Áine Donegan produced another good round at the PIF London Championship on Saturday but fell back to eight shots off the lead after Anna Huang shot a scintillating eight-under 65.
Donegan, who started her third round four off the lead, carded a second consecutive 69 to move to 11 under par.
That score left the Clare woman in third position, five shots behind England’s Charley Hull and eight off Canada’s Huang, who was in superb form.
Huang made back-to-back birdies on the eighth and ninth holes before doing the same on the 14th and 15th holes.
The teenager, who won her third LET title in May, then made an eagle for the third day in a row on the 18th hole to lead by three strokes with one round remaining. If Huang were to win, she would be the youngest player to win four LET titles.
Donegan had two birdies and two bogeys in her front nine, making inroads with five birdies after the turn. A bogey at the par-three 11th was frustrating but overall this was another excellent day’s work for the 24-year-old.
“It was good. I started off really solid the first six holes or so and had a little not great swing on seven which caused my first bogey,” said Donegan afterwards. “I was unlucky with my second shot on eight; I went long and didn’t hit a good first putt and pulled my second putt.
“I made a really good 10-footer on nine for par which looking back, I hit a really poor wedge shot and then that probably spurred us on a little bit for the back nine. We could have easily played a really good front nine and been one-over. That was a big putt on nine.
“It’s very rare you have a round of golf that doesn’t have a squeaky point in the middle. I knew I would probably get through that and then Harry [Ewing] kept me sane out there as well.
“We had really good communication again today and he said to me on 14, I want three birdies coming in now and then I birdied 15, 16 and 17. Walking to 18, I said when you asked for three, I wanted four. It was a nice way to finish, and I probably deserved a little bit of that.”
Anna Foster is one over after a level-par 73, with Sara Byrne four over following a 76.