2.00pm BST
It’s been a poor start for golf’s hottest property, the new Irish and Scottish Open champion Lottie Woad. The 21-year-old from Surrey won the Smyth Salver for low amateur at St Andrews last year, finishing in a tie for tenth, but a similarly high finish might already be beyond her this time round. Woad bogeys 1, the result of hooking her approach from the centre of the fairway miles left, then drops another at 2 thanks to a three-putt. Her radar is a bit skew-whiff on 4 as well, as she misreads a long birdie putt, but she’s able to tidy up for a par that keeps her at -1 overall.
1.55pm BST
Conditions haven’t been great for the early starters. It’s been raining, and blowing a hoolie. As a result, there hasn’t been much forward momentum on display. So far there are only two players back in the clubhouse with a score under par: Shannon Tan, who ends the week at +5 after her 70, and the 2013 champion Stacy Lewis, who shot 71 to finish her tournament at +7. The 65s and 66s of earlier in the week something of a pipe dream right now … and although it’s since stopped raining, with temperatures forecast to rise a bit during the afternoon, the wind’s likely to stay up. Good luck to one and all.
1.45pm BST
Preamble
It’s not called Moving Day for nothing. After 36 holes, the top of the leaderboard at the 49th Women’s Open looked like this …
-11: Miyū Yamashita
-8: Rio Takeda
-4: Pajaree Anannarukarn, Lindy Duncan, Laura Fünfstück, Chiara Tamburlini
… and it was beginning to look like the first major to ever be held at Royal Porthcawl was either going to turn into either a procession or a mano-a-mano battle. But then after yesterday’s third round, the top of the leaderboard looked like this …
-9: Miyū Yamashita
-8: Kim A-lim
-7: Andrea Lee
-6: Minami Katsu, Charley Hull, Megan Khang, Rio Takeda
-4: Georgia Hall, Hsu Wei-ling, Chiara Tamburlini
-3: Mao Saigo, Ariya Jutanugarn, Kim Hyojoo, Steph Kyriacou, Mimi Rhodes, Lottie Woad
… and, well, OK, Yamashita is still in pole position. But after her two-over round of 74, 67s for Kim A-lim and Andrea Lee, a 66 for Charley Hull and 65 for Minami Katsu, an awful lot of quality big-name players are suddenly on her shoulder. Lydia Ko came roaring through the pack at St Andrews to claim the title last year; there are plenty of stars who’ll fancy their chances of performing the very same trick today. Yamashita – who admitted to feeling nervous while leading from the front yesterday – will hope to rediscover her confident 65-shooting Friday self and bag her first major title. It’s all set up so deliciously. Here are the final few tee times (BST). It’s on!
1.50pm: Georgia Hall, Rio Takeda
2pm: Megan Khang, Charley Hull
2.10pm: Minami Katsu, Andrea Lee
2.20pm: Kim A-lim, Miyū Yamashita
