Yealimi Noh turned the third round of the AIG Women’s Open on its head Saturday, moving three shots clear after Haeran Ryu’s once-comfortable lead unraveled on the back nine at Royal Lytham and St. Annes. Noh was seven shots back when Ryu bogeyed the par-5 seventh, but three straight birdies at nine, 10 and 11 pulled her into a share of the lead before another birdie at 16 pushed her ahead with 18 holes to play.
The swing mattered because Ryu had looked in command after birdieing three of her first six holes and opening up a four-shot cushion, only to lose that advantage in a stretch of bogeys at seven, eight, 10, 12 and 14. In a day shaped by wind and the brutal back nine, the leaderboard kept shifting: Jeeno Thitikul started the round two shots behind and finished at four under par, Charley Hull ended at two under after birdies at seven, eight, 15 and 16, and Lottie Woad stayed alive after being eight back at the turn and closing three under.
For Noh, the burst was the latest sign that a difficult stretch has suddenly given way to a different player. She entered the week having made just seven of 14 cuts, with no top 10s, and had not broken par in an LPGA stroke-play event since April before opening with a 4-under 67. She missed the cut at the KPMG Women’s PGA and the Evian, then flew back to the U.S. to work on her game and re-center herself.
Noh said the time away helped her “refresh mentally” and left her “not be so stressed” over the ball, while Jackson Suh reminded her “that golf can be fun.” That loose feeling showed when the round tightened. Ryu still has 18 holes to try to save a title she once seemed to be steering toward, but the pressure now sits squarely on the player who came from the edge of the field to the front in a matter of hours.
