Yang maintains 3-shot lead midway through third round of Women's Open
Amy Yang, who led by three strokes after two rounds of the U.S. Women's Open, enjoyed that same margin midway through the third round of the championship at Lancaster Country Club.
As the midafternoon sun bore down upon the narrow fairways at Lancaster Country Club, Amy Yang continued to set the pace Saturday at the 2015 U.S. Women's Open, maintaining a 3-stroke lead over Stacy Lewis at the turn.
Yang, who has four Top-10 finishes in the U.S. Women's Open in the last five years, recorded three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine to get to 8-under par. Lewis, the top-ranked American player in the world rankings, also had three birdies and two bogeys to move to minus-5.
Defending champion Michelle Wie, striking the ball well despite a sore left hip, made a run at the leaders with the help of six birdies on her first 13 holes. She was hurt somewhat by three bogeys during that stretch but climbed into a tie for third with Inbee Park at 3-under.
Park, the world's No. 1 player, carded a birdie and 10 pars in her opening 11 holes to also stand at 3-under.
The early part of the round was highlighted by a record from LPGA Tour player Chella Choi, who set a U.S. Women's Open record with a 6-under 29 on the front nine. With a final score of 64, she came within one stroke of tying the championship record for low 18-hole score. That 63 was posted at the 1994 event by Helen Alfredsson at Indianwood in Lake Orion, Mich.
Yang, 25, of South Korea, opened with a birdie on the first hole followed by a bogey on No. 2 after her par putt lipped out on the par-4. She went on to birdie Nos. 4, 6 and 8 to wrap up the first half of round three at 8-under.
Lewis, 30, kept up the pace with birdies at the second, fourth and sixth holes. She looked visibly irked when she missed makeable putts at No. 7 (for birdie) and No. 8 (for par).
Wie shot rounds of 72 and 68 the first two days and picked up her game on Saturday. The first nine holes were up-and-down with three bogeys and three birdies. Two of those bogeys, however, came from missed 3-foot par putts.
Throughout the third round, Wie's short game was excellent, placing nearly all of her chips and pitches close to the hole. On the back nine Wie recorded three birdies on the first five holes, bringing her score down to three under par through No. 14.
While walking the course on the back half, Wie's left hip appeared to be giving her some trouble. Around the 11th hole, Wie adopted a pronounced limp and began favoring her right side when lining up for drives. The severity of the injury is unclear.
--Laine Higgins