After starting the day with a six-stroke lead after shooting 69 Friday, four bogeys and a double bogey on the 16th hole saw the chasing pack halve the leader’s advantage, though Chun parsed back-to-back. Well cured to close with.
Chasing her third career major – and for the first time in six years – Chun said she was “so proud” of a finish that shortened her, though still considerable, margin to the top.
“It was a little tough there,” she told reporters.
“I’m so excited and looking forward to an exciting final round already. If it’s going to be too easy, I think it’s going to be boring, so I want to enjoy another day tomorrow.
“No matter where I am, I’m just ready to make another good day or another good round if I can. It’s still another process, I believe, so that’s it.” Keep doing it,” Chun said.
Thompson received seven strokes on the leader in the following two days, after ending the first round with a 10-shot from Chun, who propelled an excellent five-under 67 on Friday.
An 11-time winner on the LPGA Tour and a major champion at the Kraft Nabisco Championships in 2014, the 27-year-old hasn’t even determined to look at the leaderboard, leaving the responsibility in the hands of her caddy Will.
“I’m honestly trying not to look at the leaderboard at all,” Thompson told reporters.
“I’m sure he will [caddie] Keep an eye on it. If I have to go for the shot, he’ll let me know. I’m just trying to focus on my game, my feelings.
“That’s all I can control, and whatever the outcome, it is.”
Australia’s Hannah Green sits four strokes behind the four-under lead, with Thailand’s Athaya Thitikul, Canada’s Brooke Henderson and American pair Jennifer Chang and Jennifer Kupcho one more shot behind at three-under.
The first group will begin at 8:29 a.m. on Sunday, with Chun, Choi and Thompson beginning their final round at around 10:30 p.m.