Leader falters and Women's British Open title completely up for grabs entering final round

Miyu Yamashita spent her 24th birthday grinding and scrambling her way around Royal Porthcawl in Wales, and she will hope for a delayed celebration on Sunday if she can close out the AIG Women’s British Open at Royal Porthcawl in Wales.

Shooting to join fellow Japanese star Mao Saigo as an LPGA major winner this season, Yamashita shot a two-over 74 Saturday to maintain a lead—albeit a slim one at one shot—in the final major of the year. She had four bogeys, three of which were on the back nine, but received a timely gift by making a 40-foot putt for a sandy par on the 17th, and she can thank her recovery shots for getting her out of trouble.

“I think one of the main things is not missing in the wrong spots,” Yamashita said through a translator. “Because I'm able to do that, it means I don't put myself in awkward positions and helps me not make those bogeys which can cost you so much at these championships.”

Yamashita, an LPGA rookie, has yet to win on the tour, but that could change in a big way Sunday. She has plenty of experience in that department as she’s won 13 times on the LPGA of Japan Tour and was that circuit’s player of the year in 2022 and 2023. She was the first player to shoot 60 on that tour, too. Yamashita earned her LPGA card by winning the Qualifying Series, and she’s proving she belongs.

Ranked 15th in the world, Yamashita had a three-shot lead after two rounds and it dwindled after 54 holes, but she did enough to maintain it. Past major champion A Lim Kim, who shot a bogey-free, five-under 67 to shoot up the leaderboard and get into solo second, is also one of the 20 winners on tour this year as she hoisted the trophy at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in February.

For as wildly as Yamashita sprayed her ball off the tee, she put on a clinic in a gutsy performance to maintain the lead. She hit just seven of 14 fairways and had 34 putts, but produced plenty of impressive recovery shots.

“I'll just be looking at what went wrong and what went right,” Yamashita said. “I’ll analyze the day and make the improvements that hopefully will lead to a better round [Sunday].”

There are nine players five shots or closer to Yamashita, which means her not having her best stuff Saturday opened the door for nearly a dozen golfers. Also, morning rain and predicted wind gusts of up to 30-40 mph could wreak wildly change the leaderboard.

Kim, 29, who turned pro as a teenager and won the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open, said, “Honestly, I'm not focused on the leader. I focus on my process and my shot and then my position. That's all.”

English star star Charley Hull, seeking her first win at a major, had a terrific round with a six-under 66, her lowest 18-hole score at the Women's Open since 2014, and is tied for fourth.

Hull putted just 23 times in making seven birdies and just one bogey. The two-time LPGA winner said earlier in the week that she’d tweaked her back and she wasn’t sure how she’d be off the tee. Her back doesn’t seem to be an issue, and she’s 100 percent recovered from the virus that caused her to collapse twice and withdraw from the Evian Championship last month.

On her social media accounts, Hull had this fiery post after her round:

She’s never been one to lack confidence, we know that.

Andrea Lee is in the best position of an American to win the major, which would be her first. She made seven birdies Saturday and shot a five-under 67. She’s in third, two shots back.

Four golfers are tied for fourth at six-under for the tournament, three back, including Japan's Minami Katsu, who had the lowest round of the day (65). It’s her best 18-hole score at any major on tour. Hull, American Megan Khang and Japan’s Rio Takeda are also three shots back. Takeda, who played with Yamashita the first three rounds and was in second after two rounds, also shot a two-over 74.

English phenom Lottie Woad—playing in her first major as a pro—has been steady other than suffering a triple bogey on Friday. On Saturday, she birdied the final hole, one of just two birdies, for a one-under 71 and made 15 pars. She’s tied for 11th, six shots back.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda shot a two-over 74 and is tied for 36th. She could also lose her top ranking after Sunday, depending on how she and second-ranked Jeeno Thitikul finish. Thitikul shot an even 72 and is tied for 25th.

Swiss player Chiara Tamburlini is also five shots back after an even 72. She said it was a difficult day and the “hate”—her word—she has for links golf was documented earlier this week. After her round, she didn’t even realize she was still in contention.

“Oh really?” Tamburlini asked. “That’s really good.”