On a moving day that delivered more ups and downs than the Big Dipper rollercoaster just down the road in Blackpool, the main focus for home fans as Saturday evening drew in was Hull’s charge on the closing holes and Woad’s continued ability to loiter towards the top of the leaderboard.
Woad, 22, who finished second in the Evian Championship just over 12 months ago as an amateur and ended up in a tie for 16th at the same event last month, delivered another promising display without ever quite getting her putter to run hot on the greens until the 16th hole.
“That back nine was playing very tough with that wind. Probably the strongest it’s been all week and playing long, so definitely pars were good on that,” said Woad.
“Then eventually I knew that 16 would be a good chance and I managed to capitalise on that.”
Prior to that Ayaka Furue’s sensational round of 65 which included an eagle on the par-five seventh had caught the eye alongside the performance of Henseleit, who went out in 31 and then set the clubhouse target as she steadily came home in par as the wind began to pick up.
And it was at that point that second-round leader Ryu went into reverse on the back nine.
Three birdies inside the opening six holes had given Ryu a healthy four-stroke advantage over the field.
Six holes later she was trailing by one after making her fifth bogey of the round and a further dropped shot on the 14th contributed to a disappointing three-over 74 on a day when she probably felt like she had spent time in each and every one of the 167 bunkers dotted around the famous course in the north west of England.
If one moment encapsulated her round, it was on the 10th when her approach found an almost unplayable spot in the sand.
For the second day running, Ryu deliberately chipped her ball a few feet into the middle of a bunker to provide an escape route with her next shot even if it cost her a stroke, that she later described as her “best” bogey of the day.
“[It was] just a tough day today,” said Ryu.
“I know that [I] have won [majors] so it’s not too stressful. Tomorrow the wind is supposed to be the same as today so I [will] just try keeping lower and [finding] no bunker[s].”
In contrast, Noh enjoyed a chip-in par save from the sand on the second and played a stunning shot out of a bunker on the 17th to save par.
However, having only won one event on the LPGA Tour since turning professional in 2019 and only finishing in the top 10 of a major once in that time, she will be in relatively unchartered territory when she gets under way in the final pairing on Sunday.
One omen in her favour is that no player has held a three-stroke lead after 54 holes of the Women’s Open and failed to go on to win the championship.
