Pimkwan Chookaew’s (above) success on the Wakonda Club’s four par-5 holes have her on top of the leaderboard heading into Wednesday’s final round of the 101st Iowa Women’s Amateur.

The senior-to-be at Iowa State is six under par on those par-5s, with four birdies and an eagle. Her rounds of 69-70 give her a three-shot cushion over Cyclone teammate Keeley Marx and Iowa’s Shannyn Vogler heading into the final round.

Marx, who has two seasons of college golf remaining, shot a 3-under-par 69 after an opening 73. Vogler, who has one more season with the Hawkeyes, shot Tuesday’s lowest score, a 68.

Keeping with the college theme, Northern Iowa’s Anna Jensen (73-71) starts the final round in fourth place, five strokes back. Drake’s Erika Holmberg shot a second-day 71 and is six off the pace.

Chookaew’s consistency has also helped her climb to the top of the leaderboard. She didn’t make her first bogey of the championship until her 27th hole, and has just two in the first 36 holes of competition.

“I think she’s really matured as a player,” said Iowa State Coach Christie Martens, who was at Wakonda watching Chookaew and her teammates on Tuesday.

That maturity shows in Pimkwan’s approach to par-5s.

“A lot of it is being able to know when to attack,” Martens said. “When it makes sense. She really hits it straight and is adequately long. She’s not a real bomber or anything. I think it really comes down to her golf IQ, and her process of just understanding the game.”

Chookaew birdied three of Wakonda’s four par-5s on Monday, including the 13th. That’s the hole she eagled Tuesday, playing smart and taking advantage of the opportunity in front of her.

“I had to lay up on that hole off the tee,” said Pimkwan, who hit a 5-wood to get her in good position.

She then hit another 5-wood to within four feet of the hole.

“That was really nice.” she said.

Marx, a runner-up in the Iowa Women’s Amateur in 2024, said her teammate is a very good iron player.

“She has great composure on the golf course,” Marx said. “”She’s an amazing player, an amazing person. That shows in her golf game as well. She’s really dedicated and is a hard worker. That’s why she’s out there playing great golf.”

Martens has noticed that hard work, too, and it’s already paid off this summer. Chookaew made it to the quarterfinals of the Women’s Western Amateur in Royal Oak, Mich., before falling to Michigan State graduate Brooke Biermann, 1 up. A victory on Wednesday would be another big step.

“She played great at the Western,” Martens said. “To finish off her summer here would be an awesome jumping off point (into the fall season) for her.”

Chookaew considers the competitive environment of a state amateur invaluable to her growth as a player.

“I’m happy to be the leader,” she said. “I just have to go out and play my normal round, and play fun golf. I just have to stay patient.”

Marx is also rounding into shape for the fall season at Iowa State.

“My game is pretty consistent at the moment,” she said. “I’m very happy with it. Not too many wayward shots or anything like that. It’s a fairway-green kind of situation at the moment.”

Marx knows she has some catching up to do, but she wants to stick to her gameplan. “Just try and enjoy it,” she said. “The more I enjoy it, the better I play.”

Vogler will be trying to become the third straight Hawkeye golfer to win the prestigious Iowa title, following the footsteps of Kaitlyn Hanna and Paula Miranda. Vogler was a runner-up in the IGA Women’s Match Play Championship, losing on the 22nd hole to Holmberg’s birdie.

“That was a bummer,” she said.

Vogler said her driving has held her back at times.

“That’s the only thing that’s been keeping me from getting more birdies, because I’ve been putting myself out of position off the tee,” Shannyn said. “I’ve worked on my iron play a lot over the summer, and that’s definitely shown because I’m hitting it closer.”

Six birdies on Tuesday, four of them on the back nine, have Vogler in a contending position heading into the final round. Only her Iowa teammate, Maura Peters, had more second-round birdies. Peters made seven of them in her second-round 70.

Jensen is the reigning IGA Woman Player of the Year. In addition to her marathon victory in the IGA Match-Play championship, Holmberg and Jensen also won the 2025 IGA Women’s Four Ball.

Holmberg had a rocky start to this tournament, making a triple-bogey 6 on No. 2 and a bogey two holes later. But she’s rallied since then.

“One thing I try to tell myself is that you’re never quite out of the fight,” Holmberg said. “I like to be a come-from-behind type of player. I proved to myself that I could come back from that.”

Tish Boothe of Des Moines leads the Open Division after rounds of 75-77. Julie Buerman (75-79) is two shots back and Geri Huser sits in third (76-79).

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