Miyu Yamashita marked her 24th birthday with a gritty but uneven performance at the Women’s Open, carding a two-over 74 in the third round at Royal Porthcawl on Saturday. The Japanese star, who had dazzled with a seven-under 65 on Friday to take a three-shot lead, battled nerves and tricky winds as her game faltered, mixing four bogeys with two late birdies to finish at nine-under overall. “I felt quite nervous today,” Yamashita admitted. “The shots weren’t going my way.”
South Korea’s Kim A-lim capitalized on Yamashita’s struggles, firing a bogey-free 67 to lurk just one stroke behind. American Andrea Lee also surged into contention with a 67 of her own, sitting two shots off the pace in third. Yamashita’s roller-coaster round began with a bogey on the fifth—her first in 24 holes—after misreading an uphill birdie putt. A brilliant bunker save on the eighth briefly steadied her, but another missed putt on the 10th saw her lead shrink to a single stroke.
The birthday golfer showed resilience when it mattered most, draining back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th to rebuild a three-shot cushion. Yet bogeys on the 14th and 16th kept the door ajar for her rivals. “This is a huge tournament I’ve wanted to win for a long time,” said Yamashita, eyeing her first major title. “But tomorrow I can’t think about that—I need to focus shot by shot.”
As windswept Royal Porthcawl prepares for a dramatic finale, Yamashita’s mental toughness will be tested against the charging Kim and Lee. With just three strokes separating the top three, Sunday’s final round promises a high-stakes battle between Yamashita’s steadying experience and her rivals’ momentum in the quest for the coveted major championship.