"It's not a course that you just sit down and hope for everyone not catching you - you have to go far away from them, too," Thitikul said after the third round.
After dropping a shot on the par-4 seventh for her first bogey of the week, Thitikul had three straight birdies to start the back nine at Hoakalei Country Club at Ewa Beach in Hawaii on Saturday (local time).
The 23-year-old parred the next four holes, then birdied the par-4 17th and par-5 18th. She had a five-under 67 to get to 17 under 199 with a round left.
"I think the wind was kind of less than what I expected to be," Thitikul said.Â
"That's why it's kind of easier for us. I think my irons (have been) pretty good the past few days. Hopefully tomorrow it's going to be like this, too."
Grace Kim was the leading Australian, sitting in joint ninth place at 11 under.
After opening with consecutive three-under 69s, the 25-year-old followed with a bogey-free five-under 67 in the third round to be six shots behind Thitikul.
Robyn Choi (68, 69, 73) and Cassie Porter (73, 68, 69) were among a group of 11 players sharing 42nd place at six under.
After solid rounds of 71 and 70, Gabriela Ruffels carded a disappointing two-over 74 in the third round to sit alone in 72nd place.
Germany's Polly Mack, who was tied for the second-round lead with Thitikul, had a 70 in the third round to join South Korea's Ina Yoon in second place at 14 under.
"I'm just looking forward to a great Sunday, good momentum," Mack said. "I know I have it in me to just put on a good show out there."
Yoon, who shot a third-round 69, admitted conditions were tricky.
"Was a little windy. It was a little challenging for me," she said. "But I stayed calm and tried to focus on each shot."
Maja Stark (67) and Carolina Melgrati (70) were 13 under, and Lilia Vu (66) was another stroke back, along with Miyu Yamashita (69) and Michelle Zhang (70).
The tournament leads to a month of tournaments in Asia, starting with the Buick LPGA Shanghai from October 15-18.
