Leona Maguire crept a little closer to the leaders when she carded a level-par 71 to move up to tied 24th heading into the final round of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club.

Playing her first tournament since February, the Slieve Russell National professional was two-over for the day with six holes to play but birdied the 13th and 14th and parred home to sit just four shots outside the top ten on two-over.

Despite hitting 11 of 13 fairways, she missed ten greens in regulation but used her short game to navigate her way to a level-par score.

With a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 18, Spain’s Azahara Muñoz closed out a two-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead at seven-under-par.

She found all 13 fairways on Saturday and sits 18 holes away from her second career LPGA Tour victory.

“It's been another solid day. Today I think I literally hit every fairway, lots of greens,” said Munoz, whose only career win came at the 2012 Sybase Match Play Championship.

“Maybe I couldn't make a few more putts today but still made some nice ones, some nice par saves. The pins were so tricky, a couple of holes into the wind were playing really long and overall, I kept managing myself well like the last couple days.”

Two-time major champion Stacy Lewis had prime birdie chances on 17 and 18 to reach 7 under. Her putt at No. 17 stopped just a roll short of falling in, seemingly hovering on the edge of the hole before Lewis finally tapped in for par. On the closing hole, Lewis placed her approach within 6 feet of the hole but sent the birdie putt past to finish with a third-round 70. Lewis heads to the final round at six-under, one stroke behind Munoz in her attempt to earn her first victory since the 2017 Cambia Portland Classic. 

“I think big picture, you take under par on this golf course any day. Definitely left some putts out there on the back nine that I'd like to – I hit them where I wanted to, so I don't know what I would do different but I just would have liked to made a couple more there coming in,” said Lewis, who could also become the first mother to win an LPGA Tour event since Cristie Kerr won the 2017 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. “But all in all, I stuck to my game plan, made some good up-and-downs when I needed to, and still a pretty solid day.”

Jennifer Song shot a one-under 71 to join Munoz with three rounds under par. Song sits in solo third at four-under, looking for the first victory of her 10-year LPGA Tour career.

Former Rolex Rankings No. 1 Lydia Ko shot Saturday’s round of the day, carding a bogey-free 4-under 67 and moving into a tie for fourth with Cheyenne Knight. Ko is looking for redemption after losing a five-stroke lead with six holes to play at last week’s Marathon LPGA Classic.

Danielle Kang shot a 2-under 69 on Saturday and heads to Sunday’s final round five strokes off the pace at -2. Kang won the LPGA Tour’s last two events in Ohio and is attempting to become the first player since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016 to win three consecutive events. She came back from four strokes behind after 54 holes to win the Marathon LPGA Classic by one stroke over Ko.

The Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open is the first of two consecutive events in Scotland. Next week, the Tour heads to Royal Troon for the season’s first major, the AIG Women’s Open.

Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open

The Renaissance Club | North Berwick, Scotland | Aug. 13-16, 2020

Third-Round Notes

Aug. 15, 2020

Course Setup: 36-35—71, 6,333 yards (Scoring Averages: R1, 74.202; R2, 73.859; R3, 72.515)

Weather: Cloudy skies with light areas of drizzle through mid-morning; light morning winds E-ENE increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon; temperatures in the low 60s

LEADERBOARD - Detailed scores

 1 Azahara Munoz -7 68-69-69

2 Stacy Lewis -6 71-66-70

3 Jennifer Song -5 68-70-70

T24 Leona Maguire +2 72 72 71 

WITH A WIN

Stacy Lewis would earn her 13th career LPGA Tour victory and first since the 2017 Cambia Portland Classic

With the $211,680 winner’s check, Lewis would move to $13,175,384 in career earnings and become the eighth player in LPGA Tour history to break the $13 million threshold

Azahara Munoz would earn her second career LPGA Tour victory and first since the 2012 Sybase Match Play Championship

Munoz would become the third multiple LPGA Tour winner from Spain, joining Carlota Ciganda (two victories) and Beatriz Recari (three victories)

Jennifer Song would become the second Rolex First-Time Winner of the 2020 LPGA Tour season, joining Madelene Sagstrom (Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio)

MUNOZ’S DRIVER IS KEY TO HER LEAD IN SCOTLAND

Drive it great; wedge it great; putt it great. That was the advice Byron Nelson gave to a young Tom Watson back in the day – a relatively simple summation of what it takes to win at the highest level but a lesson worth remembering. You can’t get greedy with anything longer than a wedge approach; you have to make the putts you’re supposed to make (along with a couple of pleasant surprises) and, perhaps most importantly, you have to start each hole with a tee shot that sets you up for success.

Some in the modern game have forgotten that first part. The bomb-and-gouge crowd believe you can hit it anywhere as long it’s far enough to muscle the next one onto the green.

That might work some places. The links courses of Scotland are not among them.

Azahara Muñoz, the third-round leader of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open, knows this better than most. While it is easy to point to the putts Muñoz has made in her 7-under par effort so far at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, the pinpoint-accurate driver has been the most important club in the bag.

“I think the main key in these type of courses is to not get in trouble and I haven't at all,” Muñoz said after a 2-under 69 on Saturday put her one shot clear of Stacy Lewis and two ahead of Jennifer Song going into the final round of the event. “The worst I've been in is the first cut of rough, which is not even that bad. Everybody always says putting is the main (thing), but you have to start by being on the fairway first. Everything goes after that.

Read more of today column from LPGA.com’s Steve Eubanks here: https://www.lpga.com/news/2020/munoz-driver-is-key-to-her-lead-in-scotland

JENNIFER SONG READY TO CHASE AT THE #ASILSO

The Renaissance Club has put up a fight this week, with consistency and patience the name of the game. For Jennifer Song, it only took a third-round 70 to keep her in contention heading into the last day of the ASI Ladies Scottish Open. Song said she likes rising to the challenge of links golf and is lying in wait to take advantage of chasing the lead in tomorrow’s final grouping with Stacy Lewis and Azahara Munoz.

“I'm really happy to be where I am. I like chasing from the back. I'm going to go out there and play some great golf tomorrow,” said Song, who sits at -5, just two strokes back of leader Munoz. “I'm a competitor, and I feel like I play my game better chasing from behind. Just give them the pressure and I'll just play my own game.”

Song had to clear her head on the back nine after a rocky start to her round with two bogeys in her first eight holes. But she felt she found the same game she’s had going the last two days as she closed with three birdies total on the day. “I think patience is a big key in the final round, knowing when to be aggressive and knowing when to be conservative is the right play out here,” said Song. “I've been doing the right thing the last three rounds, so I think as long as I do the same thing and just keep being myself and be confident out there, I think I'm going to play some great golf.”

 

CHEYENNE KNIGHT FINDING HER GROOVE AMONG THE LINKS 

Cheyenne Knight first played golf in Scotland on a trip with her father when she was 13, visiting historic courses like St Andrews, Turnberry, Kingsbarns and Western Gailes. Though out of her comfort zone, she continues to remember the experience fondly at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open, where she only trails the lead by three at -4.

“I haven't played a lot of links golf, but I do love the challenge and love how creative you have to be, and when it's tough – I like it when it plays hard but you just have to embrace it,” said Knight, who recorded four birdies and finished with a third-round 69. “When I've been out of position, I just want to give myself a putt at par and just take bogey if I have to, because I feel like on this golf course, you're going to make bogeys but you also get some birdie opportunities.”

Knight said she glanced at the leaderboard throughout her round to see where she stood among the field, especially coming down the stretch on Nos. 17 and 18. She’ll try to make up ground on Sunday en route to a second LPGA Tour win, but knows there’s still a tough 18 holes in front of her. “I think I'm just going to go about it like I would any other day, just treat it the same. Just try to do my best. That's all I can do,” said Knight. “I may glance at a leaderboard every now and again, but I think even par, a few under goes a long way, especially on this golf course, one shot at a time.”

 

LYDIA KO BOUNCES BACK FROM OHIO DISAPPOINTMENT

Lydia Ko had no choice but to quickly move on from last Sunday’s disastrous back nine at the Marathon LPGA Classic. After stepping to the 13th tee at Highland Meadows Golf Club with a five-stroke lead, Ko collapsed down the stretch, carding two bogeys and a double bogey over the closing holes and finishing second to Danielle Kang. 

“Almost having a tournament right after makes you focus on what's right there in front of you and I think maybe less think about what happened at Marathon,” said Ko, who has 15 career victories. “Obviously I would have loved to have had one more higher finish in the end. There's a lot about what happened to me on the last hole. But you have to talk about what amazing golf Danielle played. I just think it really wasn't meant to be.”

Fast forward one week and Ko is again right in the thick of competition. Her 67 on Saturday was the day’s best round by two strokes, and she enters the final round just two strokes behind leaders Stacy Lewis and Azahara Munoz. 

“It's nice, no matter where you play, to have a bogey-free round like that. I think when I was out of position, I was able to make up-and-down,” said Ko. “Sometimes you have to get lucky having a good lie in the bunker or just off the greens, as well, but I feel like overall, I stayed believing in my game and being aggressive when I needed to and then being a little bit safer when it was a tough pin position, as well. I think you kind of have to manage that really well, and that will give me a good lesson for next week at the British Open.”

Links golf has been a mixed bag of results for Ko. She tied for third at the 2015 AIG Women’s Open at Trump Turnberry’s Ailsa Course, but has no other top-10 finishes in her 10 combined AIG Women’s Open and ASI Ladies Scottish Open appearances.

AIG WOMEN’S OPEN QUALIFYING UPDATE

There were 22 spots available into the 2020 AIG Women’s Open from the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open. The following players earned berths in next week’s major championship:

• Johanna Gustavsson

• Emily Kristine Pedersen

• Caroline Inglis

• Dani Holmqvist

• Eleanor Givens

• Muni He

• Tvesa Malik

• Haley Moore

• Yujeong Son

• Charlotte Thomas

• Becky Morgan

• Kylie Henry

• Jennifer Chang

• Michelle Thompson

• Lee-Anne Pace

• Sarah Kemp

• Alison Lee

• Elizabeth Szokol

• Jenny Coleman

• Luna Sobron Galmes

• Julieta Granada

• Louise Ridderstrom

Qualifying spots were awarded in the following order:

• The leading players, not already exempt, who made the cut at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open

• The player(s), not already exempt, with the highest Rolex Rankings from the week of March 16 at the commencement of play, who did not make the cut

  • Ties in 1 and 2 were decided in favor of the highest-ranked player in the Rolex Rankings from the week of March 16 at the commencement of play

SOCIAL MEDIA: #DRIVEON 

Tournament: @LadiesScottish; #ASILSO, #RuleTheLinks 

LPGA: @LPGA, @LPGAMedia (Twitter), @lpga_tour (Instagram) 

PAST CHAMPIONS AND RUNNERS-UP 

2019: Mi Jung Hur, 264 (-20); Jeongeun Lee6 and Moriya Jutanugarn, 268 (-16) 

2018: Ariya Jutanugarn, 271 (-13); Minjee Lee, 272 (-12) 

2017: Mi Hyang Lee, 282 (-6); Mi Jung Hur and Karrie Webb, 283 (-5)   

TOURNAMENT SCORING RECORDS 

18 holes: 62, Tiffany Joh, first round, 2018; Mi Jung Hur, second round, 2019 

36 holes: 128, Mi Jung Hur, 2019 

54 holes: 197, Moriya Jutanugarn, 2019 

72 holes: 264 (-20), Mi Jung Hur, 2019