RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- The windstorm that toppled trees and blew away the first round of the ANA Inspiration on Thursday, causing a marathon day of play Saturday, might be calm compared to the showdown set up for Sunday's final round at the LPGA's first major of the year.
Overpowering Mission Hills Country Club with tee shots that averaged 301 yards, Lexi Thompson, who won this tournament in 2014, finished off the last nine holes of a second-round 67 Saturday morning before matching that score in the third round to find herself at 13-under-par 203 after 54 holes, two strokes ahead of Suzann Pettersen.
If the 22-year-old Thompson is to claim her second major title -- and second ANA -- she'll have to hold off a ton of talent in the final round. Although Pettersen has had her heart broken here several times, finishing second on three occasions, including in 2007 when she had a four-stroke lead with four holes to play, she is a two-time major champion with 15 wins on tour.
Lurking at 206, three strokes back are M.J. Hur, Minjee Lee, 2011 U.S. Women's Open champion So Yeon Ryu and Inbee Park, who has a staggering seven majors. Five strokes back are Ariya Jutanugarn, the No. 2 player in the world, Michelle Wie, who battled a balky back, former U.S. Open champ Cristie Kerr and Karine Icher.
That is a pretty stout leaderboard going into the last day of play.
While Thompson, who is comfortable on this golf course and has finished first, seventh and fifth the past three years here, crushed it off the tee and hit all 18 greens, it was steadiness with the putter, which often betrays her, that is the key for her being atop the leaderboard.
"I've moved to the ball," she said about a change in her putting stance. "My eyes are more over the ball. I just love this golf course. I get to hit a lot of drivers and a lot of holes go left to right so it sets up well for me."
When the second round finally caught up Saturday morning from the wind delay, Thompson had the 36-hole lead at 8-under par, one stroke better than Wie, Ryu, Pettersen and Sung Hyun Park. Pettersen fell to two back with a 68, a number matched by Inbee Park, and Wie limped to a 71.
Pettersen is determined not to let the ANA slip away this time. Asked her goal for Sunday, she replied, with a hearty laugh, "To get wet," a reference to the traditional post-tournament dip taken by the winner in Poppy's Pond.
More than half a lifetime ago, Wie made a run at the ANA as a 13-year-old amateur, giving her a dramatic introduction to the LPGA. Saturday, the 6-foot long hitter, who also lost a duel to Thompson here in 2014, looked older than her 27 years as she winced on several occasions, had her knees buckle after one shot and needed the trainer to work on her back twice.
"Back in Australia [in February] I kind of hurt my back a little bit, but I'm feeling OK," Wie said. "Just hit one shot that was a little bit out of sync and kind of threw my hips out of place. But I'm OK, just hung in there today. I think it was just a lot of golf. The two full warm-ups, played how many holes, 28 holes. Just not a young stallion anymore, I guess."
Wie, whose career has been plagued by injuries, has been playing with a renewed enthusiasm and a new putting stance that is working very well, lifting her spirits for a final-round charge.
"You know, I'm excited," she said about the position she's in. "I go out a little bit later tomorrow, get some sleep, sleep past 4 a.m. I'll be good. Just going to go see the physio for a little bit, be fresh and ready to go tomorrow."
The greatest threat to Thompson could be Inbee Park, who has 18 LPGA wins, including here in 2013, a year in which she captured the first three majors of the year. Last year, playing with an injured left thumb, she skipped the U.S. Women's Open and the Ricoh Women's British Open to get healthy for the Olympics, where she won gold.
But winning, clearly, has not gotten old for the 28-year-old Korean who, before her injury, was the top-ranked woman in the world.
"You know, it doesn't matter how many trophies I have," Park said. "It doesn't matter how many majors I have. I think when it comes to a major on a Sunday, I think everybody is in the same position and everybody just wants to have one more."
Among the 72 players who made the cut, Lucy Li was the only amateur, an impressive achievement for a 14-year-old. And in the battle to be low Korda, 24-year-old Jessica, a four-time winner on tour, was at 5-under par, one stroke better than her 18-year-old sister Nelly, an LPGA rookie.
Thompson and Pettersen will be paired together in the final group, a matchup of a past champ here and a multi-time runner-up. That should be a lot of fun to watch, with both of them probably sneaking peeks at the scoreboard to see if Park is creeping up on them.