Yealimi Noh seized the opportunity presented by Haeran Ryu’s missteps to capture the third‑round lead at the AIG Women’s Open, while England’s Lottie Woad and Charley Hull remained firmly in the hunt for the championship. Ryu entered the day with a comfortable two‑stroke advantage, aiming for an unprecedented third straight major triumph. She had opened the tournament with a flawless four‑stroke margin at Royal Lytham & St Annes, but an erratic stretch of eight holes in the middle of the round saw her card a disappointing three‑over‑par 74, including five bogeys that erased much of her early dominance.
Noh arrived on the weekend two shots behind the leader. After a shaky start that saw her drop two bogeys within the first five holes, she steadied her game with a flurry of birdies around the turn. That surge produced a two‑under‑par 69, catapulting her into a three‑shot lead heading into the final day. The American now sits at seven under par, poised to claim her first major title.
Behind her, a tightly packed group shares second place, with Ryu, Thailand’s Jeeno Thitkul, America’s Lucy Li, and Japan’s Shiho Kuwaki all tied just one stroke back. Woad, who is four shots off the lead, and Hull, five shots back, both represent the best of English golf and are primed to launch a late‑round charge. World No. 1 Nelly Korda, meanwhile, suffered a costly double‑bogey on the 18th hole, leaving her eight strokes behind the leader at one over par.
Ryu’s early dominance on the final day was short‑lived. After opening the round with a birdie on the third hole, she quickly extended her lead to four strokes when her playing partner stumbled on the same hole.
Both players then made bogeys on the subsequent par‑three, but Ryu regained her four‑stroke cushion by capitalising on the par‑five fifth, where she made a clean birdie. The turning point arrived on the seventh hole, a demanding par‑five.
Ryu’s tee shot veered far off the fairway into thick rough, leaving her with an unplayable lie. She was forced to take a penalty drop, and the resulting scramble produced a bogey.
The mishap marked the beginning of a slide that would see her lose ground to the chasing pack. Kuwaki, who had been trailing Ryu by a single stroke at the turn, responded with birdies on the seventh and ninth holes, narrowing the gap to just one shot.
However, Ryu’s fortunes continued to decline when she failed to escape a greenside bunker on the par‑four tenth, resulting in a bogey after two attempts from the sand. At the same time, Noh, playing ahead of the leaders, unleashed a three‑birdie run from the ninth through the eleventh, pulling herself into a three‑way tie for the lead.
Ryu’s struggles persisted on the back‑nine. She bogeyed both the twelfth and fourteenth holes, while Kuwaki could not salvage par on the fifteenth, allowing Noh to stretch her advantage with a five‑foot birdie on the sixteenth. Kuwaki’s subsequent bogey on the seventeenth erased any chance of a late surge, and she was unable to muster a closing birdie on the eighteenth. Noh now enjoys a two‑shot cushion and is on the cusp of becoming the first American to win the AIG Women’s Open as her maiden major since Mo Martin’s breakthrough in 2014.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Noh reflected on her performance: "It was a rocky start, but my putting was solid and my shots were on point. I settled into a better routine and focused on my tempo on the back nine. I’m thrilled to be in this position and ready to go again." Her comments underline the composure that has carried her through a tournament that has tested every major contender.
German rookie Esther Henseleit displayed a promising start, carding five birdies in her first ten holes before a bogey on the fifteenth halted her momentum. Already qualified for the Solheim Cup via her world ranking, Henseleit now needs a solo second‑place finish or better to leapfrog Chiara Tamburlini on the Ladies European Tour points list. Woad also has a chance to overtake Tamburlini with a third‑place finish or higher. Ranked fifth in the world, she mixed three birdies with two bogeys during the round and positioned herself well to contend for her first major title.
After the round, Woad told Sky Sports, "It’s a good position to be in. I should be a few shots back, but I’ll stick to my game plan and see what happens. I felt a bit better on the greens today and scrambled pretty well to get around." Hull’s round was a tale of two halves.
She fell ten shots behind after three bogeys in her first six holes, but rallied with back‑to‑back birdies on the seventh and eighth before another bogey at the tenth. The two‑time runner‑up at the AIG Women’s Open in the past three years showed resilience, finishing with a string of birdies from the fifteenth through the seventeenth, ultimately posting a level‑par 71. Hull reflected, "I’m pretty proud; the first six holes I played like a 10‑handicapper, I felt.
I missed three putts I should have holed from five feet, which would have kept me at even par instead of three over. I bounced back and was happy with the way I finished. I was looking at leaderboards – there aren’t many people out on the course, so it’s hard to see where you’re at – and I like to have a sneaky look." As the final round approaches on Sunday, the leaderboard remains tightly packed, with Noh holding a slender lead, Ryu and the other tied‑second players within striking distance, and Woad and Hull poised for a potential surge.
Golf fans can tune in to Sky Sports Golf from midday to watch the decisive day unfold, or stream the action without a contract via the provider’s flexible subscription options. The drama at Royal Lytham & St Annes promises to deliver a thrilling conclusion to one of women’s golf’s most prestigious championships.