Women's Australian Open: Lydia Ko and Ariya Jutanugarn share lead

World No 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn both fired one-under 72s to share the lead after the third round of the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.

Ko started her round with seven straight pars and finished off with four successive pars but an eventful middle section saw her card birdies at the eighth, 12th and 14th, mixed with bogeys at the ninth and 11th.

Jutanugarn bogeyed the first and 12th, with her birdies coming on the ninth, 14th and 17th as she joined Ko on seven-under 212.

The pair are one shot clear of South Korea's Amy Yang, who shot 70 on a tough day at Royal Melbourne, particularly on the back nine.

The majority of the field have struggled to get to grips with the slick greens, and Ko admitted she was perplexed standing over every putt no matter what the distance.

“The greens are really hard. I’m scratching my head over a three-footer or a thirty-footer,” Ko said. “It’s really tough and because (the hole) is so tight, the lip-outs, they hurt. They’re not nice here. The greens are one of the hardest parts and because they are so firm, it affects the shots that are coming into the green also.

“On a course like this, unless you really get going on a putting streak, you’re not going to make seven, eight birdies and shoot the most incredible eight under. I think this course you really have to play smart and when you have those chances, try to grab it because birdies are hard to see.”

Kirk bounces back

Julieta Granada of Paraguay and home favourite Katherine Kirk, who also hit 70s, are tied for fourth place, three behind the leaders.

Kirk produced one of the best runs of the day as she bounced back from a disappointing bogey at the par-five 10th with five birdies over the next six holes to haul herself back into contention.

“It’s not easy to make birdies out there and I made six today and I’m still kind of a little puzzled as to how,” she said. “I know I made two long putts, so they’re just bonuses. I think that was probably as good as it was going to get today.”

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England's Charley Hull shot a 76 and dropped back into a group tied for seventh, alongside the likes of American Jessica Korda (75), the 2012 champion at Royal Melbourne, France’s Gwladys Nocera (74), and Beatriz Recari of Spain (72).

Hull was firmly in contention after birdies at the second and fifth took her to six under but she then tumbled back down the field with four successive bogeys and then a double-bogey six at the 13th before steadying the ship with a birdie at the 15th.

The only player to break 70 in the testing conditions was first-round leader Ilhee Lee, who bounced back from her 82 on Friday with a 69 to move into a tie for 13th place, seven strokes behind the leaders.