Rancho Mirage, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Sei Young Kim continued to roll with a 3-under 69 in Saturday's third round and she will head into the final day of the ANA Inspiration with a 3-shot lead over Stacy Lewis.
Kim, seeking her second career victory on the LPGA Tour and her first major title, finished 54 holes at 10-under-par 206. Kim's first win came at the second event of this season, the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, in February.
"If I were to win it tomorrow, it would be the biggest dream ever to come true for me," Kim said. "You know, just because, I've watched this tournament since I was young. That's why I feel I want it so much more, and I think the opportunity is there in front of me, and if I can, I definitely want to get my hand on it, and for sure it won't be bad jumping into that pond tomorrow."
Lewis, a two-time major champion and winner of this event back in 2011, held the lead late in her round, but a couple bogeys dropped her back a bit. Lewis shot a 4-under 68 and is alone in second at 7-under 209.
Ariya Jutanugarn had the low round of the day with a 6-under 66. She is tied for third and four shots back with 2009 champion Brittany Lincicome (70) and first-round leader Morgan Pressel (71) at 6-under. Pressel also won here in 2007.
Defending champion Lexi Thompson managed to shoot a 1-under 71 on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club and she is tied for ninth at minus-4.
While Kim, who was up by two to start her round, did not hold the lead throughout the whole day, she did hold strong and made a late push to extend her advantage.
A birdie at the first got Kim going early on, but four holes later she dropped a shot on No. 5 and her lead was down to one.
Kim's only other mark on the front nine came at No. 9 where she drained a birdie on the par-5. After Lewis had taken the outright lead at the time, the gain on nine moved Kim back into a share of the lead.
It was a while in between birdies for Kim as she made six straight pars from 10. However, paired with a couple late bogeys by Lewis, Kim made back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 to go along with a par at the last to grab a 3-shot third-round lead.
Lewis was on fire to start her round, making three birdies in her first five holes on two, four and five. That streak moved her within two shots of Kim.
After Kim's bogey on five got Lewis to within one, the No. 3 player in the world poured in a 15-foot birdie putt on nine to tie the lead at minus-7.
Following a par on 10, Lewis briefly took the outright lead with a birdie on 11, but Kim came back shortly after with her gain on nine.
Lewis again took the outright lead by converting a long birdie effort on 12 and that lead lasted a little longer.
However, Lewis struggled down the stretch with bogeys on 15 and 17. Kim took advantage with her late gains and put Lewis three shots back in second.
"Got to shore up the driver a little bit. Didn't hit many fairways today, but other than that I felt good with the irons, felt good with the putter," said Lewis. "This is kind of a second-shot golf course so just have to keep hanging around."
Pressel was tied with the duo of Kim and Lewis late in her round. After four birdies and just one bogey on No. 4 through 15 holes, Pressel was looking strong.
Back-to-back bogeys on 16 and 17 doomed Pressel, however, as she fell into a share of third place.
NOTES: Lewis' other major title came at the 2013 Women's British Open ... Kim, a rookie on the LPGA Tour, has three top-10 finishes and one missed cut in six events this season ... Lincicome had two chip-ins for birdie on nine and 16, which helped keep her in the hunt ... Sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn are both in the top-8. Ariya is tied for third, while Moriya is tied for sixth ... World No. 1 Lydia Ko, who saw her record-tying streak of 29 straight rounds under par come to an end Friday, shot a 2-over 74 Saturday and is tied for 48th at 2-over 218.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.