A tightly-packed leaderboard fuels hope for first American victory at Women’s Open in nearly a decade

It’s been nine years since Mo Martin claimed her lone career title at the Women’s Open at Royal Birkdale in 2014, and no American has won it since.

On Sunday, that may change.

Three rounds in to the 2023 Women’s Open at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey, England, not only is there an American co-leader, Lilia Vu, at nine under par, but also a handful of American chasers within shouting distance.

Angel Yin, who had a close call earlier this year at the Chevron Championship, which Vu claimed in a playoff for her first major title, is one shot behind at eight under. Then there’s Ally Ewing at seven under, Andrea Lee at five under, and Nelly Korda and Alison Lee at four under. In short, Team USA has a sporting chance of ending the Women’s Open drought. But if an American wants to lift the trophy, she’ll have to jockey her way past Englishwoman Charley Hull, who grabbed a share of the co-lead with a third-round 68, and is riding high as the local favorite.

“It is good,” Hull said after her round. “So many crowds and it’s nice to have home support.”

Both Vu and Yin ascended the leaderboard on Saturday by matching the low round of the day with five-under 67s. So what’s the game plan for Sunday? Vu is planning to continue to take each hole as it comes.

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“I’m just going to do the same thing I did today, just focusing on tee shots and giving myself a good opportunity for birdies, and just do that tomorrow, not think too much about the wind,” she said. “Because every time that happens, it just slips away from me.”

As for Yin, she finds freedom in the fact that she has nothing to lose.

“Just got to stay patient and play my game,” she said. “I think I’m going to be aggressive. I’m not going to be conservative. I’m going to give it my all.

“I don’t think I’m really playing against anyone or anything,” she continued. “I think it’s just play my game and then enjoying it out there.”

There will certainly be plenty to enjoy for golf fans on Sunday. You can watch Sunday’s final round of the 2023 Women’s Open on USA from 7 a.m.-12 p.m. ET, followed by NBC from 12-2 p.m. ET.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

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