Minjee Lee

The Australian continued her stellar golf on the third day of the US Women's Open, shooting 67 to take a three-shot lead into the final round. Although the 26- ...

Lee made five birdies during her third round including four in a row from the ninth to the 12th, with her iron play showing up as remarkable and her putting on song. First prize alone is $US1.8 million. The Australian continued her stellar golf on the third day of the US Women’s Open, shooting 67 to take a three-shot lead into the final round.

The seven-time LPGA Tour winner Minjee Lee claimed her spot atop the leaderboard at Pine Needles alongside the first-round leader, Mina Harigae.

England’s Bronte Law was at four under and five shots behind the leaders after repeating her opening 69, while Ireland’s Leona Maguire record a second-straight 70 to finish at two under. Another Swede, Ingrid Lindblad, who on Thursday fired the lowest score by an amateur in the event’s history with 65, shot a 71 to be three strokes back at six under. Harigae failed to replicate her superb opening 64 and had to settle for a 69 after mixing five birdies with three bogeys in North Carolina to be at nine under.

Lee fired a four-under-par 67 on Saturday to surge to 13 under at Pine Needles Golf and Country Club in North Carolina on Saturday, a course with a history of ...

I made one bogey but four birdies around the turn, it was really nice to get those going and I'm looking forward to tomorrow." The Evian I was kind of in a go mode, trying to make as many birdies as I could, trying to catch up," Lee said. "It's totally different. "But it is the US Open and a three-shot lead is a nice cushion but it's not enough to let your heart come down. But she is in a very different position this time around in her quest to join Webb (2000 and 2001) and Jan Stephenson (1983) as the third Australian to win the US Women's Open. Minjee Lee is threatening to run away with the spoils after storming to a three-shot lead after the third round of the US Women's Open in North Carolina.

The Australian, ranked 4th in the Rolex Rankings, posts Saturday round of 4-under 67 to forge ahead of Mina Harigae heading into final round.

However, at 207 she is well within reach of the lowest 72-hole score by an amateur in the 77-year history of this event. Lindblad followed that up with a 122-yard approach shot to within 8-feet for another birdie to tie for the lead at 9-under. Lindblad has been on a torrid pace so far in the first half of 2022. “I have learned that I’m able to embrace the moment and I can control my emotions a lot better when there is high tension and things don’t go my way.” I want to build off of what happened today because I had a lot of good shots and hit a lot of good putts. Not Lee, who needed just 27 putts to take a confident lead into the final round Sunday. She is seventh this week in putting and her four straight birdies all came from within 12 feet. Lee said she executed a fitness regime this offseason that helped her get additional distance off the tee. “That turned a lot for a putt that was that downhill but I played solid on both nines and took advantage of a lot of my good shots on the back nine,” Law said. I’ve been in pressure situations like this before and I will draw from those other events.” Lee is also threatening the record for most strokes under par, which is 16-under by Juli Inkster at Old Waverly Golf Club in 1999. “I really didn’t think about how Mina was playing,” Lee said of the four-shot swing in the same group. “Hopefully I can play well.”

The Australian fires a 4-under 67 to get to 13-under heading into final round at Pine Needles with American Mina Harigae in second place.

Two holes earlier, Lee hit her approach at the 399-yard par 4 to within seven feet and drained the putt to get back to 9 under. “But still said keep the doubles off the scorecard and make bogeys instead of doubles. “I’m just going to stick to what I know,” Lee said of her strategy heading into the final round. Then got a little — hit a little squirrelly shots, but then I made a good birdie on 16. “You know, I was a little nervous in the beginning, but I was able to hit some good shots,” Harigae said. Lee’s closest pursuer is Mina Harigae (1-under 70), who played in the final pairing with Lee and began the third round in a tie for first at 9 under. England’s Bronte Law was alone in third place, six shots behind Lee thanks to a third-round 68, and amateur sensation Ingrid Lindblad was part of a crowded field at 6 under. “Yeah, I’m pretty calm,” said Lee, who was easy to spot on the course wearing a bright red long-sleeve top and reflective sunglasses. Lee’s tee shot wound up on the right fringe some 45 feet from the cup. Her second shot stopped inside of eight feet, but Lee missed the par putt to fall to 8 under before Harigae’s bid hung on the left edge and dropped to get her to 10 under. Just take away my experience from the other events and the other Opens and try to get it done tomorrow.” That’s a strength of mine.”

Australian golf star Minjee Lee takes a three-shot lead during the third round of the US Women's Open, the fourth women's golf major of the year.

[At] the Evian I was kind of in a go mode, trying to make as many birdies as I could, trying to catch up," Lee said. "It's totally different. Minjee Lee is threatening to run away with the spoils after storming to a three-shot lead in the third round of the US Women's Open in North Carolina.

On a spectacular day at North Carolina's Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, it was Australian Minjee Lee who rose to the challenge.

“I was a little nervous in the beginning, but I was able to hit some good shots. “Hit (some) little squirrelly shots, but then I made a good birdie on 16. Playing alongside Lee in the final group, it was actually Harigae who had the stronger opening stretch. After a quiet opening eight holes, Lee turned on the jets as she turned her attention to the back nine. “When I was on the run of birdies, I wasn't too nervous. With a 4-under 67 on Saturday’s Moving Day, the 26-year-old Australian set the U.S. Women’s Open 54-hole scoring record at 13-under 200, breaking the previous mark of 201 set by Juli Inkster in 1999.

The World No. 4 set a 54-hole scoring record, leads by three shots and is looking to win a major for the second consecutive year.

But a disastrous final three holes—three consecutive bogeys—dropped her to four under and seemingly out of contention. She's aware of what it would mean for her legacy, and even more aware of the money at stake; a second-place finish comes with more than $1 million in prize money. Just when she seemed to be in a freefall, though, her approach on 18 stopped four inches from the cup, and she tapped in to make birdie to shoot 71 and return to six under. That was due to her reaction to pressure, she concedes, and it took a good deal of work on her emotions to get her to a place where she could better process the nerves in big moments. On the par-5 15th, she reached the greenside bunker in two shots, and a strong shot from the sand left her a five-footer for birdie, but she missed. At the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship, Lee trailed Jeongeun Lee6 by seven shots, and embarked on a historic comeback with a Sunday 64, eventually defeating the 54-hole leader in a playoff to capture her first major. Her main challenger—perhaps her only challenger, unless Lee has a very poor day—will be Harigae, whose opening-round 64 put her in the tournament lead, and who has hung tough to improve her score each day. Still, the reality of leading a U.S. Women’s Open did begin to register, and nerves crept in at the end of her round. Still, despite the slight waver at the end, Lee signed for four-under 67 and held her ground at 13 under, a 54-hole scoring record at this championship. The decisive stretch for the 26-year-old Aussie came in holes 9 through 12, when her entire game, from driver to short irons to putter, caught fire and she left herself putts of 12 feet, 12 feet, eight feet, and 12 feet again for birdie. Four holes and an hour later, she had the U.S. Women's Open in a chokehold, and if her Sunday 64 to win the Amundi Evian Championship last year is any indication of what we can expect in the final round at Pine Needles, the Harton S. Semple Trophy may be bound for western Australia in 24 short hours. On a relatively pleasant, slightly windy day at Pine Needles, she had made one bogey and one birdie, and stood a shot behind leader Mina Harigae, who had fought her way to 10 under.