Moving Day lived up to its name at the AIG Women’s Open, but Leona Maguire headed in the wrong direction as the chasing pack closed in on Miyu Yamashita to set up an intriguing final day.
Yamashita carded a two-over-par 74, enough to stay at the summit on nine-under.
But on the day of her 24th birthday, the leader’s advantage went a similar way to her cake as it was routinely cut into.
The Japanese began the day with a three-shot cushion, and seven clear of third, but that was gradually wiped out as those lurking in the shadows made their moves.
A Lim Kim heads the chasing pack just a shot adrift after a bogey-free 67, with Andrea Lee a shot further back having recorded the same score.
Charley Hull was another to mount a charge, carding a 66 to the delight of the sizable crowds following her every move – a number which will only swell if she stays in the hunt.
Hull is part of a quartet on six-under, alongside Megan Khang, Minami Katsu and Rio Takeda, while a glut of talent lies slightly further afield but still within reach.
It all adds up to a Sunday to savour, but sadly, Leona Maguire won’t have a say in proceedings at the top of the board after the Cavan woman made just a single birdie and countered that with four bogeys to fall to tied 59th position at +4.
Maguire was out early, but the real action was yet to come. The afternoon started well for Yamashita, whose lead grew to four shots by the time she reached the second fairway.
Takeda paid for finding a bunker on the opening fairway with a bogey but bounced back with a birdie at five, which Yamashita three-putted to see her advantage halved.
The leader saved par with a brilliant chip out the bunker at eight, did likewise after benefiting from a fortunate lie on a spectator pathway after going right on the tee at nine, but dropped a shot at 10 as those behind her on the leaderboard began to close in.
As quickly as her lead had gone from one shot to three, however, it went back in the other direction as Yamashita birdied 11 and 12.
Those gains were wiped out with bogeys at 14 and 16, when she missed a nervy five-footer, though a monster putt to save par at 17 saved any further damage.
Yamashita gave herself a strong look for birdie at 18 but spurned the opportunity to open up a two-shot advantage, instead retaining the most slender of leads.
Takeda, like her playing partner, carded a 74 to give herself ground to make up. But she remains very much in the race at six-under and will know just how quickly situations can change when a trophy is on the line.
Following a steady first couple of rounds, A Lim Kim put her foot down on Saturday.
A birdie at the 1st set the tone for the 2020 US Women’s Open winner, who went on to card four more to rise to second and ensure she will set out alongside Yamashita in Sunday’s final group.
Andrea Lee is also firmly in contention after a blistering run around the turn.
Six birdies in seven holes between 6 and 12 took her to eight-under and she was unfortunate not to pick up another at 15, when her chip out a bunker circled the cup and somehow stayed out.
Lee bogeyed the notoriously tricky 16th but looks well set for a third top 10 finish at the AIG Women’s Open at the very least.
In a week so far dominated by Japanese players, Minami Katsu has been quiet but she was another to capitalise on calm early afternoon conditions.
She bogeyed two of her first three holes but did not drop another shot, seven birdies and an eagle seeing her card a seven-under-par 65, the joint-highest round of the week.
Like Katsu, Megan Khang is seeking a first major and she carded a 68 made up of six birdies to propel herself into the hunt.
Charley Hull came into Moving Day on level par and promising to go on the attack to make up an 11-shot deficit. She was true to her word.
Hull saved par after finding a bunker at the 1st and began making ground with a birdie on the following hole.
The 29-year-old is never one to do things the easy way and had a stroke of fortune at the 4th, when an errant tee shot landed on the 17th tee box, giving Minjee Lee a fright in the process.
She saved par there before catching fire, three birdies on the spin and then another at 9 seeing her reach the turn in 31.
Two more birdies followed at 13 before her only blemish, a bogey at 14, was followed by successive crucial par saves. At 15, she chipped brilliantly out a greenside bunker and tapped in and a tricky putt was drained at 16.
A potential birdie opportunity at the par-5 18th passed her by but Hull has given herself a real chance of upgrading her runners-up finish from Walton Heath in 2023.
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