There’s also 22-year-old Sung Hyun Park, who is playing in her first U.S. Open and is tied with Ji for second place. Halfway through the tournament, Park has put herself in prime position to contend.
Advertisement
World number one Lydia Ko carded a two-under-par round of 70 to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the US Women’s Open at CordeValle. “That’s why I am comfortable, don’t even think about the winning”.
“I would like more experience with the USGA, LPGA”. I just say all I can do is try my best.
Despite her apparent carefree approach to the game Ko revealed that it is not necessarily like that.
Park’s seven birdies included four in six holes on the back nine.
Noren – the second-round leader by a shot – defied the conditions by hitting a 219-yard tee shot to 3 feet at No. 17 and then getting up and down at the par-5 18th for another birdie. Lang finished tied for second as an amateur in her first U.S. Open back in 2005 but has only gotten in the top five once since then back in 2010.
And two strokes back there was Yang, who had at least a share of the 54-hole lead in each of the last two US Women’s Opens but finished runner-up to Chun In-gee of South Korea previous year and settled for fourth in 2014 behind victor Michelle Wie.
But things then quickly fell apart.
“The key around major championships is that sometimes a par is a good score and you have to walk off and forget about the bads and focus about the shot you have in front of you”. She calmly sank the putt to give her sole possession of the lead.
Kerr, playing in the same group with Lee, almost matched her stroke for stroke with players standing 3-under through their first 11 holes.
“I got some putts rolling”, Ko said.
Ko got off to a shaky start with a bogey on the first hole before stringing together four straight birdies starting at No. 3. She would become the youngest golfer to win a third major, eclipsing Tom Morris Jr., who was slightly more than two months older than Ko when he won the 1870 Open Championship.
Ko, 19, became the youngest woman to win a major a year ago at the Evian Championship and followed by winning the ANA Inspiration this spring. Lydia Ko (ANA Inspiration) and Brooke Henderson (KPMG Women’s PGA) are both teenagers.
“I played really solid for the first seven holes, couldn’t get some putts rolling, but just to be one-under through seven, I was in a good position”, said Ko.
“I feel like I dropped three shots there and Sarah my caddie said, ‘you need to calm down”.
“It just shows how much this championship means to me and means to the women’s game, and how important it is for any player and what a big honor it is to be holding the trophy at the end of Sunday”.
Thompson, who played with Ko and Henderson, signed for a 73. The Women’s Open is to be played next year at Trump National in New Jersey.
Kiwi Danny Lee is three off the lead at the Scottish Open after a rain-drenched third round. After a fruitless five-minute search for her lost ball, Ko was forced to play her fourth shot well back down the fairway.
Honolulu’s Michelle Wie missed the cut by one stroke, shooting a 74 to finish at 5 over.
Advertisement
Winds were lighter after a blustery first round over the links in northern Scotland.
