Patty Tavatanakit remained in striking distance at The Chevron Championship on Saturday, carding a 3-under 69 at Carlton Woods to reach 11-under for the tournament.

The 24-year-old from Thailand will enter Sunday’s final round in solo second place, five strokes behind leader Nelly Korda, who surged to 16-under.

Tavatanakit’s round featured four birdies and a single bogey, a resilient performance that kept her in the final pairing, entering the final 18 holes. After opening with a birdie on the par-5 first, she added another on the par-4 sixth to turn in 2-under 34.

The back nine brought its share of challenges. Tavatanakit made pars on holes 10 through 12 before dropping a shot with a bogey on the par-4 13th. She responded quickly, with a birdie at the par-5 14th to move back to 10-under, then added her fourth birdie of the day on the par-4 16th to move to 11-under before closing with pars on 17 and 18.

The grind of the round was not lost on Tavatanakit, who addressed the day's ups and downs with perspective after her round.

"You just do what you got to do," Tavatanakit said. "It's a major championship. It's playing tough. You're not going to always have your best, but you just got to figure out what's in front of you."

Saturday's 69 mirrors the score she posted in the second round, moving from T2 at 5-under to sole possession of second at 8-under on Friday. While Korda has built a commanding lead, Tavatanakit, the 2021 Chevron champion, isn't planning to play conservatively on Sunday.

"Yeah, I have nothing to lose," she said when asked whether she could be aggressive on Sunday. "I have nothing to lose from day one. I'm trying to be aggressive but sometimes the ball just doesn't go there."

Tavatanakit brings considerable history to this event. Her 2021 victory at The Chevron Championship, an 18-under performance under the tournament's former name, the ANA Inspiration, remains her lone major title, one that also earned her the 2021 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award and the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award.

The major stage has never seemed to rattle her, and Sunday figures to be no different.

"Yeah, I feel like it's been fun so far, and there is nothing to look back to," Tavatanakit said. "If anything, I have so much to look forward to. I feel like I'm really happy with where I am with myself, with my relationship with golf, with everything. I feel like my life is falling into place very center, like internally. So good golf, bad golf, doesn't really do much to me. It's just a day. Yeah, I'm just really grateful to get to wake up every morning and figure this game out. It's been fun."

Tavatanakit Sits Five Back of Korda After Third-Round 69 at The Chevron Championship

Related Articles