American teenager Lexi Thompson has a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Dubai Ladies Masters after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th for a 2-under 70 Friday. The 16-year-old Thompson, the youngest LPGA Tour winner, is 10 under for the tournament, one shot ahead of Sophie Gustafson of Sweden. Thompson led by two shots going into the third round but she bogeyed the 15th and Gustafson holed three birdies on the back nine to peg her back. The American reclaimed the lead when she reached the green in two on the 18th and sank the birdie putt. Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa (67) and Pernilla Lindberg of Sweden (68) are two shots back of Thompson in the season-ending Ladies European Tour tournament. American Michelle Wie (71) is a five shots off the pace at 5 under. Gustafson, who suffers from a speech impediment, said she expected a tough battle against someone who is less than half her age. Wie said: “It was very frustrating, but at least I closed with a birdie. That made me feel good about myself. A lot can happen tomorrow and I just need to make some birdies early on.” A victory in Dubai would make her the second youngest winner on the European Tour after Amy Yang of South Korea, who won the ANZ Masters in 2006 at 16 years, 191 days. That is just over five months younger than Thompson. “This is such a great tournament and it would be an honor to win this,” Thompson said. “So I'm jut going to try and take it easy and play one shot at a time.”
