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Choi Hye-jin and Kim Hyo-ju jumped into a tie for third place after the third round of the U.S. Women's Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour's Honda Thailand ($1.7 million purse).

Choi carded an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys for a 7-under 65 in the third round on Thursday at the Siam Country Club Old Course (par-72) in Chonburi, Thailand. Choi, who was tied for 24th place at 5-under par after the second round, posted a 12-under par 204 total to move into a tie for third place with Kim Hyo-ju and Emily Pedersen (DEN). She is four strokes behind leader Patti Thawatanakit (THA) at 16-under par.

Choi, who made her LPGA Tour debut in 2022 after dominating the domestic scene with six wins, including the 2019 Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour title, is yet to win on the American stage. She finished tied for 16th at the Drive-On Championship in January, but her blistering round on the day moved her up the leaderboard and set the stage for an upset on the final day.

Choi, who was two strokes off the pace at the start of the day, was particularly strong in the second half. She dropped one stroke on the 12th (par-3) and 15th (par-4), birdied the 17th (par-4), and then sank an eagle putt on the 18th (par-5) after a perfect two-on to move up the leaderboard heading into the final day.

Kim combined five birdies and two bogeys on the day to shave three strokes off her score, moving up one spot from a tie for fourth the day before. After dropping a stroke through the fourth 토토 hole, Kim, who only recorded pars on holes 5 through 12, birdied the 13th (par-4) and 15th holes to pick up the momentum, but had to settle for a bogey on the 16th (par-3) after missing the green due to a distracting camera shutter. She made up for it with a birdie on the 17th (par-4), but was unable to reduce her score on the par-5 final hole.

Thawatanakit shot 6-under-par on the day to move from a share of the lead to sole possession of the lead and improve her chances of winning her second LPGA Tour title. Tawatanakit, who hasn't won a major since winning the ANA Inspiration in April 2021, carried her momentum from last week's European Ladies Professional Golf Tour (LET) Aramco Saudi Ladies International in Saudi Arabia to the top of the leaderboard in Thailand.

Madeleine Sachström (SWE) is three shots back in second place (13-under par), followed by Se-Young Kim in a tie for sixth (11-under par) and Ji Eun Shin in a tie for 11th (10-under par). World No. 1 and defending champion Lilia Boo (USA) is tied for 16th (9-under par), while last year's LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year Hae Ran Hae is tied for 21st (8-under par).

Ko Jin-young is tied for 27th (7-under par) with Danielle Kang (USA), Yang Hee-young is tied for 34th (6-under par) and Anna Rin, Im Hyang and Kim Ah-rim are tied for 46th (4-under par) after three rounds.

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