Nomura mantains 3-shots lead at Swinging Skirts

10:24 PM ET

DALY CITY, Calif. — Haru Nomura shot a 1-under 71 in cool and breezy conditions Saturday at Lake Merced to maintain a three-stroke lead in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.

The 23-year-old Japanese player had three birdies and two bogeys to reach 10-under 206 with one round left. She won the Australian Women’s Open in February, pulling away to beat top-ranked Lydia Ko by three strokes for her first LPGA Tour title.

Ko was six strokes back at 4 under after a 73. The two-time defending champion will be 19 on Sunday.

“My game wasn’t really up to it today,” Ko said. “It was pretty average. But I felt like chipping, short game-wise it was good, but I wasn’t making the putts that needed to go in for birdie or those crucial par saves. … I’ve just got to stay positive.”

South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace and South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi were tied for second.

Pace had a 69. She won a 2014 event in China for her lone LPGA Tour title.

“Obviously, the conditions are going to be the same tomorrow probably, a …

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