Leona Maguire four off the lead at Evian Championship heading into final day
Leona Maguire
shot a one-under-par 70 in the third round of the Major to leave herself four behind.
Gainer carded a seven-under 64 and Ruffels shot 66 in the third round on Saturday at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France.
Maguire battled back well after a disappointing start saw her bogey the par 3 second hole which she had got a hole-in-one and birdie on over the first two days. A birdie and bogey followed before a strong finish that saw her birdie two of the last four holes to finish on seven under.
World number two Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, three-time Major winner Minjee Lee and fellow Australian Grace Kim, and second-round leader Somi Lee of South Korea are all 10 under at the fourth of this season's five LPGA Tour majors.
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Gainer (29) picked up her maiden title on the Ladies European Tour in Morocco in February. She tied for third at an LET event at this course in May.
'I've got confidence coming from that tournament,' she said. 'I know it's set up slightly different, but I have good feelings and good vibes in this amazing beautiful place.'
Gainer put herself into contention for her first Major victory with six birdies, an eagle at the par-5 seventh hole and one bogey Saturday.
Ruffels (25) has three titles on the Epson Tour but her best finish in a Major was a tied-13th at the US Women's Open in 2020. She opened the third round with her only bogey of the day before posting six birdies, including four during a five-hole stretch from numbers 11-15.
'Putter was really good today,' Ruffels said. 'Made some putts inside 15 feet. And, yeah, was just super solid tee to green.'
Japan's Yuri Yoshida and China's Ruixin Liu posted the low rounds of the day at eight-under 63. Yoshida finished a clean round with eight birdies and is tied for seventh at nine under, while Liu collected seven birdies and an eagle at the seventh to move into a tie for 12th at seven under.
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