Yealimi Noh seizes on Ryu’s late collapse to build lead in Women’s British Open

Ryu finished with four straight pars for a 74 and saw the bright side. She kept double bogeys off her card, including the 10th hole when she was against a back lip of a pot bunker. She chipped it forward in the sand and got up-and-down from there for bogey.

Plus, she’s still in range of adding a third major this year to victories in the Women’s PGA Championship and Evian Championship.

“Tomorrow supposed to be wind the same as today,” Ryu said. “Today my shot was a little higher than the other two days. So I’m just trying to keep lower and no bunker.”

Nelly Korda, the No. 1 player who captured the first two majors of the year, had her round ruined by a pair of double bogeys, one on the 18th hole that gave her a 73 and left her eight behind.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., double-bogeyed the 18th for a third straight 72, and was 10 shots back.

As surprising as Ryu’s collapse was the emergence of Noh, who decided to go home last week instead of playing the Women’s Scottish Open. She had missed her last three cuts coming into the final LPGA major of the year, and had not registered a top 10 since last October.

But she overcame a rocky start with three straight birdies starting on the par-3 ninth, including a birdie putt from 12 feet on the 10th, and avoided mistakes on the firm links coming in.

Noh, at No. 69 in the women’s world ranking and No. 95 in the Race to CME Globe on the LPGA Tour, has only contended one other time in a major when she missed a playoff by one shot in the 2021 Evian Championship.

“It was good for me to go home and reset, refresh and come here with a different mindset,” Noh said of her decision to skip the Scottish.

The chasing pack also includes Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, one of only two players to have been No. 1 in the world without winning a major. Thitikul closed with nine straight pars for a 72 to join the pack at 4-under 209.

Esther Henseleit of Germany (67), Lucy Li (69) and Shiho Kuwaki of Japan (72) also were three back. Kuwaki had a chance to get into the final group, but she missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th.

None has won a major. Henseleit won Olympic silver in France two years ago. Li is best known for qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open in 2014 at age 11.

Noh said her fiancé, who plays amateur golf, has been a big support in reminding her to put some enjoyment into the game. They played last week at Sahalee, a tree-lined course near Seattle.

“Good practice for this week avoiding all those trees, helping me avoid these bunkers,” she said.

Now comes the big test, with a strong pack of contenders behind her and a chance at winning her first major championship.

“Just focus on playing the round,” Noh said. “I don’t want to think too much about the lead. Just settle into a good tempo and have fun out there.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Yealimi Noh seizes on Ryu’s late collapse to build lead in Women’s British Open

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