The bad news for West Australian Minjee Lee is that she needs to pull off one of the largest comebacks in LPGA major history to win the Chevron Championship in Texas.

The good news? She has done it once before.

A long-range birdie from the fringe was the ideal way to sign off on an even-par round of 72 in Round 3 as Lee continues to lead the way for the Aussies at Carlton Woods.

At 4-under par, the 28-year-old will begin the final round five strokes off the lead and in a tie for 15th.

The largest final-round comeback in LPGA major championship history is seven strokes, achieved by Patty Sheehan (1983 LPGA Championship), Karrie Webb (2006 Chevron Championship) and… Minjee Lee at the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship.

Co-leaders Haeran Ryu (68) and Mai Saigo (69) were the only players to break 70 on a moving day in which most players stalled, Gabriela Ruffels climbing 33 spots into a tie for 31st with a round of 2-under 70.

Starting from the 10th tee, Ruffels compiled one of the few bogey-free rounds of Round 3, birdies at 14 and eight along with 16 pars delivering a significant jump up the leaderboard.

Stephanie Kyriacou birdied three of her final five holes in a round of 1-over 73, Cassie Porter had four bogeys and three birdies to also shoot 73 while Grace Kim’s quadruple-bogey at the par-3 third did the majority of the damage in her round of 5-over 77.

Tied for 10th through 36 holes, Lee hit just over half of the greens in regulation on Saturday, a double-bogey at the par-4 fifth and bogey at the par-5 eighth resulting in an outward nine of 2-over 38.

Birdies at the pair of par 5s on the back nine ensured Lee got back to even par by day’s end and close enough to push for a third major title.