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Haeran Ryu shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead over Canadian Brooke Henderson after three rounds of the Women’s PGA Championship.
Henderson shot a 3-under 69 in the third round at Hazeltine National Golf Club outside Minneapolis. The Smiths Falls, Ont., native won the tournament in 2016 as an 18-year-old for her first major title.
Ina Yoon, who entered the day with a five-shot lead, struggled early but settled down to finish with a 3-over 75 and is two shots off the pace.
Dewi Weber, the 210th ranked player in the World Golf Rankings seeking her first career LPGA win, birdied three of the final four holes and is three shots back after a 4-under 68. A Lim Kim joins her there.
Nelly Korda, chasing a historic third straight major championship win, shot a 1-under 71 on a sun-drenched, but windy day in Chaska, Minn. She and Alison Lee are four shots off the lead, which history indicates is important.
In the last 35 Women’s PGA Championships, the eventual winner was leading or within four shots of the lead after three rounds.
In tough, windy conditions, Brooke Henderson posts a 3-under 69 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and will head into Sunday one stroke back of the lead.
She’s in the exact position she wants to be. pic.twitter.com/ggTEr9nG7c
The top-ranked player in the world, Korda has struggled on the greens over the first three rounds, going 7 for11 on putts between 3 and 5 feet, ranking 65th among the 68 remaining players. She was 19 of 20 from that distance over four rounds when she won the U.S. Open earlier this month.
“The greens are pretty slick. They don’t have too much grass on them. The short putts are pretty difficult,” said Korda, who three-putted two greens in her round. “Putting in general, when it gets this windy, you have to calculate in the wind, too, and a gust here and there. Sometimes you just aren’t as confident with your lines.”
Ryu’s score tied for the lowest round of the day, one day after her 64 was Friday’s low score.
She played the first seven holes in 4 under, including a 28-foot eagle putt on No. 7, and a birdie putt on No. 9 that rimmed around three-quarters of the hole before falling. Ryu was 1-over on the back nine.
“It was more windy and a lot of tough shots and tough putts, but I just made one bogey today, so it was good for me for tomorrow, and tomorrow I just want to have more confidence and more calm,” she said of potentially winning her first major.
Yoon, who shot a tournament record-tying 63 on Thursday and a 69 on Friday to reach 12 under, put her opening tee shot in a bunker, leading to a bogey. It was the first of four on the front side to go with one birdie. Bogeys on Nos. 10 and 12 were sandwiched around a birdie on No. 11 before the 23-year-old South Korean played the final six holes in 1 under.
“I had a really long day, especially the front nine. I was just nervous a lot. I missed short putts,” she said.
Nerves are not an issue for Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., who looks to win her second Women’s PGA Championship 10 years after winning at Sahalee Country Club in Washington at age 18.
“It was nice to hit a lot of greens, a lot of fairways and give myself a lot of good birdie looks. Would have been nice maybe to capitalize on a few more, but definitely happy with where I’m at, and excited for tomorrow.”
