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Jessica Korda fires six birdies for two-shot lead in LPGA Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - OCTOBER 10:  Jessica Korda of USA watches her 2nd shot on the 14th hole during round three of the Sime Darby LPGA Tour
Image: Jessica Korda fired six birdies on day three for the outright lead

Jessica Korda claimed a two-stroke lead heading into the final day of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia with a third-round 65 on Saturday.

Korda produced an excellent front-nine carding four birdies, before holing two further gains after the turn for a bogey-free six-under-par round in sweltering conditions.

The 22-year-old's highest finish of the season was a runner-up spot in Florida in January, and the three-time LPGA Tour winner said she was pleased to be competing for a title once again.

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"These last two days have been the hottest days I think I've ever played golf in," Korda said.

"You feel it, you really do. Luckily, there was not a lot of sun out there today, but the humidity was really, really high.

"It's been such a long time and I'm so happy. 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."

Second-round leader Ha Na Jang failed to capitalise on her overnight advantage despite being 12-under par through 14 holes, with a double-bogey at 15 and another dropped shot at 16 pegging her back to nine under.

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A birdie at 17 put her back onto ten-under par for the tournament and tied-second heading into the final round alongside Stacy Lewis, who posted an impressive six-under-par 65 to leave her in contention.

Stacy Lewis fired her way into contention with a six-under-par 65
Image: Stacy Lewis fired her way into contention with a six-under-par 65

"This golf course is just a shootout," Lewis said. "It's just who is going to make the most birdies at the end of the week.

"It's been a little bit of a frustrating year. It's nice to be back. Hopefully, I can put another good one together tomorrow."

Second-ranked Lydia Ko was three strokes back at nine under along with defending champion Shanshan Feng and Xi Yu Lin.

Top-ranked Inbee Park, the 2012 winner, was eight under after a round of 71. The South Korean star won two of the five majors this year and is tied with Ko for the tour victory lead with four.

Morgan Pressel posted a 63, the best round of the week, to get to six under, while US Solheim Cup teammate Michelle Wie also was six-under par after a 69.

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