Leona Maguire slipped back into a tie for 20th at the HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore after a one-over 73.
The Cavan woman had been six off the lead after Friday's second round. But that gap has now been extended to eight strokes with Maguire on three under going into Sunday's conclusion at the Sentosa Golf Club course.
She made a strong start to Saturday with a birdie on the first but her round fell apart on the fourth and fifth holes with back-to-back double bogeys.
That dropped her from five under down to one under. Maguire did show resolve from then on with a birdie on seven.
A bogey followed on the 10th but she finished on a positive note with birdies on 13 and 15.
Australian duo Hannah Green and Minjee Lee hold the lead on 11 under.
On a steamy day in Singapore, Green's 68 tied for the low score of the round, while Lee shot a 69.
Their lead is one stroke over American Angel Yin (68) and Haeran Ryu (70) of South Korea.
Ariya Jutanugarn (71) of Thailand is alone in fifth place at nine under. American Auston Kim, who led after the first two rounds, shot a 73 to fall into a tie for sixth with Sweden's Linn Grant (71) at eight under.
Green is chasing her second win in Singapore following a victory in 2024. After a bogey at No. 10, a hole that challenged the golfers all day, Green recorded three consecutive birdies to surge to 11 under.
But it wasn't easy.
"It was tricky with the pins today and the wind changed throughout the round,"said Green, whose husband is making a rare appearance as her caddie this week.
"It was tough out there. I'm not surprised by the scoring. I felt like I played really well today."
She will play the final round with Lee, her compatriot.
"I've been hitting the ball into the greens, so if I can continue to do that,and even though I'm playing with Minjee - we are good friends - I don't want to get too caught up in what her scores are. I want to do my thing and hopefully keep making birdies and make lots of putts."
Lee, who has 11 career wins, is making her 2026 debut after taking extended time off in the off-season.
She, too, noticed the increased difficulty of the course on Saturday after shooting 64 on Friday. She mixed four birdies with a bogey at the troublesome No. 10.
"I felt like it was playing a little more trickier today for some reason. Maybe the pin placements were a little bit tougher," she said.
"I know a few of the tees were up but it just felt like they were a little bit harder than the last two days."
Additional reporting: Reuters
