Minjee Lee remains tantalisingly close to completing one of world sport's great family doubles after snaring a share of the third-round lead at the LPGA Tour's BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.
Lee relinquished a two-shot overnight advantage but will still enter Sunday's championship climax in equal pole position at 12 under with dogged South African Ashleigh Buhai.
Australia's world No.7 carded a one-under-par 71 at the Seowon Valley Country Club outside Seoul on Saturday as Buhai reeled in the halfway leader with a bogey-free 69.
New Zealand's defending champion and former world No.1 Lydia Ko is lurking menacingly one shot back after a moving-day 69.
Ko shares third spot with talented American Alison Lee (70), the pair one stroke ahead of US journeywoman Lauren Coughlin (67) and France's 2023 major winner Celine Boutier (68).
Japan's Jiyai Shin (67) and Thailand's fellow former world No.1 Atthaya Thitihul - the day's biggest mover with a 66 - are also well in contention on a truly star-studded leaderboard at nine under.
Lee's WA state-mate Hannah Green is also in striking distance in a tie for ninth, four shots off the pace following a third-round 69.
But if Lee can back up her victory at last month's Kroger Queen City Championship in Ohio, the 27-year-old will complete an unprecedented sibling double act.
Her younger brother Min Woo last Sunday scored a record-setting, wire-to-wire victory at the Macau Open.
No sister and brother have ever both won on the world's major professional tours in the same week in golf history.
Winning in South Korea, where both her parents are from, would be even more special for Lee.
The dual major winner retained her two-shot halfway buffer before recording successive bogeys on the 12th and 13th holes.
But a bounce-back birdie on No.14 steadied her round as she bids for a multi-winning season for the second year running.
"The whole year I didn't really feel like my game was too far away," Lee said.
"But it was like I had two good rounds and two average rounds.
"So it was like getting everything together was a little bit harder for the first, I don't know, three quarters of the year, I guess.
"And obviously Kroger, and I think that really helped me with my confidence and just a little bit more trust in my game, my putting, and pretty much all aspects of my game."
Lee faces a tough time, though, shaking off Buhai, the reigning Australian Open champion who shot to international stardom with victory at last year's Women's British Open at Muirfield.
Despite having been laid off tour for five weeks with a back injury, Buhai has made a seamless return, a back-nine wobble on Friday her only blemishes.
The 34-year-old went bogey-free on Saturday and will take a power of stopping in the final round at the $US2.2 million ($A3.5 million) event widely regarded as the women's major of Asia.
