(St Andrews) South Korea’s Jiyai Shin took advantage of seed Nelly Korda’s collapse on the back nine to take a one-shot lead after three rounds at the Women’s British Open on Saturday at St. Andrews.
Shin, 36, will be fired up for the final round after carding seven birdies in a 5-under 67.
She finished her day strong. At 17e hole, a par 4, his approach landed in front of the green, but the ball rolled to within two feet of the cup for an easy birdie.
“I couldn’t see where the ball had stopped because of my height,” Shin said. “I heard the applause, but I thought the plan was to hit the green. Then when I got close to the green, I was surprised how close the ball was to the hole.”
Shin is 7-under after 54 holes in the fifth and final major of the LPGA season. She will aim for a third Women’s British Open title on Sunday, following triumphs in 2008 and 2012.
Korda, who is seeking a third major title and first in the Women’s British Open, will start the day two shots off the lead. After two strong opening rounds, she shot a 75 on Saturday.
Starting the day with a three-shot lead, the American missed short putts on her first two holes, making bogeys and slipping into a tie for the lead. However, she quickly regained the lead with three consecutive birdies.
The tide really turned for Korda on the back nine. She missed more short putts on the 12e and 13e holes, still registering bogeys. She then committed a double bogey on the 16theafter sending his tee shot out of bounds.
She added another bogey on 17e before redeeming himself with a birdie on the 18the. Korda is now alone in third place. Lydia Ko (71) and Jenny Shin (70) share fourth place at -4.
“It’s nice to finish with a birdie,” Korda said, “but it wasn’t the best day.”
Defending champion Lilia Vu birdied the 18the hole for a round of 71 and she occupies sole second place at -6.
Check out the standings after three rounds