Stark dodges trouble, leads U.S. Women's Open

ERIN, Wis. -- Maja Stark could archer beauteous aboriginal Saturday that Erin Hills would supply overmuch much of a situation than it had successful the archetypal 2 days of the U.S. Women's Open.

Yet she recovered a mode to debar the mistakes that befell truthful galore different competitors during a brutal 3rd round. Now the 25-year-old from Sweden is successful presumption to gain the $2.4 cardinal prize successful the biggest lawsuit of the women's play season.

Stark changeable a 2-under 70 to springiness her a 7-under 209 full and a one-shot vantage heading into the last circular Sunday. Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain was 2nd aft a 68, the champion people of the day.

"I deliberation I'm conscionable going to effort to play freely," Stark said. "I deliberation that nary 1 has ever played good erstwhile they've been playing scared, and I deliberation that's been my wont before, to conscionable benignant of effort to bent connected to it."

The Japanese trio of Rio Takeda (70), Hinako Shibuno (72) and second-round person Mao Saigo (75) followed astatine 5 under. Top-ranked Nelly Korda was 4 nether aft a 73.

Speedier greens and trickier pin placements wreaked havoc with conscionable astir everyone connected the course, starring to plentifulness of treble bogeys and triple bogeys.

One illustration of this came connected the par-4 15th, erstwhile Esther Henseleit's eagle putt from 55 feet distant rolled 90 feet beyond the spread and went into the rough. Henseleit ended up with a treble bogey.

"It's truthful hard due to the fact that they thin to enactment holes that are close connected the edges of the slopes, truthful you tin spot going into the atom and up until the hole, and past aft the spread you conscionable spot that the atom is going the different way," Stark said. "It's conscionable truthful hard to get the distances right. It's truly scary erstwhile you cognize if you putt this 5 feet by, past that's gone."

The struggles of the tract helped Lopez Ramirez marque a astonishing surge little than 3 months aft an appendectomy.

Lopez Ramirez hasn't finished higher than a necktie for 29th successful immoderate of her 7 LPGA Tour appearances this season, though the 22-year-old rookie was the SEC subordinate of the twelvemonth successful 2023 and 2024 astatine Mississippi State.

"I bash judge that evidently erstwhile you're successful assemblage and you're astir to triumph an lawsuit you person the aforesaid nerves," Lopez Ramirez said. "That's the astir you attraction successful that moment. You conscionable privation to triumph that tournament."

Saigo took a three-shot pb into the time but made 3 consecutive bogeys astatine Nos. 4-6 to driblet into a necktie for first. She made an 8 1/2-foot birdie putt connected No. 12 to determination backmost into sole possession of the lead, but Stark tied her with a 21 1/2-foot birdie connected the par-3 16th. Saigo past bogeyed the past 2 to autumn 2 back.

She said the pin placements caused her the biggest problems connected Saturday.

"The archetypal happening is I'd similar to remainder good and past time (come out) refreshed and I'd similar to commencement from zero," Saigo said done an interpreter.

Plenty of different contenders faced akin misfortune.

A Lim Kim, who entered Saturday successful a six-way necktie for 2nd place, birdied No. 1 to get to 6 under, past went 7 implicit for the adjacent 4 holes. Kim bogeyed No. 2, double-bogeyed No. 3, triple-bogeyed No. 4 and bogeyed No. 5. She ended up with a 77.

Jinhee Im birdied 2 of her archetypal 3 holes to get to 6 nether earlier she triple-bogeyed the par-4 fourth. Noh besides was astatine 6 nether earlier a treble bogey connected No. 3. Im ended up with a 79, and Noh changeable 75.

Korda had a 40 connected the beforehand 9 with 4 bogeys and nary birdies, but rallied with 3 birdies connected her past 5 holes.

"It's conscionable a play people wherever you whitethorn not deed it successful the close spot and it'll spell down 40 feet and alternatively of being astir tap-in range, present you person a 40-foot spot wherever it's moving disconnected the back, arsenic well," Korda said. "You conscionable cognize that your mentality is that you're going to marque mistakes, but you tin besides bounce backmost here."