Yealimi Noh three clear ahead of Women’s Open last round

Yealimi Noh leads by three going into final round. Pic: Peter Byrne/PA

Lottie Woad and Charley Hull remain in contention going into Sunday’s final round at the AIG Women’s Open as new leader Yealimi Noh ended the third day with a three-shot lead.

Woad sits four shots behind American Noh on three under after a third-round one-under 70 at Royal Lytham and St Annes, while Hull rallied after a poor start to sit one stroke further back on two under after a level-par 71.

Noh also recovered from a slow start as she made five birdies and three bogeys in a two-under 69 to sit three strokes clear of a five-strong group tied in second, which includes overnight leader Ryu Hae-ran (74).

South Korea’s Ryu, bidding for a third straight major title having won the Women’s PGA in June and last month’s Evian Championship, is level on four-under alongside Japan’s Shiho Kuwaki (73), Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul (72) and American Lucy Li (69).

Woad made two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine before six straight pars on the back nine were followed by another birdie at the 16th to leave her in seventh place.

The 22-year-old from Farnham told Sky Sports: “The wind was probably the strongest it’s been so far, and that back nine was definitely a grind.

“But I felt a bit better on the greens today and scrambled pretty good to get it round.

“Definitely a good position to be in. (I’ll) just try and stick to my game plan and see what happens.” Hull dropped three shots in the first six holes, but recovered some momentum with back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth.

Although she bogeyed the 10th, successive birdies at the 15th and 16th for a level-par 71 left the 30-year-old from Kettering tied for eighth and in the mix.

Hull told Sky Sports: “I missed three putts that I should have holed from like five foot and I think that would have kept me level par instead of being three over (after the sixth hole).

“Then I did have a bit of a bounce back and hit a great shot into the last hole and it looked like the putt was going to be kind of quick down that slope, so I hit it on a great line and just left it short. But I was pretty happy with the way I finished.”