Charley Hull of England and American Lilia Vu shared the lead at nine under par following a windy third round of the Women’s Open at the Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey, England on Saturday.
Hull finished strong with three birdies on her last four holes for 68, raising hopes of a first home winner since Georgia Hall’s victory in 2018, while Vu carded seven birdies and two bogeys for 67.
“It [winning] would be absolutely unbelievable,” Hull told Sky Sports. “What Georgia (Hall) done in 2017, or 2018, I can’t remember what it was, that was unbelievable.
“To do that again would be unreal. But one step at a time and just go out there and have fun.”
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Angel Yin and Kim Hyo-joo were one shot back, while American Ally Ewing was two shots off the pace on seven under par going into Sunday’s final round.
Ewing had been the overnight leader on 10-under par, but finished on three over after a poor front nine, leaving the door open for her opponents to reel her in.
Current world number one Nelly Korda was among the players to move up the leaderboard, with her 69 leaving her tied ninth.
“I started off pretty well and then on the back nine, I just kind of started making more mistakes with the short stick,” Korda said.
“I’ll head to the putting green and try to figure it out again. But overall, I would say I moved up on moving day, and conditions were tough and I’ll take that.”
Stephanie Meadow was the best of the Irish, in the top 20 at one under. Leona Maguire was three shots further back at two over and will be aiming for a high placing tomorrow.
