Maja Stark takes one-shot lead entering final round of U.S. Women's Open
Sweden's Maja Stark continued her impressive play at the U.S. Women's Open on Saturday, shooting a 2-under 70 to take a one-shot lead entering the final round at Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconsin.
Stark, who sits at 7-under 209 through three rounds, posted three birdies and one bogey as she moved up one spot after Friday's 69. The 25-year-old is seeking just her second victory on the LPGA Tour, having won the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational.
"Probably going to go work out in the morning to try to get some nerves out, but I think just keep having fun with it because when I play scared, that's when I mess up, and you can't really play scared at a course like this," Stark said about her mindset heading into the final round.
Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain is one shot back after shooting the best round of the day, a 4-under 68. Ramirez, who opened her round with an eagle before adding three birdies and a bogey, rebounded after a 74 on Friday.
"Honestly, it's very exciting," Ramirez said of being in position to win for the first time on the LPGA Tour. "I'm very excited for tomorrow. I'm just going to keep playing my game, have a lot of fun out there and play my game."
A trio from Japan — Rio Takeda (70 on Saturday), Hinako Shibuno (72) and Mao Saigo (75) — are tied for third at 5-under 211. World No. 1 Nelly Korda is three shots off the lead following a 1-over 73 and is at 4-under 212.
Saigo, who fired the best round of the championship so far (6-under 66) on Friday and held the lead by three shots, stumbled on Saturday with four bogeys on her first six holes. She finished with three birdies, but bogeyed her final two holes as she seeks her second major victory of the season after winning the Chevron Championship.
"The first thing is that I would like to rest well and then tomorrow refreshed," Saigo said. "I would like to start from zero. ... That result was not that good, but I don't think that I have to change anything. I just want to focus on my play."
Takeda opened her third round on a strong note with an eagle and added two birdies while bogeying the par-4 No. 5 hole and the par-3 No. 16 hole. She has two LPGA Tour wins to her credit, but this would be her first major victory.
Shibuno, who was tied for second after the second round, is chasing her first major and second LPGA Tour win after notching a pair of birdies and bogeys on Saturday. She was the runner-up at the 2024 U.S. Open, but she doesn't think that will give her much of an advantage.
"Maybe my advantage just as little as one millimeter, so that would be very nervous from the — probably I'll be very nervous from the beginning to the end," Shibuno said. "So I might not be able to take advantage being runner-up last year."
Korda was in a tie for second after her impressive second-round 67 but posted four bogeys on the front nine before collecting three birdies on the back nine to stay within striking distance.
"I've done it enough where it's just — it's all about being patient," said Korda, who is pursuing her third career major and first win on the LPGA Tour this season. There's just so many ups and downs, and you just have to kind of stick with it. ... Anything can happen. It just takes one shot."
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