built a stance” in a greenside bunker on the sixth hole.
After a discussion between the rules committee, Nomura and her caddie it was determined that no breach occurred.
South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace and South Korean Choi Na-Yeon shared second on 209 and Choi signing for a 71.
The last time she led entering the final round she went on to win the Women’s Australian Open in February—beating world number one Lydia Ko by three shots for a first LPGA title.
Two-time defending champion Ko was unable to make a move, carding a one-over 73 to finish the day tied for eighth at four-under 212 with Australian Min-Jee Lee (74).
“My game wasn’t really up to it today,” Ko acknowledged. “It was pretty average. I felt like chipping, short game-wise, it was good, but I wasn’t making the putts that needed to go in for birdie or those crucial par saves, so I think that was the difference from today to yesterday.
“There was only two birdies and three bogeys, so there wasn’t a lot happening in my round. But I definitely think it could have been worse,” she added.”
Choi said the firm greens made it difficult in the blustery weather. “It was tough,” she said. “The greens were so firm and a lot of holes have front pins so it’s hard to stop the ball around the pin.
“I made a lot of par putts out there, and I was a little aggressive on the front nine. But I started with two bogeys on the back nine—it was getting harder on the back nine.”
Pace and Choi were followed by a group of five players on five-under 211 -- Canadian Brooke Henderson, Scotland’s Catriona Matthew, South Korean Ryu So-Yeon and American Gerina Piller. Ryu led after the first round and had a share of second on Friday, but fell back with a 73. Henderson carded a 69, Matthew a 71 and Piller 72.

LEADING THIRD-ROUND SCORES
206-Haru Nomura (JPN) 65-70-71
209-Lee-Anne Pace (RSA) 71-69-69, Choi Na-Yeon (KOR) 68-70-71
211-Brooke M. Henderson (CAN) 71-71-69, Catriona Matthew (SCO) 68-72-71, Gerina Piller 70-69-72, Ryu So-Yeon (KOR) 63-75-73
212-Lydia Ko (NLZ) 68-71-73, Minjee Lee (AUS) 73-65-74
213-Chun In-Gee (KOR) 71-74-68, Hur Mi-Jung (KOR) 72-72-69, Tiffany Joh 70-73-70, Brittany Lang 69-70-74
214-Feng Shanshan (CHN) 74-69-71, Ryann O’Toole 69-73-72, Julie Yang (KOR) 72-68-74
215-Sakura Yokomine (JPN) 73-72-70, Jenny Shin (KOR) 72-73-70, Park Hee-Young (KOR) 74-70-71, Oh Su (AUS) 70-71-74