(Sports Network) - Japan's Yuri Fudoh will carry the lead into the final round of the Women's British Open after shooting a three-under 69 in the third round on Saturday. Fudoh, a 31-year-old star on the Japan LPGA Tour who is now chasing history on the LPGA Tour, stood at 13-under 203 for a one-shot lead over Ji-Yai Shin of Korea.

The two Asian players had shared the second-round lead after posting 68s on Friday, and they were still tied until Shin made a bogey at the 18th hole on Saturday to post a two-under 70.

Shin, who plays regularly on the Korean LPGA Tour when she's not competing in big tournaments on the LPGA Tour, was at 12-under 204 and one shot ahead of Japan's Ai Miyazato (68) for second place.

Seven-time major champion Juli Inkster, who is looking to become the oldest major winner at the age of 48, shot a 71 and shared fourth place with 2007 U.S. Women's Open champion Cristie Kerr (70) at 10-under 206.

Natalie Gulbis (70) led a four-way tie at nine-under 207, and defending champion Lorena Ochoa was still very much in the hunt for her third major after shooting a 71 for a share of 10th place at eight-under 208.

Ochoa ended the day five shots off the lead only after making three bogeys without a birdie on the back nine. The women's world No. 1 had moved herself near the top of the leaderboard with four-under 32 on the front side.

Further down in the pack, Annika Sorenstam posted her best score of the tournament (70) but remained too far off the lead to make a challenge for her 11th major championship.

The retiring Hall of Famer, who won the 2003 Women's British Open, stood at two-under 214 -- tied for 38th place in what could be her last major championship.

Fudoh is looking to become only the second Japanese player to win a major after Chako Higuchi at the 1977 LPGA Championship (Ayako Okamoto claimed the 1984 Women's British Open 17 years before it became an LPGA Tour major).

The first player in Japan to earn the equivalent of $10 million for her career, Fudoh has a world ranking of 22 despite not playing in an LPGA Tour event since the Mizuno Classic in Japan last November.

She owns dozens of Japan LPGA titles, but has never won on the LPGA Tour.

"Right now I don't know if this is the real thing or not, so I hope that tomorrow I can play just like I did today," Fudoh said through an interpreter.

Fudoh and Shin lost their lead before hitting the course Saturday after Inkster eagled the first hole in the tee time just ahead of theirs.

But both players made early birdies to tie Inkster -- Fudoh at No. 1 and Shin at No. 2 -- and the trio was still knotted in first place after the first nine holes.

When Fudoh birdied the 10th and 11th holes to finish off a run of three consecutive birdies, she took a one-shot lead on Shin (and a three-shot cushion on Inkster, who had made back-to-back bogeys).

Fudoh, who said she played looser than she had during the first two rounds, collected four total birdies in a five-hole span stretching back to No. 8 -- a streak that would eventually secure her the lead despite a bogey at the 17th hole.

"I felt I could play without pressure today compared to the last two days, firstly because I followed my caddie's advice and secondly because I think I have done everything I can to prepare," said Fudoh. "So I thought I could just go for it."

Shin, the 20-year-old world No. 10, moved into a share of the lead again when Fudoh bogeyed the 17th, but she couldn't avoid a closing bogey at the 18th after hitting an errant final drive.

Behind Fudoh and Shin, there are a handful of challengers with major championship wins, and one player (Miyazato) who has been on the cusp of big LPGA Tour victories before.

Inkster, Kerr and Ochoa own 10 major titles between them, and all three are certainly capable of making a big move on Sunday. Ochoa reminded everyone that they had only played three rounds.

"I'm going to try to get aggressive tomorrow," she said.

Inkster, trying to win the Women's British Open for the first time, said there was too much golf left to start thinking about winning.

"There's a lot of people to pass," she said.



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