Ryu three shots clear in Women’s PGA

So Yeon Ryu carded a third-round 67 that tied for the lowest score on Saturday, and the South Korean grabbed three-shot lead heading to the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Thanks to her 5-under-par round, Ryu sits at 11-under 205 overall at Kemper Lakes Golf Club in Kildeer, Ill.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson, who shared the second-round lead with South Koreans Ryu and Sung Hyun Park, shot 2 under on Saturday to wind up in sole possession of second place at 8 under.

Park is in third place at 7 under after a 1-under round.

Angel Yin (4 under in the third round) holds fourth place at 6 under, one stroke ahead of England’s Bronte Law, who was 3 under for the day.

Sweden’s Dani Holmqvist (1 under), Spain’s Carlota Ciganda (1 over) and two South Koreans, In-Kyung Kim (3 under) and Hyo Joo Kim (2 under) are tied for sixth at 4 under.

China’s Shanshan Feng joined Ryu at 5 under for the round on Saturday, leaving her in a 13-way tie for 10th at 3 under.

Ryu, who turned 28 Friday, earned her sixth career LPGA victory two weeks ago at the Meijer LPGA Classic. Last week, she tied for 22nd at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Ryu owns two career major titles, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2017 ANA Inspiration.

She was 1 under par through four holes Saturday, but her bogey at No. 3 was her lone misstep of the day. Back-to-back birdies at Nos. 5 and 6 kick-started her round, and her back nine featured four birdies and five pars.

A 15-foot birdie putt on the last hole boosted the lead from two shots to three shots, which she said was crucial.

“It’s only one shot, but it just feels bigger,” Ryu told LPGA.com. “It feels quite different. …

“I don’t want it to slip away my opportunity. I want to finish strong, but as I said, just better not to expect anything. All I can do is just focus on what I have and just have fun with it.”

Ryu needed just 27 putts to complete her round, compared with 32 for Henderson and 31 for Park. Ryu and Henderson each hit 14 greens in regulation while Park hit 13.

Henderson, 20, won the Women’s PGA two years ago for her lone major crown. Like Ryu, she has six career titles, including one this year, the Lotte Championship in April.

Henderson had four birdies and no bogeys through the first 11 holes Saturday. She slipped back with bogeys at Nos. 14 and 16.

“Today, I kind of struggled a little bit with my putter, which is disappointing,” Henderson said, according to LPGA.com. “I think just kind of get better in my head and just go out tomorrow and made a lot of good shots and see if I can make some birdies, and hopefully they roll in.”

Park’s steady round included just two birdies and a lone bogey.

With an eye on the weather forecast, the PGA of America moved up the Sunday tee times. Players will start on the first and 10th tees, and the leaders are due to begin the final round at approximately 10:30 a.m. ET.

–Field Level Media