Top-ranked Tseng reclaims lead after third round of Sunrise Taiwan event

Top-ranked Yani Tseng shot a 5-under 67 Saturday for a two-shot lead going into the final round of the LPGA Tour’s inaugural Sunrise Taiwan Championship.

Tseng’s third round included seven birdies and two bogeys in windy conditions for a 10-under 206 total. The Taiwanese player returned to the top of the leaderboard ahead of Anna Nordqvist of Sweden, who had a 71 at the Sunrise Golf and Country Club.

Tseng gave up the lead Friday and was two shots back of Nordqvist and Azahara Munoz of Spain, who finished Saturday’s round in 72 to trail by three strokes.

Amy Yang of South Korea was undone by two late bogeys in her round of 70 that left her trailing Tseng by four alongside South Korean Hee-Won Han (70).

The 22-year-old Tseng leads the LPGA Tour with six wins this season and cemented Player of the Year honors this week.

“Today my new goal (was) just to be patient all day, especially if you see the wind like it is, going 20 or 30 miles per hour,” Tseng said. “I was going to miss a couple of shots, because with the wind like this it’s hard to shoot a low score.”

Katie Futcher of the United States shot 71 to trail by five shots, while American Alison Walshe (71) was a shot further behind at 4 under overall.

Morgan Pressel (70) finished eight shots back, while Cristie Kerr (73) and Wendy Ward (73) also need to make up considerable ground in the final round. Suzann Pettersen shot a 75 and trails Tseng by 10 strokes.

Still shadowed by thousands of exuberant fans, Tseng didn’t let the crowd break her concentration. On Friday, she shot a 71 and had to tell fans not to take pictures during her swing.

It’s the first time the LPGA Tour has held a tournament in Taiwan.

“It would be very, very special to win in this tournament tomorrow, because this is the first time and first time so many people is coming to watch us,” Tseng said, “and I think it just, you know, it is my honor.”