Katie Burnett’s approach shot to the 18th green on Friday didn’t behave quite the way she hoped.

Her 6-iron strayed to the right, settling in the rough about 26 yards away from the hole. Even so, she had reason for confidence as she lined up her third shot on Ko Olina Golf Club’s finishing hole.

“I had a really similar chip in the pro-am on Tuesday and I chipped that ball in,” Burnett said. “I just had a really good visual in my head, then I just tried to get it close honestly.”

She did better than close.

Burnett knocked it in for birdie to take the solo lead 54 holes into the Lotte Championship.

Burnett’s chip-in punctuated her bogey-free round of 5-under-par 67 and gave her a one-shot lead at 13 under going into today’s final round at Ko Olina

In a field featuring 14 of the world’s top 20 players — including the top three — betting on Burnett to top the leaderboard with 18 holes left to play probably would have paid off quite nicely. She entered the week with one top-10 finish on the LPGA Tour and 195th in the Rolex world rankings.

Asked about the last time she’d held a lead this late in a tournament, Burnett thought hard before coming up with her response.

“Probably not since college,” she said. “so a while.”

A second-team All-American at South Carolina in 2012 and the Gamecocks’ career scoring leader, Burnett joined the tour in 2013 and posted her best finish to date at Ko Olina with a tie for ninth in the 2014 Lotte Championship. With a background playing in breezy conditions and on Bermuda greens on the Georgia coast, Burnett feels a bit at home in Hawaii.

“I’m doing everything pretty good, putting mainly,” said Burnett, who got through Friday’s round with 25 putts and ranks third in the field with 80 through 54 holes.

“I would usually say that’s probably one of the best parts of my game. Anything inside 10 feet I usually am pretty good percentage-wise from there. I had made a couple long ones too this week. I grew up on Bermuda and I love Bermuda greens. I see the putts better on Bermuda.”

Although she hasn’t stepped to the first tee with a lead going into the final round in quite some time, Burnett said the spotlight might help calm her nerves today.

“I’m actually more comfortable in the front than chasing somebody,” Burnett said. “I feel like when I’m in front I’m there for a reason. I played well enough to get there, so I’m just going to play like I have every other day. Whereas I feel like when I’m chasing somebody I’m trying way too hard.”

Burnett will take a run of 36 consecutive bogey-free holes into today’s round and will be pursued by a tightly bunched group with Su-Yeon Jang right behind at 12 under.

Jang was given a sponsor’s exemption into her second LPGA tour event and moved into the lead with a run of four straight birdies to close the front nine on her way to a 67. She has the most recent victory among the frontrunners, having won the Lotte Mart Championship in Korea last week.

“Winning in the last week I think I gained some of the confidence I may have lost in the past,” Jang said through a translator. “Going into (today) I’m confident and comfortable playing in the (final) group.”

Jang will be joined in the 12:05 p.m. tee time by reigning U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun, her teammate on Korea’s national team and high school classmate.

Chun was in danger of missing the cut midway through the second round on Thursday, but an eagle from the fairway on No. 11 triggered a run that not only got her off the cut line but into contention.

Sitting at 2 over through her first 28 holes of the tournament, Chun played the next 13 at 9 under. She birdied four of her first five on Friday and finished at 7 under 65 — tied for the low round of the day — and shares third place with first-round co-leader Moriya Jutanugarn at 10 under.

“With the eagle on the back nine (on Thursday) I started again being a lot more confident. I think that really helped me play a better round today,” Chun said through a translator.

Chun’s round was again highlighted by an eagle, this time at the par-5 13th with a 20-foot putt from the back fringe of the green.

Defending champion Sei Young Kim signed for a third straight 69 and enters the final round at 9 under. She was part of a five-way tie for the lead at one point in the round at 10 under before dropping back with bogeys on No. 16 and 17.

Minjee Lee of Australia held the lead going into Friday’s play, but slipped into a tie for sixth at 8 under with a 2 over 74.

The 19-year-old bogeyed her first hole then lost ground by standing still with 13 consecutive pars while the pack took advantage of lighter winds to poured in birdies and overtake her.

“Everybody was moving today,” Burnett said. “With (the wind) not being as strong it made it more scoreable obviously than the first day.”