Women's British Open 2018: Pornanong Phatlum Holds Lead Entering Final Round

Thailand's Pornanong Phatlum maintained her lead at the 2018 Women's British Open by moving to 13 under par after Saturday's third round at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England.

England's Georgia Hall is just one shot back after hitting her fifth birdie of the day on the final hole. So Yeon Ryu is third on 11 under par after shooting a superb 67 to move into contention.

Here's a look at the standings after the third round:

The full leaderboard is available on the tournament's official website.

Phatlum showed her best form on the front nine, picking up three birdies to move to 13 under par. 

A fourth arrived at the 11th but was swiftly followed by her first bogey of the tournament when she dropped a shot at the 12th.

Golf writer Randall Mell was impressed with her performance:

However, she could not shake off Hall, who did not pick up her first bogey until the 13th.

Consecutive birdies at the 15th and 16th saw her move to within one shot of the lead. Rich Lerner at the Golf Channel offered his view:

A dropped shot at the 17th looked to be costly, but she swiftly made up for it by finishing off with a birdie:

One of the most impressive performances of the day came from Ryu, who hit seven birdies to rocket up the leaderboard.

She did not get off to the best start, with bogies at the first and the fifth, but went on to make amends in some style.

Four birdies in a row saw her move to eight-under by the ninth hole. Three more followed on the back nine as she put herself in a strong position going into Sunday's play.

The final round promises much drama, with just three shots separating the top six players. Phatlum has been consistent so far, while home favourite Hall will have the crowd behind her on Sunday.