Back-Nine Birdies Have Yamamoto 5 Ahead in Women's Sr. Open

PITTSBURGH -- Minnesota isn't the only place where it's rained a lot this year. They had a three-hour rain delay at Fox Chapel Hill Golf Club on Saturday as they tried to get the third round of the U.S. Senior Women's Open in.

Eventually, they diid. But the delay was a distraction, and it probably had something to do with the three bogeys that Kaori Yamamoto made in the first nine holes she encountered after play was resumed. The 56-year-old veteran of the Japan LPGA and the Legends of the LPGA Tour, was even par for Saturday's round and 8 under for the tournament when play was stopped. When it resumed, she bogeyed the short, 105-yard, par-3 third hole and worse, the 462-yard, par-5 fifth. She parred the next five holes, but went to plus 3 for the day when she bogeyed the 152-yard, par-3 11th.

She wasn't the only one going backwards. Lisa Grimes, the four-time Minnesota Women's State Open champion, was tied for second after a first-round 68, and tied for third at 139 after a second-round 71. But she dropped just out of the top 10 Saturday. Grimes bogeyed two of the first three holes. That was before the delay, and when play resumed, it didn't get any better. The former LPGA Tour member, who also played on the European Ladies Tour and is now the Director of Alexandria's Junior Golf Academy, made four more bogeys -- and no birdies -- on the way to a 6-over-par 77. That took Minnesota's second state high school girls indiviuduaL champion (1978, when she was Lisa Kluver) out of contention, basically. It left her tied for 11th place, 10 behind Yakamoto at 216, going into Sunday's final round.

Meanwhile, Yamamoto was staging a bit of a rally, with birdies at the par-4 12th (321 yards) and the par-5 18th (486). That got her back to 7 under for the tournament, at 206, after a 1-over 72, and her lead is still fairly healthy, at five strokes.

But there are four contenders tied for second at 211, and there are some major credentials in that group. First and foremost among the challengers is Annika Sorenstam, a Hall of Fame member and the best women's golfer of the modern era. The winner of the first Senior Women's Open she played in (2021), Sorenstam hit the ball well and had lots of birdie chances Saturday, but she converted on only one of them, at the 12th hole, and she bogeyed the 17th. It worked out to a 71, which is how she arrived at 211.

Another member of the foursome at 211 is Julie Inkster, also a Hall of Fame member, and she won the 2018 Senior Women's Open. She made two birdies and two bogeys in her 71 on Saturday, and she sounded a lot like Sorenstam when the round was over. She hit a lot of good shots but couldn't convert the birdie putts, and she hopes that will start happening Sunday.

Also in the tie for second is Leta Lindley. It's a familiar position for her. She finished second, one shot out of first, in each of the last two Senior Women's Opens. She said early in the week that she hopes "the third time will be the charm."


2024 U.S. Senior Women's Open

At Fox Chapel Golf Club

Par 71, 5,764 yards

Pittsburgh

Third-round results

1. Kaori Yamamoto 67-67-71--206

T2. Annika Sorenstam 71--69-71--211

T2. Mikino Kubo 70-71-70--211

T2. Leta Lindley 69-71-71--211

T2. Julie Inkster 72-68-71--211

T6. Nobuko Kizawa 73-71-69--213

T6. Maggie Will 73-70-70--213

T6., Stefania Croce 72-66-75--213

T9. Junko Omote 72-71-72--2135

T9. Christa Johnson 68-70-77--215

T34. Michele Redman 77-74-72--223

T41. Karen Weiss 72-75-78--225

What it took to make the cut -- 151

Did not make the cut

Barbara Moxness 70-75--154