Yang stays strong at U.S. Open

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This article was published 12/07/2015 (3969 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LANCASTER, Pa. — Amy Yang shot a 1-under-par 69 Saturday and maintained a three-shot lead over Stacy Lewis through three rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open.

The last twosome off, Yang answered every time Lewis tried to trim her three-shot deficit. The pair went toe-to-toe, giving the pairing a match-play feel.

The 25-year-old South Korean pushed her lead to four strokes at the 13th before Lewis capitalized on a two-stroke swing at the 14th, closing within two. But Lewis’s struggles with putting carried over to the 17th, where she made a three-putt bogey en route to a 69, sending Yang’s advantage back to three heading to the final round.

Yang’s three-day total of 8-under 202 is the second-lowest in championship history behind Julie Inkster’s 201 in 1999. Lewis was at 5-under 205.

On “moving day,” all the action was outside the top two spots.

In Gee Chun, playing in her first U.S. Open, shot a second 2-under 68. The 20-year-old from South Korea is alone in third place at 4-under 206. Japan’s Shiho Oyama is fourth at 3 under after a 71.

Defending champ Michelle Wie played with nagging hip and ankle pain, firing a 68. She is in a four-way tie for fifth at 2-under 208, along with two-time winner Inbee Park (70).

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., moved into a tie for 18th after shooting 68 Saturday. She entered the final round at 211.

History was made in the third round when South Korea’s Chella Choi shot the first nine-hole score of 29 for the championship. But the 24-year-old missed a three-foot putt on her final hole that would have tied the championship’s single-round scoring record. She settled for a 6-under 64, shooting up the leaderboard into the pack at 2 under.

On Sunday, Yang will be in a familiar position: playing in the last pairing on the final day. She has been in the last grouping two of the last three years, and in 2010. At Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014, she played with Wie, was overtaken by eventual runner-up Lewis and settled for fourth. In 2012, she finished second to Na Yeon Choi, and placed fifth in 2010.

Yang said she’ll draw on those tournaments Sunday.

“It was good experience, the last two — the final-group experience,” she said. “Me and my coach, we prepared. We practised hard. I’ll go out there and I’ll just do my best, like what I practice.”

Lewis, a two-time major winner, needs to solve the slippery, sloping greens of Lancaster Country Club if she’s to overtake Yang.

“It’s just the severity of these greens,” said Lewis, who is tied for 26th with 96 putts over three rounds. “And the moment you do try to hit one of those down the hill, that’s when you knock it five feet by. I don’t think the speed of the greens is that inconsistent, I just think it’s the slope within the greens.”

Chun is enjoying her run through her first U.S. Open. She was paired with two-time champion Karrie Webb on Saturday, saying she was four when the seven-time major winner turned pro. She offset three bogeys with five birdies in her round to stay in contention, albeit four strokes off the lead.

“Everything I experience here, it is new, completely new,” she said. “So this is an adventure to me. So tomorrow it’s going to be the same thing. Everything is going to be very fun. I just want to be enjoying every bit of the time.”

The hilly course in the heart of Amish country is taking its toll on the hobbled Wie. At one point Saturday, the 25-year-old, four-time winner was kneading her hip and thigh, trying to loosen her muscles.

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“I just feel like there’s a knot in it sometimes and just trying to get it to go,” she said.

“Unfortunately it does get a little bit worse. It’s just a pretty hilly golf course. On flat lies, it’s OK. It’s just on the uphill shots,” she said.

Wie, 57th after the opening round, got into red numbers with a birdie at the second, but struggled to stay below par on the front nine. She gave a stroke back at the fourth before following consecutive birdies at the sixth and seventh with back-to-back bogeys.

— The Associated Press