Lydia Ko carded a third-round 66 - the best of the day. Photo / Getty Images
Lydia Ko carded a third-round 66 - the best of the day. Photo / Getty Images
Lydia Ko has moved into a medal position at the women's golf tournament - and will now be left watching the skies.
The Kiwi finished her third round today in a share of third place after shooting a five-under 66 to steadily ascend the leaderboard at the Kasumigaseki Country Club.
That left Ko at 10-under in her quest for a second Olympic medal, five shots off American leader Nelly Korda and two behind second-placed Aditi Ashok of India.
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Ko is level with three players in the bronze-medal position but might not get the chance to separate herself in the final round as an impending typhoon is threatening to cut short the tournament.
Round four has been rescheduled to start an hour earlier than normal tomorrow, with the forecast meant to deteriorate as the day progresses.
Officials have left open the possibility of play on Sunday and there has yet to be clarification of how the bronze medal will be determined if the 54-hole scores do prove final.
But given the way she has improved throughout the tournament, Ko is desperate for the weather gods to allow for a final-day charge.
"With the position I've put myself in, I really hope that I get a chance to go for it," she told Sky Sport. "But with golf, you never know. I could end up falling further behind or I could be standing on the podium.
"Hopefully the weather god is nice. I saw the forecast was a little better than what it looked like a couple of days ago so fingers crossed."
Ko, who claimed silver at Rio 2016, shot the best round of the field on the third day, climbing from a share of ninth at the halfway point.
Backing up from a second-round 67 that would have been even better but for bogeys at 17 and 18, Ko shook off those late troubles and did not drop a shot in round three.
"I played really solid today and gave myself good opportunities," Ko said. "I was disappointed with the way I finished [the second] round and I was hoping that wasn't going to feed into the way I approached today."
That certainly wasn't the case on a steady front nine that saw Ko pick up one shot at the fifth hole. The world No 11 made three birdies in four holes after the turn, with a fine approach shot on 13 helping her move into a share of fourth.
Nelly Korda of the US plays her shot from the 16th tee. Photo / Getty Images
Ko holed a difficult par putt on 16 and then, in what might prove pivotal to her medal chances, dropped in a 15-foot birdie putt on 17 before making par on 18.
At that point, Ko still seemed on the outside looking in at the medal places but hometown hope Mone Inami soon missed a crucial par putt on 18 to drop to 10-under.
Ko and Inami are joined there by Australia's Hannah Green and Denmark's Emily Pedersen, and if that quartet has to share bronze the Kiwi hopes she has made her country proud.
"I want to do better for them and sometimes I'm stressing and grinding more because I know how much it would mean for the country," she said. "I'm very proud to be here and hopefully I'm making everyone back home proud too. I'm not just playing for myself or my team - I feel like I'm playing for New Zealand."
