Hye-Jin Choi Leads by One After Third Round of Buick LPGA Shanghai

• Hye-Jin Choi shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday to lead the Buick LPGA Shanghai.
• Amy Yang is second, one stroke back, with Ruoning Yin third.
• Defending champion Jeeno Thitikul shot 74 and is at even par.

Hye-Jin Choi will start the final round of the Buick LPGA Shanghai in front for the fourth day running. The South Korean signed for a 3-under 69 at Sheshan Golf Club on Saturday to reach 9-under 207, one stroke clear of Amy Yang.

“I think there will be a lot of fans out there tomorrow,” said Choi. “Actually, we’re just one shot difference so I’m just going to try and play my game tomorrow, and I want a good result tomorrow.”

Her cushion has shrunk each day. Choi led by three after an opening bogey-free 64 and by two after battling to a 74 on Friday, when she said her body was not in perfect condition. On Saturday she made all four of her birdies on the front nine, with one bogey on the card. She has made five bogeys in 54 holes, tied with Carlota Ciganda for the fewest in the field.

Choi has 12 KLPGA titles but is still chasing her first LPGA Tour win. This is the fifth time she has held or shared the lead after 54 holes on Tour but she has yet to convert one. The most recent was at this year’s Dow Championship, the team event she played with Hyo Joo Kim, where the pair finished runner-up.

54-hole leader Hye-Jin Choi’s showing us how it’s done 🤩 https://t.co/IL9bzLOpbW

— LPGA (@LPGA) October 17, 2026

Yang under par every day

Yang carded a 68 with seven birdies and three bogeys. She is the only player in the field to break par in all three rounds, and her 16 birdies are the most of anyone this week. Her ball-striking is behind it: she has hit 41 of 54 greens in regulation, second best in the field.

The 2023 CME Group Tour Championship winner, who took her fifth LPGA Tour title at Tiburon with a tournament-record score, will be alongside Choi again in the final group.

“Oh, yeah, she has great energy,” said Yang. “It’s so nice to see her playing, and I also enjoy playing with her together. And, yeah, I’m going to play with her again tomorrow.”

Yin finds her Shanghai form

Ruoning Yin moved into third at 7-under with a bogey-free 67, made up of five birdies. She was one of three players without a dropped shot on Saturday, and her score matched the day’s low round alongside Alison Lee, Jennifer Kupcho and Yuri Yoshida.

It was Yin’s best round in this event since her closing 63 in 2024, when she went on to win. The Chinese player arrives in form, having won the FM Championship in August for her sixth LPGA Tour title and first since the 2024 Maybank Championship.

Thitikul drifts back

Jeeno Thitikul’s defence stalled with a 74, leaving her at even par and nine behind. The Thai won here in 2025, beating Minami Katsu in a five-hole playoff, and came to China off the back of winning the LOTTE Championship in Hawaii earlier this month. That was her fourth LPGA Tour victory of the season and the 11th of her career.

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Sixteen places, five nights at the Old Course Hotel and four links rounds finishing on the Old Course itself.

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Buick LPGA Shanghai Leaderboard