Lilia Vu

Round three of a major is often about staying in the fight as much as it is about making a move.

That was certainly the case for Lilia Vu and Nelly Korda on a day where gusty crosswinds prevented the final pair and world’s top two from breaking away.

Vu bogeyed 12 and double-bogeyed 13 as her title defence threatened to unravel but she bounced back brilliantly with birdies at 14, 16 and 18 to join leader Jiyai Shin in Sunday’s final group.

“The wheels were falling off in the middle of the back nine,” said Vu, who will begin Sunday one shot back on six-under-par.

“I was getting anxious but my caddie [Cole Pensanti] was able to give me words of encouragement that I'm playing well.

“It's just a couple bad breaks. I was able to birdie 16, and most importantly par 17, and then finish with a birdie 18 going into tomorrow.

“Cole put me in my place a bit. He helped by saying, ‘okay, you're playing really good. This is the best you've played the past two days, actually the past two weeks. So just go out there and keep doing what you're doing.’”

Vu’s run to glory last year and quest for a rare double has been built on consistency – her one-under-par third-round was her sixth under-par outing in a row at the AIG Women’s Open.

She had to work hard to maintain that record on the Old Course on Saturday, cashing in on 5 and 8 to give her a buffer before trouble set it on a back nine blighted by bunker visits.

“I was definitely a brat about it because I thought I hit a good shot, and then it happened to roll in [to the sand],” she said.

“But it's okay. It's all relative, right? Just try to make up-and-down, if not, move on and try again the next hole.

“I was just trying to give myself opportunities for birdies. This is not your normal golf tournament. It's been really difficult but it's been really fun as well.”

World number one Korda lies a stroke behind Vu after forfeiting her lead with a three-over 75.

After going bogey-free on Friday, Korda lost shots at 1 and 2 and bogeyed on three further occasions in addition to a double-bogey six which followed an out-of-bounds tee shot on 16.

She showed great mettle to dig deep and birdie 18 and will hope to use that as a springboard in her quest for a first AIG Women’s Open victory and second major title of 2024.

“It was nice to see one roll in,” said Korda, discussing her closing birdie. “It barely rolled in but after making two bogeys on the first two holes, it was nice to rebound with a birdie.

“I think it's going to be a tough day [on Sunday]. I think the winds are going to be high. There could be rain, as well. I'm going to keep a positive attitude, take it one shot at a time.

“I played really well the first two days, so I'm going to take that momentum into tomorrow.”

Jenny Shin and Lydia Ko are also firmly in contention at four-under-par, three shots behind leader Shin.

Olympic champion Ko lavished praise on Shin after the Korean’s near-perfect third-round 67 placed her in pole position at the top of the leaderboard.

“I don't know if there's a single place on Planet Earth that she has not dominated in," said Ko.

"She's done so much for golf and I'm sure she's still a great role model. She gives me advice here and there. She's been kind of like a mentor as well.

"She's been doing this for a really long time. I don't know if I would want to do a 6.30am practice round, because she did on Tuesday, or Monday, and she is still in the gym working out when I was working out.

"I think that takes not only a lot of work ethic but passion towards the game in what she does. I think she's one of the players that I truly respect just as a person and not just what she's accomplished as a golfer.”