Leona Maguire leads by 1 shot into the final round of the Women’s PGA Championship
Leona Maguire made a birdie on the last hole for her eighth straight round in the 1960s to take a one-time lead over the fast-closing Jenny Shin on an unexpectedly sunny Saturday en route to the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Maguire, the halfway leader looking for her second consecutive win and first major title, had a two-putt birdie to complete an up and down third round of 2-under 69. She has a 54 hole total of 7 under on a Baltusrol course that was tough but passable, after two days of intermittent rain the greens in Springfield, NJ softened
Shin matched the best round of the tournament with a bogey-free 66 with five birdies. Shin, a 30-year-old South Korean who has lived in the United States since the age of nine, has not won on the LPGA Tour since 2016.
Northern Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow, a close friend of Maguire, was in third place alone after a 68 put her at 5-under 208. First round leader Lee-Anne Pace (70) of South Africa and Ruoning Yin (69) of China were three shots back, and Lauren Coughlin (68) and World No. 1 Jin Young Ko (69) of South Korea were another beat of the pace on a day when predicted storms never developed.
The 36-hole leader is now the 54-hole leader!@leona_maguire performs the @KPMGWomensPGA leaderboard heading into the final day!
FULL LEADERBOARD ⬇
With severe weather looming for the final round on Sunday, the PGA announced that play will begin at 8:15 a.m. EDT, and the field will be grouped into trios playing both nines. The leaders will tee off at 10:38 AM, with Maguire and Meadow playing with Shin.
Xiyu Lin, who started the round with a shot behind Magurie, dropped to 2-under 211 along with Americans Megan Khang and Mina Harigae and Japan’s Yuka Saso.
Rose Zhang, who won on her pro debut earlier this month, entered the fray at 1 under with a 68 and finished with a tap-in eagle on the par-5 18th. The 20-year-old did a television interview, but walked away from the media after her round.
Henderson falls back
Several players were within striking distance on their way to the third round, but struggled.
England’s Mel Reid, who was one shot off the lead after a second round of 67, needed 10 more shots. Well, make it nine. She was given a one-stroke penalty for illegally lifting her ball on the fifth hole. She marked it and didn’t realize it wasn’t on the green. She was on 215 with Gina Kim (74).
LOOK | Henderson 4 shots back after 2nd round:
Smiths Falls, Ontario native Brooke Henderson sits in an 8-way tie for eighth at 1-under following the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Course in Springfield, NJ
