Ryu Hae-ran, who dropped three shots on Moving Day to fall out of the lead. [Photo=THE R&A]
Ryu Hae-ran, who dropped three shots on Moving Day to fall out of the lead. [Photo=THE R&A]

Ryu Hae-ran, bidding to win three consecutive majors, surrendered the lead in the third round of the AIG Women's Open — the season's final major, with a purse of $10 million.

Playing at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club (par 71) in Lancashire, England, on Saturday, Ryu carded three birdies and six bogeys for a 3-over-par 74. Her 54-hole total of 4-under-par 209 left her in a tie for second alongside Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, Shiho Kuwaki of Japan, Lucy Li of the United States and Esther Henseleit of Germany.

Ryu had entered the third round as the leader and stretched her advantage to four shots through six holes with two birdies. But her momentum collapsed at the par-5 seventh, where a tee shot into the rough led to a bogey. From there, Royal Lytham's notoriously deep pot bunkers and a stiff wind exposed cracks in her iron play, and she ran up five more bogeys between the seventh and 14th holes. She missed seven greens in regulation — a rare lapse for a player whose iron game is her calling card — and her putt count soared to 31.

"It's a major, and I've already won majors, so I'm not under enormous stress," Ryu said after the round. "Today was just a tough day. There were a few moments where I was in danger of making double bogey, but I managed to limit them all to bogeys, so I'm still satisfied." At the 10th hole, her ball became lodged against the face of a pot bunker. She punched out and saved bogey rather than making double bogey or worse, steadily navigating each crisis.

"In a major, you never know who's going to come charging up the leaderboard — I felt that at the Amundi Evian Championship too," she said. "The wind looks like it will be similar tomorrow. My shot trajectory was a bit higher today than the previous two days, so in the final round I'll focus on keeping the ball flight low and staying out of the bunkers."

Korean American No Ye-rim, who will enter the final round as the leader by three shots. [Photo=THE R&A]
Korean American No Ye-rim, who will enter the final round as the leader by three shots. [Photo=THE R&A]

Korean American No Ye-rim, sponsored by a South Korean construction company, fired five birdies against three bogeys for a 2-under-par round, moving to 7-under-par 206 for the tournament and taking a three-shot lead into the final round. No had failed to post an under-par score since April, but she has gone under par in all three rounds this week, laying the groundwork for what would be her first major title. She was particularly sharp from the ninth hole onward, making four of her five birdies over the final 10 holes.

No claimed her first LPGA Tour victory at the Founders Cup last February, beating Ko Jin-young by four shots. She is currently engaged to Jackson Seo, a Korean American former college tennis player. No has said in an official interview that her fiancé's advice was instrumental in helping her shake off the mental pressure of golf and rediscover her form.

Of the players inside the top 10 after 54 holes, only Ryu and Japan's Ayaka Furue have previously won a major. Furue posted the day's best score — a 6-under-par 65 — to reach 2-under-par 211 for the tournament, joining Charley Hull of England and Minami Katsu of Japan in a tie for eighth.

Ryu knows exactly what it will take to complete three consecutive major victories. Brooke Henderson of Canada offered her assessment: "She's playing really great golf right now. It's amazing just to watch her get this close to winning three majors in a row."

Henderson played alongside Ryu in the final-round champion's pairing at both the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the Amundi Evian Championship, losing to Ryu in a playoff at the latter.

"Hae-ran's ball-striking is exceptional," Henderson said. "She was already a great ball-striker, and now her putting is clicking too. She's playing a complete game. You can't string together results like this without some truly remarkable golf."

England's Lottie Woad, playing on her home course, shot a 1-under-par 70 to sit alone in seventh at 3-under-par 210.

Joo Su-bin dropped two shots — three bogeys against two birdies — to finish at 1-under-par 212, tied for 12th alongside Lydia Ko of New Zealand. Lim Jin-hee is tied for 14th at even-par 213.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States stumbled to a 1-over-par 73, including a double bogey at the par-4 18th, leaving her at 1-over-par 214 in a tie for 16th — eight shots behind leader No, making a comeback victory unlikely.


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