South Korean Haeran Ryu will be taking a one-shot lead into the fourth and final round of the CPKC Women’s Open after firing an 8-under 64 on Saturday at Earl Grey Golf Club in Calgary.
Ryu collected seven birdies and one eagle against just one bogey to sit at 13-under 203 after 54 holes of action. She swapped spots with second-round leader Lauren Coughlin, who carded a 6-under 66 to fall into second.
It couldn’t have been a much better start for Ryu, as the 23-year-old opened her round with four birdies before making par at No. 5. She then got right back on a roll with another birdie at the par-4 sixth.
After settling for her lone bogey of the day at the par-4 12th, Ryu went birdie-eagle, then closed her round with four pars.
“Every round I just think about, ‘OK, today I just hit under par scores. That is good thing,'” Ryu said. “I want to try to (get) more birdie, but I’m so tired and I’m a little confusing at the putter and the green. That was literally too close, but I try tomorrow again.”
Coughlin stayed in contention by taking the attention away from a pair of bogeys with eight birdies. She too got off to a strong start, birdieing four of her first six holes.
“I played extremely well today. Obviously Haeran played an unbelievable round as well, but I felt like I hung in there really well,” Coughlin said. “(Ryu) was making everything there to start, so I was just trying to stay in my own bubble and not get too into what she was doing as well, which was hard when she’s playing as good as she was.”
Japan’s Mao Saigo had low-round honors with a stunning 11-under 61, moving her into a tie for third with Rose Zhang (66 on Saturday). Saigo’s 61 set the 18-hole tournament record at the CPKC Women’s Open, a mark that had held up since 2009.
“I’m very proud of myself because that was best round probably since I started playing golf,” Saigo said.
Saigo and Zhang are each five strokes off the lead, while Jennifer Kupcho (68) is six shots back in sole possession of fifth.
Lilia Vu (69) and Hannah Green of Australia (71) are T6, and China’s Xiaowen Yin (66) and South Korean Jenny Shin (67) are tied for eighth.
–Field Level Media