Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Jutanugarn steps up, grabs lead
Momentum flips at U.S. Women’s Open
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Ariya Jutanugarn used two quick birdies at the U.S. Women’s Open to put pressure on leader Sarah Jane Smith.
With the momentum secured, the 22-year-old from Thailand was far from finished.
Jutanugarn shot a 5-under-par 67 in the third round Saturday, turning a three-shot deficit into a four-shot lead and creating an excellent opportunity to win her second major championship. Smith shot a 74 to fall to second place.
Jutanugarn made six birdies and one bogey, rarely encountering serious trouble. When asked if her game had any current weaknesses, she immediately said yes but then struggled to find one.
“Wait,” she said, grinning. “I’m thinking.”
Jutanugarn started the third round behind Smith but quickly gained ground on the Australian, making two birdies on her first three holes. She took the lead after Smith stumbled with back-to-back bogeys and then surged ahead with three straight birdies on the back nine.
She was at 12-under 204 for the tournament.
Smith started the tournament with back-to-back 67s but didn’t make a birdie in the third round. “I think the nerves showed up in my putting,” she said.
South Korea’s Hyo-Joo Kim was in third after shooting 68 and was six shots back.
It was a long, sweaty day at Shoal Creek, especially for those who had to complete their second round Saturday morning before playing the third. Jutanugarn said she had a 4 a.m. wakeup call and played a total of 28 holes as the temperature hovered around 90 degrees with stifling humidity.
Jutanugarn is trying for her ninth LPGA Tour win and second major. She won the Women’s British Open in 2016 and is coming off a victory at the Kingsmill Championship in May.
Michelle Wie started the third round in a tie for fourth, seven shots off the lead, but shot a 76 to fall out of contention. She won the U.S. Women’s Open in 2014.
Two-time winner Inbee Park has an outside chance at getting back in contention. The Bishop Gorman product shot a 71 on Saturday and was in a tie for fifth place, eight shots back.
■ PGA: At Dublin, Ohio, Bryson DeChambeau ended an action-packed day at the Memorial by making one of only six birdies on the par-3 16th hole, saving par with a tough flop shot from behind the 17th green and finishing a 6-under 66 with a 9-iron into 5 feet.
That gave him a 14-under 202 and one-shot lead going into the final round, which features Tiger Woods in the mix at Muirfield Village for the first time in six years.
Woods was tied for the lead before three-putting two of the last three holes, missing a par putt of just longer than three feet on the 18th, and ending up with a 68 that put him in a four-way tie for sixth at five strokes back.
Patrick Cantlay made two eagles, including a hole-in-one, en route to a 66 that left him tied for second with Kyle Stanley (70) and Joaquin Niemann (70).
Niemann, a 19-year-old from Chile, took the lead with a 50-foot eagle putt and fell out of the lead when his bid for another eagle attempt landed in a tiny corner of a meandering creek.
■ European PGA: At Brescia, Italy, Lee Slattery of England shot a 9-under 62 for a 16-under 197 total and a one-stroke lead over home favorite Francesco Molinari (66) and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen (65) entering the final round of the Italian Open. Danny Willett (67), the 2016 Masters champion, and former No. 1 Martin Kaymer (68) were two shots back.