LEONA MAGUIRE’S HOPES of victory at the LPGA Thailand went up in smoke after local rookie Natthakritta Vongtaveelap produced another stellar display to take command heading into the final round.

The Cavan native went into the weekend just three shots behind the 20-year-old, who is ranked 470th in the world and only turned professional only four months ago.

Vongtaveelap is contesting her first LPGA event after receiving an invite from a sponsor for the $1.7 million tournament and now leads compatriot Atthaya Thitikul, who is a former world number one and was runner-up in the 2021 edition of the tournament, by four strokes.

An even-par 72 saw Maguire drop back for a share of 20th – 11 strokes behind Vongtaveelap – with four birdies and four bogeys a sign of a frustrating day.

Maguire looked primed for a strong back nine after going around the front on three-under without dropping a shot. However, after a birdie four on the 10th, five bogeys from her next seven holes halted the momentum.

There was a birdie on the last for some consolation but a day that began with Maguire in ninth and with realistic ambitions for the title ended badly.

For Vongtaveelap, she has heavyweights including Lydia Ko scrambling to stay in contention.

On Friday she emerged from obscurity to grab a shock lead and she followed up today with an emphatic message for the chasing pack by opening with an eagle and closing with a trio of birdies along with a bogey-free score card.

On the cusp of her first major professional victory, she told reporters she had dreamt about winning a title since childhood and hoped the enthusiastic local crowd would help push her over the line.

“Today was very big, but I (think) tomorrow will be bigger,” she said.

Addtional reporting from – © AFP 2023