Lorena Ochoa moved closer to her first LPGA Tour victory in her homeland, shooting a 5-under 68 on Saturday to maintain a three-stroke lead with one round left in the Corona Morelia Championship.

The 24-year-old star from Guadalajara, seeking her fourth victory of the season, had a 16-under 203 total. She stayed consistent, hitting straight drives and safe approaches that kept her out of trouble on the hilly Tres Marias course.

``I don't like to think about being ahead or winning, or wanting to win,'' she said. ``Obviously my dream is to win and it could be a dream come true.''

Paraguay's Julieta Granada (66) was second at 13 under. First-round leader Brandie Burton (67) was 9 under, and Christina Kim (65) and Young Jo (69) were another stroke back. Wendy Ward (71) and 18-year-old Morgan Pressel (71) were 7 under.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton had a third-round 75 that left her 1 under, while Nancy Harvey of Swift Current, Sask., (75) and Lorie Kane of Charlottetown (73) were both in the clubhouse at even-par.

The third round didn't feature the same fireworks for Ochoa as Friday, when she shot a course-record 64 to move atop the leaderboard. Still, she got aggressive at times, knocking a 7-iron from 177 yards away, then making the subsequent 10-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 10th. She also converted five birdies to offset a pair of bogeys.

``I've played a lot of tournaments in Mexico. ... I'm just looking at this as one more round,'' Ochoa said. ``I think that mentally and strategically I'm in a better place and that makes me very relaxed.''

Ochoa's success Friday swelled the crowds following her from hole-to-hole to more than 600 a day later. Every long putt she made was greeted by whoops and whistles, chants of ``Let's Go Lorena!'' and even a couple of marriage proposals. Many fans wore red caps embroidered with Ochoa's 'L' logo.

The former University of Arizona player was a non-factor at last year's inaugural Corona Morelia Championship and at the LPGA Tour's MasterCard Classic played outside Mexico City in March 2005 and 2006. She faltered under pressure, seemingly pressing too hard to impress droves fans, who hung on her every swing.

But a solid day Sunday should dispel forever questions about Ochoa's struggles south of the border, where her success has made golf front-page news _ even in a soccer-obsessed nation. Charming and colonial Morelia is 282 kilometres from Guadalajara and dozens of Ochoa's friends and family members were among those who followed her round.

``What happens on the 18th green tomorrow will be something extremely emotional,'' Ochoa said, refusing to divulge how she might celebrate a victory.

Ochoa said Granada would ``stay aggressive with nothing to lose,'' but that she feels like she knows the Paraguayan well enough to anticipate how her round might go.

``She's my friend, but I'm going out wanting to beat her,'' she said. ``Tomorrow is serious. It's golf, it's competition. Each one of us is going to do our jobs.''

Ochoa leads the LPGA Tour in earnings with US$1,974,122 and if she wins or comes close in Morelia _ the purse is $1 million, with $150,000 going to the winner _ she will top $2 million for the season, becoming just the second player to do so after world No. 1 Annika Sorenstam.

Sorenstam, who did not travel to Morelia, has led the money list every year since 2001, but is third behind Ochoa and Karrie Webb this season.

Many in the crowd also supported the Spanish-speaking Granada, cheering when she birdied or holed long putts to save par. The 19-year-old, who is seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, has a smaller, lighter bag than most players and uses her mother, Rosa, as her caddie.

Granada, who considers Ochoa an older sister on the LPGA Tour, also had an eagle on No. 10 and had three straight birdies on Nos. 15 to 17. She made a bogey on 345-yard, par-4 11th for the third straight day, however.

``Lorena's a great player, but you have to go out and play golf and try to win,'' she said. ``I think the fans are going to be split pretty evenly between us.''

Granada said she will feel pressure being so close to her first victory, but that Ochoa will likely be nervous while trying to close out a win in her country.

``Both us are going to be a little bit nervous,'' she said.

Kim had the day's best round at 8 under, hitting a 5-wood from 215 yards to 4 feet from the hole for an eagle on par-5 eighth, then reaching the green with her 4-iron from 208 yards out and sinking a 16-foot putt for another eagle on No. 10. She also had five birdies, but missed a 4-foot putt for par on No. 4.

Despite being within striking distance of the lead, she said was already planning to celebrate a win here with her friend Ochoa, saying, ``I may spray her with some champagne.''

``They say they've got some good discos in town so, if she's willing to go, I'd like to go,'' Kim said. ``It would mean a lot to me if Lorena won here in Mexico.''