After three birdies in a row on her opening nine holes, Leona Maguire was charging up the leaderboard and hoping to post a number that would give the leaders something to think about.
A bogey on 11 was traded with a birdie on 12, and she entered the home straight.
With the wind not quite as strong as it had been over days one and two and with the evening forecast suggesting that it would die further, she knew that she couldn’t afford to fall any further behind.
Sadly, back-to-back bogeys on 13 and 14 saw her fall back to level-par, and she parred her way home from there to shoot her first round in red figures at the Old Course and goes into the final round inside the top 20, tied for 19th.
World number one Nelly Korda looked poised to distance herself from the field when she took a three-stroke lead to the 12th tee after covering her opening 11 in a composed one-under, but a bogey on 12 was followed by another on 13 and after hitting her tee shot out of bounds on the 16th, a double bogey saw her relinquish the lead to Korean Jiyai Shin, who was on her way to a 67 that would eventually see her in the house at -7.
Korda followed with a bogey on the famous, ‘road hole’ 17th, but responded with a closing birdie to post -5.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s nice to finish with a birdie, but it wasn’t the best of days. But it’s okay,” Korda said.
“I think it’s going to be a tough day,” she added when asked about Sunday. “I think the winds are going to be high. There could be rain, as well. I’m going to keep a positive attitude. Take it one shot at a time. I played really well the first two days, so I’m going to take that momentum into tomorrow.”
Shin made seven birdies en route to her 65, including a final one on the 17th and the former world number one is seeking her third Women’s Open Championship victory after winning in 2008 and 2012.
Having opted to give up her LPGA Tour card in 2014, it would be a fairytale result were she to defy the odds and take Women’s Open title number three.
She takes a one-stroke lead into the final round over American Lilia Vu, who shot a one-under 71 to keep her hopes of a successful defence alive.
With Korda a shot further adrift in third, and Lydia Ko, and Jenny Shin at -4, it’s shaping up for a thrilling final round at the Home of Golf.
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