Ireland are tied for fourth heading into the final round of the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Mexico and contending for what would be a first medal at this level.

While the Republic of Korea is on the verge of its fourth Espirito Santo Trophy after building a 14-stroke lead over Switzerland on 19-under-par, Ireland’s Annabel Wilson, Olivia Mehaffey and Leona Maguire are very much in contention for a medal

The Irish trio are on level par, tied for fourth with Denmark and just one shot behind third placed Thailand after Friday's third round at Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club in Playa del Carmen.

Wilson's two over 74 and a one under 71 from Maguire were the counting scores for Ireland with Mehaffey’s three over 75 not needed.

And while  a one over par day saw Ireland leapfrogged by Thailand on the leaderboard, the Irish team is on course for its best result in the event if they can improve on a share of 11th by Danielle McVeigh and the Maguire twins, Lisa and Leona in Argentina in 2010.

Leona Maguire remains the leading Irish player in the individual standings as she shares sixth place with Ecuador's Daniela Darquea on three under par, six shots behind leader Choi.

Mehaffey is tied 22nd on four over with young Wilson tied a respectable 94th in the 163-strong standings after her positive contribution in round three.

The Koreans posted a third-round team score of 138, with 2016 U.S. Women’s Open low amateur Hye Jin Choi shooting a 4-under-par 68, that included five birdies in her first nine holes, and Min Ji Park, the 2016 Australian Women’s Amateur champion, firing a 2-under 70.

“Some of my players are not really satisfied with their games but I am 100 percent satisfied with their games,” said Korean captain Sang-Won Ko. 

“Of course, everyone makes mistakes but I’m OK with that and, as I said yesterday, I just want them to enjoy the game and enjoy playing with the other players.”

The Koreans are seeking their fourth victory in the 27th staging of the championship. They won in 1996, 2010 and 2012 and, in capturing the Espirito Santo Trophy in 2010, set the mark for lowest score in the event’s history with a total of 546, which eclipsed the field by 17 strokes.

“At the moment I am happy to be leading the team and the individual leaderboards but this championship is more important for the team event so I am trying not to think about being individual leader and am focused on winning the team event,” said Choi, a 17-year-old high school student. 

“Although there is a big gap I will try to think this is the first round tomorrow and focus more on my game and then maybe a better result will come.”

Choi was joined by Leslie Cloots of Belgium in carding the day’s best round of 68.

All three Koreans broke par and did not count the 1-under 71 posted by Hyun Kyung Park.

Switzerland kept its position in second with a third-round 145 that included a 3-under-par 69 from Kim Metraux and a 76 from her older sister Morgane.

Third-place Thailand, however, believes the chase is over and that the only open places are second and third.

“We’ve got to try to finish in the top three. We should just let Korea be the winner,” said Thailand captain Kanes Nitiwanakul. “We will try to be second. Our goals are a little higher now. Korea is so good, they have such talented players.”

Thailand, which has not been in the medal race since finishing second in 2002, posted a third-round score of 143 on a 70 from Kanyalak Preedasuttijit and a 73 from Parajee Anannarukarn.

In the day’s top 10 of the leaderboard: Denmark and Ireland are tied for fourth at 432, followed by Spain in sixth at 435, based on two sub-par scores from Maria Parra (70) and Luna Sobron (71);  the USA is seventh at 436 with host nation Mexico and Canada tied for eighth at 438 and Japan is tenth at 439.

2016 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship

Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club (M) Par 72, 6,295-yard/5,752m
Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club (I) Par 72, 6,167-yard/5,637m

Team scores / Individual scores

1.Republic of Korea (KOR) - 138 I-137 M-138 I--413 (-19)

  Hye jin Choi 70-69-68--207

  Min ji Park 74-68-70--212

  Hyun kyung Park 68-75-71--214

2.Switzerland (SUI) - 137 M-145 I-145 I--427 (-5)

  Kim Metraux 69-72-69--210

  Morgane Metraux 68-73-76--217

  Azelia Meichtry 73-80-82--235

3.Thailand (THA) - 145 I-143 M-143 I--431 (-1)

  Kanyalak Preedasuttijit 71-75-70--216

  Pajaree Anannarukarn 74-69-73--216

  Manuschaya Zeemakorn 74-74-75--223

T4.Denmark (DEN) - 151 M-137 I-144 I--432 (Even)

  Puk Lyng Thomsen 73-67-70--210

  Marie Lund-Hansen 78-73-74--225

  Malene Kroelboell Hansen 80-70-75--225

T4.Ireland (IRL) - 146 M-141 I-145 I--432 (Even)

  Leona Maguire 72-70-71--213

  Olivia Mehaffey 74-71-75--220

  Annabel Wilson 80-79-74--233

6.Spain (ESP) - 151 M-143 I-141 I--435 (+3)

  Maria Parra 75-70-70--215

  Luna Sobron 78-73-71--222

  Harang Lee 76-73-75--224

7.United States of America (USA) - 146 M-145 I-145 I--436 (+4)

  Andrea Lee 74-73-70--217

  Katelyn Dambaugh 72-72-78--222

  Mariel Galdiano 74-73-75--222

T8.Canada (CAN) - 149 M-144 I-145 I--438 (+6)

  Naomi Ko 75-66-71--212

  Madeline Szeryk 74-78-74--226

  Josee Doyon 78-80-81--239

T8.Mexico (MEX) - 144 M-148 I-146 I--438 (+6)

  Isabella Fierro 71-73-75--219

  Maria Fassi 73-76-71--220

  Ana Paula Valdes 80-75-78--233

10.Japan (JPN) - 142 M-153 I-144 I--439 (+7)

  Nasa Hataoka 71-76-72--219

  Hina Arakaki 71-78-72--221

  Yumi Matsubara 74-77-77--228

11.New Zealand (NZL) - 147 I-147 M-146 I--440 (+8)

  Wenyung Keh 72-73-72--217

  Julianne Alvarez 77-75-74--226

  Chantelle Cassidy 75-74-79--228

12.People's Republic of China (CHN) - 143 M-147 I-151 I--441 (+9)

  Yifan Ji 72-74-73--219

  Wenbo Liu 71-75-78--224

  Shan Pan 79-73-81--233

13.Paraguay (PAR) - 148 I-146 M-148 I--442 (+10)

  Sofia Garcia 74-72-73--219

  Maria Fernanda Escauriza 74-74-77--225

  Milagros Chaves 79-74-75--228

14.Australia (AUS) - 147 M-147 I-149 I--443 (+11)

  Hannah Green 74-73-73--220

  Robyn Choi 73-75-76--224

  Karis Davidson 75-74-82--231

T15.Belgium (BEL) - 153 I-149 M-142 I--444 (+12)

  Leslie Cloots 76-70-68--214

  Clarisse Louis 77-79-DQ--DQ

  Diane Baillieux 78-84-74--236

T15.Chinese Taipei (TPE) - 146 M-152 I-146 I--444 (+12)

  Ya-Chun Chang 75-75-73--223

  Jo-Hua Hung 71-80-73--224

  Ching-Tzu Chen 78-77-76--231

T15.Czech Republic (CZE) - 148 I-150 M-146 I--444 (+12)

  Karolina Vlckova 74-73-75--222

  Kristyna Frydlova 82-77-71--230

  Katerina Vlasinova 74-81-83--238

T15.England (ENG) - 147 M-150 I-147 I--444 (+12)

  Meghan MacLaren 73-73-74--220

  Alice Hewson 74-78-73--225

  Gemma Clews 78-77-76--231

T15.Sweden (SWE) - 148 M-147 I-149 I--444 (+12)

  Linnea Strom 74-73-74--221

  Emma Henrikson 74-74-75--223

  Frida Gustafsson Spang 80-79-75--234

20.South Africa (RSA) - 148 M-155 I-142 M--445 (+13)

  Ivanna Samu 74-77-71--222

  Cara Gorlei 74-78-76--228

  Kaleigh Telfer 79-82-71--232

21.Italy (ITA) - 147 M-151 I-148 I--446 (+14)

  Bianca Fabrizio 71-75-77--223

  Carlotta Ricolfi 76-76-74--226

  Laura Lonardi 77-79-74--230

22.Colombia (COL) - 151 M-151 I-145 M--447 (+15)

  Silvia Garces 72-72-70--214

  Cynthia Diaz 79-79-76--234

  Laura Sojo 81-82-75--238

T23.Austria (AUT) - 146 M-145 I-157 I--448 (+16)

  Emma Spitz 75-72-76--223

  Leonie Bettel 73-73-81--227

  Ines Fendt 73-76-81--230

T23.Norway (NOR) - 147 I-152 M-149 I--448 (+16)

  Renate Hjelle Grimstad 70-75-73--218

  Stina Resen 77-77-78--232

  Marthe Wold 84-78-76--238

25.Ecuador (ECU) - 147 M-153 I-149 I--449 (+17)

  Daniela Darquea 71-72-70--213

  Anika Veintemilla 76-81-81--238

  Coralia Arias 82-90-79--251

T26.India (IND) - 154 M-146 I-150 I--450 (+18)

  Gaurika Bishnoi 75-75-74--224

  Tvesa Malik 82-71-76--229

  Diksha Dagar 79-78-76--233

T26.Netherlands (NED) - 149 M-155 I-146 M--450 (+18)

  Dewi Weber 73-77-75--225

  Zhen Bontan 77-78-76--231

  Roos Haarman 76-85-71--232

T28.Puerto Rico (PUR) - 147 M-155 I-149 I--451 (+19)

  Maria F. Torres 70-78-76--224

  Valeria Sofia Pacheco 77-77-73--227

  Yudika Ann Rodriguez 82-79-77--238

T28.Scotland (SCO) - 156 I-149 M-146 M--451 (+19)

  Jessica Meek 76-75-74--225

  Rachael Taylor 80-74-78--232

  Connie Jaffrey 81-81-72--234

30.Argentina (ARG) - 159 M-148 I-145 M--452 (+20)

  Ela Anacona 78-73-74--225

  Agustina Zeballos 81-83-71--235

  Magdalena Simmermacher 83-75-78--236

T31.Finland (FIN) - 150 I-153 M-150 M--453 (+21)

  Emily Pentilla 76-74-75--225

  Daniella Barrett 77-79-75--231

  Matilda Castren 74-80-77--231

T31.France (FRA) - 152 M-152 I-149 M--453 (+21)

  Agathe Laisne 76-76-71--223

  Mathilda Cappeliez 76-76-78--230

  Pauline Roussin-Bouchard 85-82-78--245

T31.Germany (GER) - 150 I-153 M-150 M--453 (+21)

  Esther Henseleit 76-76-75--227

  Sophie Hausmann 74-78-75--227

  Antonia Eberhard 77-77-75--229

T34.Brazil (BRA) - 149 I-153 M-154 I--456 (+24)

  Luiza Altmann 73-76-77--226

  Lauren Grinberg 78-77-77--232

  Clara Teixeira 76-83-79--238

T34.Hong Kong, China (HKG) - 148 M-154 I-154 I--456 (+24)

  Mimi Ho 78-74-76--228

  Tiffany Chan 71-80-78--229

  Michelle Cheung 77-80-80--237

36.Peru (PER) - 152 M-154 I-152 M--458 (+26)

  Lucia Gutierrez 76-77-75--228

  Maria Salinas Valle 76-79-77--232

  Micaela Farah 79-77-79--235

37.Wales (WAL) - 157 I-155 M-147 M--459 (+27)

  Chloe Williams 78-79-70--227

  Katherine O'Connor 83-76-77--236

  Megan Lockett 79-86-79--244

38.Venezuela (VEN) - 157 I-153 M-150 M--460 (+28)

  Stephanie Gellini 78-77-74--229

  Valentina Gilly 79-76-76--231

  Nicole Ferre 80-82-77--239

39.Russian Federation (RUS) - 159 I-148 M-154 M--461 (+29)

  Sofia Anokhina 78-73-79--230

  Sofya Morozova 81-75-80--236

  Vera Markevich 84-80-75--239

40.Slovakia (SVK) - 157 M-151 I-154 M--462 (+30)

  Natalia Heckova 80-74-74--228

  Lea Klimentova 79-77-80--236

  Laila Hrindova 78-81-82--241

41.Guatemala (GUA) - 159 I-150 M-154 M--463 (+31)

  Lucia Polo 80-73-75--228

  Valeria Mendizabal 79-79-79--237

  Pilar Echeverra 85-77-83--245

42.Iceland (ISL) - 156 I-165 M-145 M--466 (+34)

  Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir 79-76-69--224

  Berglind Bjornsdottir 77-89-78--244

  Signy Arnorsdottir 79-90-76--245

43.Slovenia (SLO) - 157 M-162 I-148 M--467 (+35)

  Katja Pogacar 78-78-69--225

  Ana Belac 79-85-80--244

  Nastja Banovec 85-84-79--248

44.Chile (CHI) - 159 I-154 M-156 M--469 (+37)

  Maria Jose Hurtado 75-79-80--234

  Isidora Nilsson 84-75-76--235

  Natalia Villavicencio 88-83-87--258

45.Uruguay (URU) - 162 I-161 M-147 M--470 (+38)

  Priscilla Schmid 82-81-72--235

  Sofia Garcia Austt 80-80-75--235

  Manuela Barros 82-88-78--248

46.Turkey (TUR) - 156 I-154 M-162 M--472 (+40)

  Selin Timur 76-75-82--233

  Sena Ersoy 82-82-80--244

  Tugce Erden 80-79-86--245

47.Morocco (MAR) - 159 I-161 M-155 M--475 (+43)

  Ines Laklalech 79-76-78--233

  Lina Belmati 80-85-77--242

  Houria El Abbadi 81-89-83--253

48.Poland (POL) - 158 I-156 M-164 M--478 (+46)

  Dorota Zalewska 78-80-77--235

  Nastasia Kossacky 80-76-87--243

  Dominika Gradecka 85-86-88--259

49.Bolivia (BOL) - 165 I-167 M-156 M--488 (+56)

  Michelle Ledermann 82-86-75--243

  Daniela Siles 83-81-81--245

50.Latvia (LAT) - 165 I-175 M-160 M--500 (+68)

  Anna Diana Svanka 78-83-74--235

  Laila Forstmane 87-92-86--265

51.Bulgaria (BUL) - 174 I-172 M-158 M--504 (+72)

  Sofia Seldemirova 85-80-79--244

  Ivana Simeonova 89-96-79--264

  Stefani Skokanska 95-92-85--272

52.Guam (GUM) - 172 I-174 M-171 M--517 (+85)

  Rachael Peterson 83-85-87--255

  Kristin Oberiano 89-89-84--262

  Rose Tarpley 92-90-92--274

53.Ukraine (UKR) - 173 I-178 M-183 M--534 (+102)

  Elvira Rastvortseva 85-85-89--259

  Anna Avdieieva 88-93-94--275

  Daria Horokhovska 99-103-99--301

54.Costa Rica (CRC) - 183 I-178 M-176 M--537 (+105)

  Daniela Baudrit 91-92-86--269

  Ximena Montealegre 92-89-91--272

  Pamela Calderon 95-89-90--274

55.Tunisia (TUN) - 185 I-181 M-175 M--541 (+109)

  Kenza Ladhari 84-84-86--254

  Hadia Mansouri 101-97-89--287

  Nour Ben Cherif 115-109-105–32