Australian golf star Minjee Lee birdied the final hole of her third round at the first women’s major of the year, keeping herself within striking distance of the leaders heading into the final day.
Lee posted an even-par 72 at The Club at Carlton Woods in Texas, moving to four-under for the tournament. She sits tied for 15th on a crowded leaderboard, trailing South Korea’s Haeran Ryu and Japan’s Mao Saigo by five shots.
The two-time major champion had a rough front nine, carding a double bogey on the sixth hole. A birdie on the par-3 eighth was quickly undone with a bogey on the ninth.
However, Lee recovered with birdies on the par-5 13th and 18th holes to keep her chances alive. She will tee off in the sixth-to-last group in the final round at 1:41am AEST on Monday.
South Korea’s Ryu finished strong on Saturday, chipping in for birdie on the ninth hole and then grinding through difficult windy conditions to secure a share of the third-round lead with Saigo.
On a sunny and blustery day, Ryu shot a 4-under 68, while Saigo posted a 69, leaving both players at nine-under heading into the final round.
“The back nine was so tough because the wind picked up and the pin positions were very challenging,” Ryu said.
“My putter was close — almost dropping — but just kept missing slightly, leading to easy pars. It was definitely a hard day.”
After opening with a 65 on Thursday and sharing the lead with Yan Liu, Ryu slipped back with a second-round 74 but rebounded on Saturday. Despite an early bogey on the third hole, she birdied the fourth and then rattled off four consecutive birdies from holes six to nine.
The 24-year-old Ryu, who has two LPGA Tour titles, will seek her first major win on Sunday.
Meanwhile, 23-year-old Saigo, last year’s LPGA Rookie of the Year, is chasing her first LPGA Tour victory.
“I just need to stay focused on my game, taking it shot by shot,” Saigo said. “And not just focus on golf, but manage my mindset as well.”
