Following the third round of the Mizuho Americas Open, Hye-Jin Choi and Allisen Corpuz find themselves in contention at Mountain Ridge Country Club.

Choi began the day tied for 13th but surged on Saturday in West Caldwell, New Jersey. She carded a 6-under-par 66 to move into solo third heading into the final round. The Republic of Korea native posted rounds of 68, 75 and 66 for a 209 total, leaving her three shots behind leader Jeeno Thitikul. Choi recorded seven birdies and one bogey on the day.

"Actually, I didn't know I made seven birdies until the end of the round because I was so concentrating," Choi said. "Recently, if I played well in the front nine, it didn't work out well in the back nine, so I just tried to keep concentrating on it."

Despite the weather conditions that plagued the third round, Choi felt more comfortable than in previous rounds due to a decrease in wind. She also saw a significant improvement on the greens, recording 29 putts compared to 36 on Friday.

"Compared to yesterday, today I didn't really have a long putt left, and I made a good save on the difficult putts, too," she said.

In eight starts on the LPGA Tour this season, Choi has made the cut seven times with top-10 results at the Honda LPGA Thailand (T8) and Blue Bay LPGA (T5).

Corpuz started the day tied for 15th, but she navigated a challenging back nine that has troubled much of the field by carding five birdies. She recorded back-to-back birdies on holes No. 12 and 13 before dropping a shot with a bogey on the par-3 14th hole. The 28-year-old closed the round with three consecutive birdies, hitting 12 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation with 28 putts.

"I think it was a bit lucky just to be the second group off," Corpuz said. "The wind was a lot less than it has been the last two days, and I just felt like a few of the pins fit my eye a little better. Made a few longer putts as well just for those birdies, and mostly just kept it in play all day long."

Corpuz attributed her success to simple execution: "Hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens, and then was lucky to make a few putts."

In seven starts this season, Corpuz has made five cuts with a tie for tenth at the Honda LPGA Thailand in February. The American is looking for her second win on the LPGA Tour and has put herself in contention after a third-round 66 that has her sitting tied for fourth.

Moving Day at the Mizuho Americas Open, Hye-Jin Choi and Allisen Corpuz in Contention

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