With 18 holes to play, it’ll be a battle for the fourth major title of the LPGA Tour season at The Amundi Evian Championship. But leading the way is 23-year-old Stephanie Kyriacou, alone at the top of the leaderboard at -14 and leading after the third round for the first time in her young LPGA Tour career. The Australian, who burst onto the scene on the Ladies European Tour back in 2020 when she won the Australian Ladies Classic Bonville as an amateur and turned professional two days later, carded a 4-under 67 to earn a new career-low 54-hole score (199) en route to her first appearance in the final group of a major championship.
“I think this is a different kind of nerves,” said Kyriacou on her nerves heading into the final round. “I think sometimes when you're near the cut line you really want to make the cut, there is like a few thoughts there. This is like a completely different, like physical -- things like your heart rate goes up. You get a little bit numb. At least I do. Yeah, so I think it's a different kind of nerves. It's a good thing. It's a good thing to experience.”
After a hole and a half in the morning during the resumption of round two, Kyriacou made a three-putt on the first hole for a bogey, yet quickly responded with three-straight birdies afterwards. After another bogey on the sixth, she posted two more birdies after the turn on Nos. 10 and 11, and credited par saves on 13 and 14 to keeping her round intact.
“I think the one on 13, 14. 14 was kind of like I hit a really bad first putt; left it like five foot short from 20 feet, but then I holed the next one, a little downhill slider,” said Kyriacou. “So being able to hole that, that kind of like kept it going. Missing that late on in the round, you know, I don't know what it would've done to me. Yeah, probably an important one.”
A birdie on No. 15 put her tied for the lead at the time, and another on the 54th hole sealed the clubhouse lead as she looks to become the season’s third Rolex First-Time winner and the fourth major champion from Australia in Tour history. Yet lurking one stroke back are two others fighting for their first major titles: American Lauren Coughlin and Ayaka Furue. Furue, who earned who first LPGA Tour victory at the 2022 Women’s Scottish Open, has already posted eight top-10 finishes in 2024 through 16 starts. In 2021, she posted four-straight rounds in the 60s to finish solo fourth at the Amundi Evian Championship, her career-best finish in any major championship.
Coughlin carded her second 65 of the week in a round that included two eagles on Nos. 9 and 18. The 31-year-old and 2018 LPGA Tour rookie has her husband, John, on the bag again at a major for the first time since her T3 finish at The Chevron Championship in April. He’ll also be by her side tomorrow in the final grouping, an accepted comfort as she too looks for her first LPGA Tour victory. “I think I had no expectations this week given that he hasn't caddied for me in quite a while since Terry [McNamara] has been caddieing for me,” said Coughlin. But I think he's just my favorite person, so there is just a lot of -- it's just easy to be comfortable with him out there. He's really starting to get the gist of how to caddie. I know we did really well at Chevron, too.
Pajaree Anannarukarn is solo fourth after a third-round 67, while major champion Patty Tavatanakit, LPGA Tour winner Ally Ewing and Hye-Jin Choi are tied for fifth at -9. Ewing shot a 7-under 64, her new career-low 18-hole score at any major championship. The American is coming off of four straight top-five finishes dating back to a tie for third result at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally at Lancaster Country Club. “Good golf happens, but certainly bad shots are going to come. I'm not expecting to go play a perfect round,” said Ewing. “So just enjoying myself, enjoying my walks. Kurt and I are really good course managers, so assessing when risk is worth it and just being really smart about that.”
Four players are tied for eighth at -8 including Ingrid Lindblad, who shot an even-par 71 to keep in contention in her first LPGA Tour event as a professional. Defending champion Celine Boutier shot a 2-over 73 and is 3-under (T35) with Sunday to come.
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