Inbee Park leads U.S .Women’s Open after 3 rounds
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. >> Inbee Park is one round from making history by winning the first three majors of the year.
The top-ranked Park had a four-stroke lead through three rounds at the U.S. Women’s Open. She shot 1-under 71 on Saturday in harsh conditions at Sebonack and was 10 under for the tournament.
Fellow South Korean I.K. Kim had a 73 to remain in second but lost two strokes to Park. With the wind whipping, the greens fast and the pin placements tricky, Park was the only player to shoot under par for the round.
No one has ever won the first three majors in a year when there were at least four.
“I’m just going to try to do the same thing that I did for the last three days,” Park said. “Yeah, it will be a big day. But it’s just a round of golf, and I just try not to think about it so much.”
Park made three straight bogeys on the 11th, 12th and 13th holes to briefly look vulnerable — though she still led by three strokes. Just in time, her brilliant putting resurfaced.
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She holed a long downhill birdie putt on No. 14, then made another lengthy birdie try on the 15th.
It looked as though nobody would break par for the day until she birdied No. 18. Only five players were under par for the tournament.
England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff (74) was third at 3 under. She had to play 21 holes Saturday after the second round was suspended the night before because of fog. Park had good timing Friday: Her group was on the 18th fairway when the horn sounded, so she was able to finish off her round and rest up for the weekend.