[PHOTO: Richard Heathcote\/R&A]<\/p>\n
Miyu Yamashita spent her 24th birthday grinding and scrambling her way around Royal Porthcawl in Wales, and she will hope for a delayed celebration if she can close out the AIG Women\u2019s Open on Sunday.<\/p>\n
RELATED: Steph Kyriacou and Minjee Lee make their move<\/a><\/p>\n Shooting to join fellow Japanese star Mao Saigo as an LPGA major winner this season, Yamashita shot a two-over 74 in the third round to maintain a lead \u2013 albeit a slim one at one shot \u2013 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 \u2018sandy par\u2019 at the 17th, and she can thank her recovery shots for getting her out of trouble.<\/p>\n \u201cI think one of the main things is not missing in the wrong spots,\u201d Yamashita said through a translator. \u201cBecause I\u2019m able to do that, it means I don\u2019t put myself in awkward positions and helps me not make those bogeys which can cost you so much at these championships.\u201d<\/p>\n Yamashita, an LPGA rookie, is yet to win on tour, but that could change in a big way on Sunday. She has plenty of experience in that department as she\u2019s won 13 times on the LPGA of Japan Tour and was that circuit\u2019s 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\u2019s proving she belongs.<\/p>\n Ranked 15th in the world, Yamashita had a three-shot lead after two rounds<\/a> 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 move into outright 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.<\/p>\n 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 needed 34 putts, but produced plenty of impressive recovery shots.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll just be looking at what went wrong and what went right,\u201d Yamashita said. \u201cI\u2019ll analyse the day and make the improvements that hopefully will lead to a better round [on Sunday].\u201d<\/p>\n There are nine players five shots or closer to Yamashita, which means her not having her best stuff in the third round opened the door for nearly a dozen golfers. Also, morning rain and predicted wind gusts of up to 40mph could wildly change the leaderboard.<\/p>\n Kim, 29, who turned pro as a teenager and won the 2020 US Women\u2019s Open, said, \u201cHonestly, I\u2019m not focused on the leader. I focus on my process and my shot and then my position. That\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s Open since 2014. She\u2019s tied for fourth.<\/p>\n 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\u2019d tweaked her back<\/a> and she wasn\u2019t sure how she\u2019d be off the tee. Her back doesn\u2019t seem to be an issue, and she\u2019s 100 percent recovered from the virus that caused her to collapse twice and withdraw from the Evian Championship<\/a> last month.<\/p>\n On her social media accounts, Hull had this fiery post after her round:<\/p>\n T3 and ready to rip it at @AIGWomensOpen<\/a> ! \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f\ud83d\udca5 This wind\u2019s mental, but I\u2019m crazier. Who\u2019s betting I nab that trophy? \ud83d\ude1c Drop a \ud83c\udfc6 if you\u2019re with me! pic.twitter.com\/hpeoUmlg1a<\/a><\/p>\n