STEPHANIE MEADOW IS primed for a strong finish at the JTBC Classic in California after a five-under 67 brought her just outside the top 10.
The Jordanstown native has a share of 11th place heading into the final day, seven birdies and two bogeys leaving her on eight-under par.
Leona Maguire remains in contention for a decent showing ahead of the first Major of the year next week, the Chevron Championship, but two birdies and a bogey saw her drift off the leaderboard and into 20th place.
Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen seized a three-stroke lead after South Korea’s An Na-rin closed with a triple bogey disaster.
The 27-year-old Dane, who won her first LPGA title two weeks ago in Thailand in her 93rd career start, fired a three-under par 69 to stand on 14-under 202 after 54 holes at Aviara Golf Club.
Back-to-back titles would bring a huge confidence boost if she can manage the feat, Madsen said.
“That would be really cool,” she said. “It will tell me that I belong here, I belong in the winner’s circle. It wasn’t just one time. So it will give me a lot mentally.”
An was second on 205 after shooting 69 as well but she had shared the lead with Madsen until the final hole after a back-nine battle for the lead.
Madsen was the first Danish player to capture an LPGA crown when she eagled the second playoff hole to beat China’s Xiyu Lin for the Honda LPGA Thailand title on March 13.
Madsen birdied the par-3 third, par-5 fifth and par-3 sixth holes, but followed with a bogey at seven and a double-bogey at the par-5 eighth.
That opened the door for An to grab the lead with a birdie at the ninth, her fourth birdie of the front side.
Madsen rallied with birdies at the ninth and par-5 10th to reclaim the lead and a bogey by An at the 12th hole gave Madsen a two-stroke edge.
It does tell me that I’ve come a long way,” Madsen said after her fightback. “Normally I probably would’ve freaked out after eight. I was not happy with my double bogey, but I knew there was a lot of chances out there on the back nine as well.
“So I just got to continue doing what I was doing. I was still hitting good shots. I just made two bad shots, and that’s what happens.”
“I do think it’ll be easier going into [today] with a lead than it was in Thailand, but going in with a lead you still want to win, so you still have all excitement in your body that you’ve got to control,” Madsen said.
An eagled the par-4 16th to grab a share of the lead. Madsen missed a 15-foot eagle putt at 16 but tapped in for birdie, only to have An match her at the top again with a birdie at the par-5 17th.
While Madsen was parring 17, An was melting down at the par-4 18th. She missed the fairway, then bounced her second shot off a left-side cart path, the ball wedging against the root of a bush.
After taking a penalty, An’s drop left her just off the path with a bush blocking her backswing. She smacked the ball of the curb of the path and hit a golf cart only a few yards up the concrete.
An punched her fifth shot onto the green, then two-putted for triple bogey while Madsen, who endured a long delay, made a routine par to finish ahead by three.
