LANCASTER, Pa. — With the most important identify on the LPGA Tour spending the remainder of her weekend away from Lancaster Nation Membership, an exhilarating end is nonetheless brewing coming into the ultimate spherical of the U.S. Girls’s Open.
No Nelly Korda? No downside.
It simply means extra Wichanee Meechai, Minjee Lee and, after her 3-stroke surge Saturday, extra Andrea Lee, too. After buying and selling birdies and bogeys alongside the again 9, the trio sits tied atop the leaderboard at minus-5 total with 18 holes to go within the main championship.
“Michelle Wie West texted me [Friday] evening and she or he advised me simply regardless of the end result is, simply put your 100% effort into it,” Andrea Lee mentioned, referring to the 2014 U.S. Girls’s Open champion. “I actually took that to coronary heart.
“I simply tried to have enjoyable on the market and simply play the golf course and never attempt to play in opposition to the sphere. Simply me and the golf course.”
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Though Andrea Lee’s third-round 67 did not appear to show it, the course has been its personal opponent of kinds this week.
Two days earlier than play started, Korda — the world No. 1 who has gained six of the 9 occasions she has entered this season — referred to as it “a beast.”
For her, it was a menace. Korda joined a number of different golfers ranked within the prime 20 who missed the lower. Most of them attributed their struggles to the hilly fairways, unforgiving water hazards and sloping greens which are hallmarks of Lancaster Nation Membership.
Early in her third spherical, although, Minjee Lee tamed probably the most difficult holes, the par 5 at No. 7. After a succession of booming pictures off the tee and fairway, she buried an eagle putt that drew loud, approving roars from the group that echoed all through the course.
“The tee was up,” Minjee Lee mentioned of the 470-yard gap. “Hit driver, hit 6-iron, pulled it just a little bit, hit the tough, bought an incredible kick to the best and simply rolled all the best way to the pin about 1 foot.”
After starting the afternoon at 2-under, Minjee Lee’s eagle closed a spot with Meechai, who entered the day with a 2-stroke lead on the sphere.
“Clearly I needed to have rating on Spherical 3, transferring day,” Minjee Lee mentioned. “I attempted to only hold it fairly calm, and I simply tried to be affected person on the market.
“I really feel like my recreation has been trending, week to week. It has been getting higher and higher in all facets of my recreation. I really feel prefer it has been coming collectively for the second I’m in proper now.”
The 2022 U.S. Girls’s Open champion, Minjee Lee is pushing for her second win on the event and her third total main victory.
Together with the early eagle, she added a birdie on No. 16, sinking a curving, 17-foot putt to drop her to minus-5 total. Andrea Lee additionally birdied the outlet, organising the three-way tie that carries into Sunday.
Had it not been for a narrowly missed birdie try on No. 16 and one other on No. 18 that utterly rolled across the prime of the cup earlier than lipping out, Minjee Lee might need snuck into first place to shut out the spherical.
To her credit score, Meechai parred six of her holes on the again 9 to maintain on the entrance of the pack.
“I by no means suppose that I’ll be on the leaderboard or one thing like that, but it surely’s nice,” Meechai mentioned. “It feels actually good.”
Meechai is competing in her fourth U.S. Girls’s Open. Earlier than this yr, she had by no means completed any increased than thirtieth on the event. Though she has been an expert since 2010, Meechai, from Thailand, has by no means gained in america. Her 5 whole victories have are available professional occasions in Thailand, China and Taiwan.
“My deal with the sport [was] fairly good,” Meechai mentioned of her third spherical. “I hit plenty of dangerous pictures, however I haven’t got any dangerous ideas about my swing or concerning the end result in any respect. I am simply staying in my zone and making an attempt to maintain going after which be affected person.”
