The 27-year-old managed to birdie the last hole of her third round to card a one-under-par 71 in New Jersey, to move to nine-under in total.

Feng's round proved to be extremely consistent as she made 17 consecutive pars before the birdie at the 18th nudged her in front by a single shot.

She has led the event since the first round and is aiming to land a second major title after also winning the 2012 Ladies Professional Golf Association Championship,

"I was trying so hard to make putts," Feng said to BBC Sport.

"My putting was really working for the first two days.

"Today my speed was not as good.

"My plan A wasn't working so it was plan B which is hit the ball closer to the hole.

"At 18, I hit it really close and finally made a birdie."

South Korean amateur Choi Hye-Jin and her compatriot Amy Yang are level in second place on eight-under having both carded rounds of 70 today.

Choi will become the first amateur to win a women's major for 50 years if she can surpass Feng tomorrow.

The 17-year-old bogeyed the first hole but carded birdies at the eighth, 11th and 16th holes to recover.

Another South Korean, Sung Hyun Park, is fourth on six-under for the tournament.

She is followed by a trio of other South Korean players, Mirim Lee, world number one Ryu So-yeon and Jeongeun6 Lee, who are all on five-under.

The "6" in Lee's name is said to be used to distinguish her from five other Korean players.

Organisers ignored calls to move the event from Trump National, which was awarded the tournament in 2012, amid disrespectful comments made by President Donald Trump towards women.

In October, the month before he was elected, a video from 2005 emerged of Trump bragging about how "you can do anything" to women "when you are a star".