AIG Women's Open - round three

-7 Y Noh (US); -4 E Henseleit (Ger), L Li (US), J Thitikul (Tha), Ryu (Kor), S Kuwaki (Jap); -3 L Woad (Eng)

Selected others: -2 C Hull (Eng); -1 L Ko (Nz); +1 N Korda (US), L Coughlin (US); +2 C Boutier (Fra), M Rhodes (Eng)

Full leaderboard

England's Lottie Woad and Charley Hull are both in contention heading into the final round of the AIG Women's Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes.

Woad carded a one-under 70 on Saturday to sit at three under while Hull recovered from three early bogeys to sign for a 71, leaving herself five shots behind leader Yealimi Noh, at two under overall.

"I was pretty proud," Hull told Sky Sports.

The 30-year-old, who is chasing her maiden major title after being a runner-up on five occasions, crucially made birdies on the 15th and 16th holes as she fought back on the back nine and then scrambled to save par on the penultimate hole.

"The first six holes I played like a 10 handicapper and I missed three putts I should have holed from inside five feet that would have kept me at level par instead of three over," Hull added.

"Then I did have a bit of a bounce-back. I was pretty happy with the way I finished."

On a day when the challenging windy conditions were again a feature on the Lancashire coast, American Noh was one of only nine players to end the third round under par as she climbed to the top of the leaderboard with a two-under 69.

However, a stellar cast that contains four of the top 10 players on the globe are within five shots and will aim to chase down the world number 69 in Sunday's fourth round.

Germany's Esther Henseleit, who fired a four-under 67 is three shots back at four under along with American Lucy Li, Japan's Shiho Kuwaki, world number two Jeeno Thitikul, of Thailand, and Friday's overnight leader South Korean Ryu Hae-ran, who is seeking her third consecutive major title.

New Zealand's three-time major winner Lydia Ko rolled in three birdies on the back nine to also remain in the mix at one under.

Meanwhile, world number one Nelly Korda's prospects of securing a career grand slam were dented by a double-bogey six on the 18th that leaves the American eight shots adrift of the lead.

On a moving day that delivered more ups and downs than the Big Dipper rollercoaster just down the road in Blackpool, the main focus for home fans as Saturday evening drew in was Hull's charge on the closing holes and Woad's continued ability to loiter towards the top of the leaderboard.

Woad, 22, who finished second in the Evian Championship just over 12 months ago as an amateur and ended up in a tie for 16th at the same event last month, delivered another promising display without ever quite getting her putter to run hot on the greens until the 16th hole.

"That back nine was playing very tough with that wind. Probably the strongest it's been all week and playing long, so definitely pars were good on that," said Woad.

"Then eventually I knew that 16 would be a good chance and I managed to capitalise on that."

Prior to that Ayaka Furue's sensational round of 65 which included an eagle on the par-five seventh had caught the eye alongside the performance of Henseleit, who went out in 31 and then set the clubhouse target as she steadily came home in par as the wind began to pick up.

And it was at that point that second-round leader Ryu went into reverse on the back nine.

Three birdies inside the opening six holes had given Ryu a healthy four-stroke advantage over the field.

Six holes later she was trailing by one after making her fifth bogey of the round and a further dropped shot on the 14th contributed to a disappointing three-over 74 on a day when she probably felt like she had spent time in each and every one of the 167 bunkers dotted around the famous course in the north west of England.

If one moment encapsulated her round, it was on the 10th when her approach found an almost unplayable spot in the sand.

For the second day running, Ryu deliberately chipped her ball a few feet into the middle of a bunker to provide an escape route with her next shot even if it cost her a stroke, that she later described as her "best" bogey of the day.

"[It was] just a tough day today," said Ryu.

"I know that [I] have won [majors] so it's not too stressful. Tomorrow the wind is supposed to be the same as today so I [will] just try keeping lower and [finding] no bunker[s]."

In contrast, Noh enjoyed a chip-in par save from the sand on the second and played a stunning shot out of a bunker on the 17th to save par.

However, having only won one event on the LPGA Tour since turning professional in 2019 and only finishing in the top 10 of a major once in that time, she will be in relatively unchartered territory when she gets under way in the final pairing on Sunday.

One omen in her favour is that no player has held a three-stroke lead after 54 holes of the Women's Open and failed to go on to win the championship.