- Miyu Yamashita, as predicted was the story of the day, coming in with a three-stroke lead and seven strokes clear of third, whether she played well or bad, the entire tournament rested on her result. She did have her worst round of the week by far, shooting +2 to end up at -9. It was shocking how she did it though. Yamashita hits 81% of her fairways for the year, but missed the last seven for the day. It was her career low for fairways hit in a round despite hitting the first six.
- Just one stroke back of Yamashita, and certainly lurking, is major champion A Lim Kim. LPGA fans know that few players are more dangerous when playing with confidence than Kim, who showed that off in her two recent wins. She had some club twirls and fist pumps that really showed she is back in the groove. She is the only player in close contention with a major championship and is a longer hitter than almost everyone on the leaderboard.
- Rio Takeda, like her fellow Japanese rookie Yamashita, seemed out of sorts for much of the day. Her +2 round kept her in striking distance, three strokes back of the lead, but she will have to be much better Sunday to have a chance.
- Look out for two fan favorites looking for their first majors, Charley Hull and Megan Khang. Both went out relatively early Saturday and had phenomenal rounds. Hull shot -6 and it could’ve easily been a lot better, she looks composed and in form this week. Khang looked as relaxed as usual in a -4 round that got her within three of the lead as well. With bad weather in the forecast Sunday, a lot of players are in contention.
- Andrea Lee had the round of the day for much of the third round, but faltered a bit yet. She made seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch, but had a bogey on 16 and a par on the relatively easy 18. Lee has had some history struggling to close out in majors, but like Grace Kim at Evian, maybe she can do some damage from a chasing position. She is two back.
- Nelly Korda was pretty dreadful with the putter, effectively ending her championship. As Hull, Khang and Minami Katsu proved, a low score could bring players in her position back into the tournament. 33 putts brought her back down to even par for the week though, too far back to make a challenge. Maybe more concerning? Another week without hitting many fairways.
The final round of the AIG Women’s Open kicks off on USA at 7 est.
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