Aussie Lee in mix at Women's British Open

Australian Minjee Lee is in a tie for fourth and three shots off the lead after the third round of the Women's British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

Australian golf star Minjee Lee

Australia's Minjee Lee is has kept herself in contention to win the Women's British Open. (AAP)

Australian Minjee Lee is three strokes behind leader Pornanong Phatlum going into the final round of the Women's British Open.

Starting the day one shot off the pace, the world No.8 made bogey on her third hole before stringing together three birdies to get her headed in the right direction.

She added another birdie on the 13th hole but bogeys on holes 14 and 18 left her at 10 under after a round of one-under 71.

Thailand's Pornanong Phatlum recorded her first bogey of the championship on Saturday and ended the third round as she started it with a one-stroke lead at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

Apart from her lone hiccup, Phatlum continued her relentless accuracy off the tee and into the green, carding a composed three-under 69.

But she could not break clear of England's Georgia Hall, who sank a 10-foot birdie at the last hole to card a 69 and keep the heat firmly on the leader.

Phatlum, who has four runner-up finishes on the LPGA Tour but has never won in nearly a decade of toil, will head into Sunday's final round at 13 under.

Hall is alone in second place on 12 under with former women's world number one So Yeon Ryu of South Korea a shot behind after a 67 that matched the day's best score.

Lee and Japan's Mamiko Higa (71) were joined by South Korean Sung Hyun Par (69) in a tie for fourth.

Su Oh's even par 72 left her at one under and tied for 34th while Rebecca Artis and Hannah Green both struggled with rounds of 76, leaving them at three over and five over respectively.

hatlum is a relatively short hitter who has found herself at home at Lytham, where the ball is rolling a considerable distance on the fairways.

After 47 bogey-free holes she finally dropped a shot at the par-three 12th, where she found a bunker, before parring the final six holes on another pleasant summer's afternoon.

Phatlum has missed only four fairways and four greens in regulation in an astonishing display of precision this week.

"I got nervous too today so I just tried my best," Phatlum, who sings songs in her head when she starts to feel pressure on the course, said.

"It makes me calm down and not get too nervous. It's all Thai songs."

Hall was not at the top of her game, and was happy to remain only one shot behind.

"My long game wasn't quite on it today but I putted very well. I holed a lot of putts," said the gallery favourite, in contention for the second-straight year at the Open.


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Source: AAP



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