Jessica Korda shot a bogey-free six-under-par round of 65 in sweltering conditions on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead in the LPGA Malaysia.
Korda missed a birdie chance on the par-four 18th when her six-footer slid by on the left side, leaving the 22-year-old American at 12-under 201 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
Fellow American Stacy Lewis and South Korea's Ha Na Jang were tied for second and New Zealand's Lydia Ko shot a third-round 68 to take a share of fourth.
Minjee Lee was the best placed Australian after three rounds, slipping to a tie for 36th following a score of 77 in what Korda said were testing conditions on Saturday.
"These last two days have been the hottest days I think I've ever played golf in," Korda said.
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"You feel it, you really do. Luckily, there was not a lot of sun out there today, but the humidity was really, really high."
Korda has only one top-10 finish this season; a tie for second in January in Florida in the season-opening event.
The three-time LPGA Tour winner is 50th in the world ranking and 56th on the money list - barely enough to get a spot in the tournament.
"It's been such a long time and I'm so happy," Korda said. "I'm very pleased to be back on top of the leaderboard. I definitely wasn't expecting all my hard work to be paying off this quickly, first week out in the Asia swing, but I'll take it wherever I can."
Jang had a 71 after taking a one-stroke lead into the round. She had a double bogey on the par-three 15th, saved bogey with a 20-footer on the par-five 16th and rebounded with a birdie on the par-three 17th.
Second-ranked Ko was three strokes back at nine under along with defending champion Shanshan Feng and Xi Yu Lin.
Playing alongside Korda, Ko bogeyed the 18th for 68. The 18-year-old New Zealander is coming off consecutive victories in the Canadian Pacific Women's Open and Evian Championship, where she became the youngest major champion.
"Obviously, a little disappointed to finish up with a bogey, but I don't feel that bad," Ko said.
"I felt I holed some really good putts that maybe didn't even deserve to go in."
The event is the first of five straight in Asia. The LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship is next week in South Korea, followed by stops in Taiwan, China and Japan.
