Last round will be test of Champions at Women’s Open
Hinako Shibuno passed a big test Saturday in a classic U.S. Women’s Open that put a premium on par, keeping the lead with a three-over 74 going into a final round at Houston’s Champions Golf Club that figures to be the toughest of all.
Shibuno led by four shots when she made her lone birdie on the par-five fifth hole, and then it was a matter of hanging on for dear life on a rain-softened course that made it tough to control shots with splatters of mud on the golf ball.
She bogeyed the final hole from a bunker and her lead was down to one shot over Amy Olson, who nearly holed out from the 17th fairway and shot a 71 that felt much lower.
Moriya Jutanugarn, playing in the same group as her twotime major champion sister, Ariya, was right in the mix until she bladed a bunker shot to the back of the 17th green and threeputted for a double bogey. She managed a 72 and was three behind, among only four players who remained under par.
The other was Ji Yeong Kim2 of South Korea, who was on the opposite end of the Cypress Creek course. Kim2 made the cut with one shot to spare and shot a 67 — one of only two rounds under par — that moved her into a tie for third. Kim2 finished by chipping in for birdie on the par-five ninth hole.
Shibuno was at four-under 209 as she bids to become only the third player to make majors their first two LPGA Tour titles. The others were In Gee Chun (2015 U.S. Women’s Open and 2016 Evian Championship) and Se Ri Pak, who won the LPGA Championship and U.S. Women’s Open in 1998.
Eight players were separated by four shots going into the final round, a group that includes Lydia Ko (72) and Texas senior Kaitlyn Papp, who played in the final group with Shibuno and held her own until dropping two shots over the last three holes for a 74. They were at even-par 213, along with 19-year-old Yealimi Noh (72) and Megan Khang (74).
Elsewhere
Matt Kuchar and Harris English took a five-stroke lead in the QBE Shootout at Naples, Fla., opening and closing with long birdie runs for an 11-under 61 in modified alternate-shot play. Kevin Na and Sean O’Hair, the first-round leaders at 56, were second after a 68. ... Patrick Reed rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt at the last hole to move into a three-way tie for the third-round lead at the World Tour Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, keeping him on track to become the first American to finish a season as the European Tour’s No. 1 player. Reed, who shot a one-under 71, was tied with Englishmen Laurie Canter (68) and Matt Fitzpatrick (69) at 11 under overall in the seasonending event at Jumeirah Golf Estates.