Women's British Open 2019: third round – as it happened

Ashleigh Buhai led by five at one point, but Japanese sensation Hinako Shibuno came back in 30 to take a two-shot advantage into the final round

8.07pm BST

Related: Shibuno leads Women’s British Open on major debut as Ko chases historic treble

6.59pm BST

Hinako Shibuno is sparking joy all right! In goes the putt, and that’s her sixth birdie on the back nine. She came back in 30! By contrast Ashleigh Buhai - who got up and down from the fringe for par - stumbled home in 38. Shibuno’s 67 gives the 20-year old from Japan a two-shot lead going into the final round. Buhai, five clear at one point, trails her partner after a 72. What a turnaround. What a performance by the Smiling Cinderella. What a final day lies in store for us! Make sure to join us tomorrow at midday. Thanks so much for reading.

-14: Shibuno
-12: Buhai
-11: SH Park
-10: Pressel, JY Ko, Salas
-9: Ciganda, Hull, Law

6.53pm BST

Ashleigh Buhai and Hinako Shibuno both crash big drives down the 18th. Buhai’s a fair distance behind her partner, though, and requires a fairway wood to reach the green. It’s a fine shot, pin high, just on the fringe to the right. But she’s upstaged by Shibuno, who cracks a 6-iron straight at the flag from 160 yards. A couple of soft bounces, and it comes to rest three feet past the cup. Whatever happens from here on in - whether she misses this putt, falls away tomorrow, or ends up winning the British Open on her first competitive outing outside Japan - a major new talent has announced itself to the world this week.

6.48pm BST

Bronte Law could hardly make a putt today. Another birdie effort stops one turn short on 18. But that’s a 70. She goes into the final round at -9 ... and she’s yet to make a bogey this week! That is a quite astonishing run. Lizette Salas pars too, and she’ll be delighted with her 70 after going out in 37. She’s -10.

6.46pm BST

Hinako Shibuno and Ashleigh Buhai send a couple of lovely tee shots into 17. Both leave themselves eight footers for birdie. But the momentum’s only with one of these players. Buhai’s effort slides by, but Shibuno’s finds the middle of the cup. The 20-year-old from Japan is the new leader of the British Open! She’s been smiling and laughing with the crowd, stopping to pat a small lad on the head, pose for a selfie and give him a signed glove. She is, to borrow a famous compatriot’s phrase, sparking joy. Buhai looks as though the weight of the world is resting on her shoulders. She must be wondering how she’s let her lead slip. She was going along so steadily on the front nine. She must feel shaken to the core.

-13: Shibuno (17)
-12: Buhai (17)
-11: SH Park (F)

6.41pm BST

Birdie for Lizette Salas on 17! A fine tee shot drawn in to 12 feet, and a left-to-right curler carefully teased into the cup. She moves to -10, and has fought her way right back into contention since the turn. A brilliant performance. Up on 18, Park Sung-hyun pars for a blemish-free 68. She’s perfectly poised at -11.

6.37pm BST

Yep! In it goes! And she punches the air, knowing that she’s rescued her British Open hopes with a stunning back nine of 32. Out in 38, that adds up to a very topsy-turvy round of 70. She’s -9. A wonderful fightback. And she’s only three off the lead now. Because after going 36 holes without dropping a shot, Ashleigh Buhai has now shipped three bogeys in five holes. She leaves her chip from the side of 16 well short, then leaves a 15-foot par effort high on the right. Her partner Hinako Shibuno pars, and that five-shot lead is gone, gone, gone.

-12: Shibuno (16), Buhai (16)
-11: SH Park (17)
-10: Pressel (F), JY Ko (F)
-9: Ciganda (F), Hull (F), Law (17), Salas (16)

6.32pm BST

A wee spot of bother for Charley Hull at 18, as she drives into the bunker to the left of the fairway. She lashes a fine second towards the back of the green, just off. But her putt from the fringe stops six feet short. This is a huge par putt coming up. After her sensational back-nine surge, will she lose a little momentum at the very end?

6.30pm BST

Ariya Jutanugarn’s hopes of winning a second British Open at Woburn look remote now, after a round that unfurled with bogeys at 13, 16 and 18. She ended up with a 72, slipping from a high of -9 to -6. Ashleigh Buhai is also threatening to unravel. Her five-stroke lead having been whittled down to one, she carves an iron from the centre of the fairway at 16 into thick rough to the right of the green. The ball nearly topples into the bunker, but sticks near the lip. She’d have liked to have seen that fall in. She made a huge up and down at 14; what she’d pay in cash money for another one here.

6.22pm BST

Neither Buhai nor Shibuno reach the 15th green in two. But both fizz glorious wedges towards the pin. Buhai leaves herself a six-footer for birdie, Shibuno is perhaps six inches inside. Buhai prods in rather fidgety fashion at her effort, which squirts off to the right. Just a par. But Shibuno makes her birdie! Suddenly she’s just one shot off the lead, and the Smiling Cinderella is having a ball. This is a fantastic leaderboard!

-13: Buhai (15)
-12: Shibuno (15)
-11: SH Park (16)
-10: Pressel (F), JY Ko (F)
-9: Ciganda (F), Hull (17), Salas (15), Law (15)

6.17pm BST

Park Sung-hyun bashes a 300-yard drive down 16. A wedge pin high, leaving a straight 18-footer across the green for a birdie that’d take her to within one shot of Ashleigh Buhai. One more joule of energy, and she’d make it. She remains -11. Up on 18, a 74 for Georgia Hall, and at -4 her grip on the title is all but loosened.

6.14pm BST

Birdie putts for both Bronte Law and Lizette Salas on the par-five 15th. Neither can make theirs. They both remain at -9. Back down the fairway, the final pairing of Hinako Shibuno and Ashleigh Buhai wait for the green to clear after clattering big drives down the track.

6.09pm BST

Ko Jin-young nearly curls in a 30-foot birdie putt from the back of 18. But that’s par, and a 68 that springs her up the leaderboard to -10. Her bid to become only the fourth player to win three majors in a year, after Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods and Inbee Park, is still on. Meanwhile Ciganda takes two putts for a closing double bogey. A farcical end to an otherwise fine round of golf. A third 69 of the week, but it should have been so much better.

6.06pm BST

Hinako Shibuno’s recovery continues apace! Her tee shot at 14 was delicious, over the flag to 12 feet. And in goes the birdie putt! She’s -11. She closes further on Ashleigh Buhai, who clips a delightful sand shot to three feet, and saves her par. That showed such moxie in the circumstances. A third consecutive birdie would have really meddled with her mind. But as things stand she’s still got a two-shot lead at the top. She’s -13, two clear of Carlota Ciganda, who won’t be staying at -11 very much longer. But Park Sung-hyun will be there. She nearly drains a monster eagle putt, but a third birdie in four holes will do. She’s -11.

6.02pm BST

Ashleigh Buhai is rocking. She pulls her hybrid at the par-three 14th into a deep bunker on the left. She looks really flustered at the minute. What she’d give for a ship-steadying sandy save. But she doesn’t have a lot of green to play with. And she’s not the only one in trouble. Second-placed Carlota Ciganda slices her tee shot at 18 into the bushes down the right. She should take an unplayable, but attempts to hack it out instead. She’s got hardly any backswing, and can’t punch her ball out. Now she takes an unplayable. So she’s hitting four into the green. She finds the putting surface, but it’ll be a long two putts for double bogey.

5.58pm BST

Ashleigh Buhai was five shots clear of the field not so long ago. But now her lead is just two. She faces a slippery downhill chip from the side of 13, and sends a lovely soft-handed effort rolling slowly towards the hole. But the green is fast, and her ball ends eight feet past the cup. She pulls the one coming back uphill, and this championship is suddenly on. And there’s a fourth birdie in five holes for Charley Hull, this time at 15. She looked way out of this, but one back-nine charge later, and she’s only four off the lead! She’s soon joined by Bronte Law, who finally makes a birdie putt, draining one across 14. They’re both at -9.

-13: Buhai (13)
-11: Ciganda (16)
-10: Pressel (F), JY Ko (17), SH Park (13), Shibuno (13)

5.52pm BST

Ko’s tee shot at 17 is straight at the flag. But 20 feet short. She very nearly makes the right-to-left curler for another birdie, but fails to give it enough juice. A tap-in for par. Ciganda misses a birdie putt from half the distance, failing to set it far enough out to the right. Meanwhile the US Open champion Jeongeun Lee6 signs for a blemish-free 69 featuring birdies at 2, 10 and 17. She’s nicely placed at -8.

5.48pm BST

The world number one Ko Jin-young nearly finds a bunker to the side of the 16th green. But her ball snags on the bank, and she pops a wedge up onto the green. The ball twangs off the flagstick and drops! Her first birdie on the back nine. She joins the group at -10. Par for her partner Carlota Ciganda. If Ashleigh Buhai stumbles on the way home - and she looks a little concerned as she misses to the right of 13 - this is wide open.

-14: Buhai (12)
-11: Ciganda (16)
-10: Pressel (F), JY Ko (16), SH Park (13), Shibuno (12)

5.40pm BST

Hinako Shibuno is back in business! Her mood lifted, she wedges to ten feet at 12, trots elegantly after the divot, replaces it with a smile, then makes the putt to move to -10. And suddenly she’s only four off the top, because Ashleigh Buhai makes her first error since the 11th on Thursday. She trundles a 30-foot birdie putt six feet past, and shoves the one coming back. Only her second bogey of the week, and suddenly the lead is back to just three. No fourth birdie in a row for Hull, sadly, as she sends her curling putt too far out to the right.

-14: Buhai (12)
-11: Ciganda (15)
-10: Pressel (F), SH Park (13), Shibuno (12)
-9: JY Ko (15), Boutier (13), Salas (12)

5.35pm BST

Park Sung-hyun took a while to get going. But suddenly she’s made back-to-back birdies, firing an iron straight at the flag on 13 and rolling in the 20-foot right-to-left slider. She’s suddenly -10. Celine Boutier birdies the hole too, and she’s -9/ And this is beginning to cook up nicely, because Charley Hull has just lashed a majestic long iron towards the pin at the long par-three 14th. An eight feet putt for a fourth birdie in a row!

5.30pm BST

Three birdies in a row for Charley Hull! The latest at 13. She’s been bang on it since the turn. She’s -8, alongside Bronte Law who misses yet another short-range birdie putt, this time at 12. Her game has been in fine nick today, but her putter’s stone cold. One of those days.

5.27pm BST

Morgan Pressel finishes her round with four birdies in the last five holes! She creams her second at 18 to four feet, and deservedly makes it three in a row. She’s back in 32, and it’s a round of 66! She allows herself a quiet, satisfied smile. The new clubhouse leader. Back-to-back birdies for Lizette Salas, incidentally, at 10 and 11, as she reinserts herself into the story.

-15: Buhai (11)
-11: Ciganda (14)
-10: Pressel (F)
-9: JY Ko (14), Masson (12), SH Park (12), Salas (11), Shibuno (11)

5.21pm BST

Park Sung-hyun has been extremely quiet today. Just the one birdie up until now, at 4. But now the recently deposed world number one goes for the green at the short par-four 12th. She finds a bunker, but splashes out to five feet and makes her second birdie of the day. She’s moved stealthily into the group at -9.

5.18pm BST

Another birdie for Charley Hull! This one comes at 12, and she’s -7 again. Back where she started, after those front-nine bogeys at 2 and 8. And there’s more belated good news for English fans, as Bronte Law - who had missed a short birdie putt on 10 and stormed off absolutely fuming - finally makes one at the par-five 11th. She raises both arms in ironic celebration, and this time she walks off smiling and laughing. She’s -8 and far from out of this ... providing Ashleigh Buhai gives some succour to the field. Which at the moment looks far from likely.

5.14pm BST

Ashleigh Buhai just keeps on trucking! Her approach into 10 isn’t particularly close, but her flat stick is red hot, and she guides in a right-to-left slider for another birdie. There’s a much-needed birdie for her partner Hinako Shibuno, who hasn’t cracked her trademark smile for some time. For a second, it looks as though she’s not going to respond to this boost, ground down by her earlier misfires. But she can’t help herself. A smile plays around the side of her mouth. The professional within tries to fight it, but eventually she gives in, letting it spread across her face. The gallery respond to her infectious joy. Welcome back, Smiling Cinderella, we’ve missed you.

-15: Buhai (10)
-11: Ciganda (14)
-9: Pressel (17), JY Ko (14), A Jutanugarn (12), Masson (12), Shibuno (10)

5.07pm BST

You’ll have noticed Morgan Pressel creeping onto the bottom of the leaderboard. Well, she hasn’t stopped there! The Floridian made her name as the 18-year-old winner of the ANA Inspiration back in 2007, in those pre-Lydia-Ko days becoming the youngest-ever women’s major champion. Now 31, she’s looking to banish the ghosts of 2013, when she led this event at St Andrews after 54 holes, only to shoot a final round of 76. Out in 34 today, she’s just birdied 14, 16 and now 17, the latest deserved reward for a lovely iron landed softly to the right of the pin at the par-three, her ball gathering round to 12 feet. She’s right in the mix now!

-14: Buhai (9)
-10: Ciganda (13)
-9: Pressel (17), JY Ko (13), A Jutanugarn (12), Masson (11)

4.59pm BST

Jung Yan pars the last for her 67. She’s the new clubhouse leader at -8. In the meantime, Charley Hull makes her first birdie of the day, raking in a long birdie putt across 12. She’s back to -6, and the crowd give her an encouraging roar. But it’s a poor three-putt bogey for Hinako Shibuno on 9. She turns in 37, head bowed, the effervescent figure of yesterday afternoon a distant memory right now. She slips to -8. A fairytale win for the Smiling Cinderella will soon become a pipe dream if she doesn’t rediscover her mojo soon. The 20-year-old debutant looks extremely deflated. It’s a real shame.

-14: Buhai (9)
-10: Ciganda (12)
-9: JY Ko (12), A Jutanugarn (11), Masson (11)
-8: Yang (F), Pressel (16), SH Park (10), Shibuno (9)

4.51pm BST

Bounce-back birdie for Carlota Ciganda! She responds to that yip on 11 with two careful, easy irons down 12. In goes the 12-footer, and the lead at the top is cut to four. Par for her partner Ko Jin-young. Another birdie Jing Yan, meanwhile, at the par-three 17th. If she makes it up the last without dropping a shot, the 33-year-old from China will be signing for a 67.

-14: Buhai (8)
-10: Ciganda (12)
-9: JY Ko (12), A Jutanugarn (11), Masson (10), Shibuno (8)
-8: Yan (17), SH Park (10)

4.46pm BST

A miserable and frustrating end to Anna Nordqvist’s excellent round. She sends her second at 18 bounding towards the flag. It nearly clatters the stick, in which case she could be waltzing off the green with an outrageous eagle. But the ball misses and topples off the back. A hot putt from the fringe ends eight feet past the hole, and the par saver coming back lips out. That’s still a marvellous 68, but every shot counts with Ashleigh Buhai romping away at the top, and she walks off looking as disappointed as you’d imagine. She’s the new clubhouse leader at -7.

4.42pm BST

Ko Jin-young looks to have made a right-to-left 20-footer on 11 for birdie. The ball’s heading for the hole, dead on line. But then gravity does a number on her, the ball somehow riding the wall of death, making a u-turn around the back of the cup, stubbornly refusing to drop, then sitting up on the lip. That’s outrageous. So unlucky for the ANA and Evian champ. She remains at -9, now alongside Caroline Masson, who birdies 10 with a celebratory air punch, and Carlota Ciganda, who bogeys 11 after yipping a short par putt. Ashleigh Buhai now has a five-shot lead! It was nearly six, but she lets a 12-foot birdie putt on 8 tail off to the right.

-14: Buhai (8)
-9: JY Ko (11), Ciganda (11), A Jutanugarn (10), Shibuno (8)

4.35pm BST

A beauty sent into the par-three 8th by Bronte Law. Her ball bounces up the green, resting pin high, 12 feet to the left of the flag. But her birdie effort is never going in, always heading right the second it leaves the face of the putter. Extreme frustration for Law, who shakes her head in bewilderment. That wasn’t a confident stroke. She stays at -7, just off the pace. She’s joined there by her partner Lizette Salas, who went long and left with her tee shot and couldn’t get up and down.

4.32pm BST

The Smiling Cinderella looks a little down on herself right now. The sensational approaches aren’t going quite so close today. Shibuno’s 15 feet from the flag at the par-five 7th, but the birdie putt doesn’t drop. But her playing partner Ashleigh Buhai rolls in another fine putt from similar distance. Birdie. She looks so cool right now, so calm, it’ll send a chill through the rest of the field.

-14: Buhai (7)
-10: Ciganda (10)
-9: JY Ko (10), A Jutanugarn (10), Shibuno (7)
-8: Nordqvist (17), Masson (9), SH Park (8), Salas (7)

4.27pm BST

We have a new clubhouse leader in Sakura Yokomine. The 33-year-old from Japan doesn’t have a stellar record in the majors - top-ten finishes at the US Open in 2010 and 2014, and that’s it - but a 67 today has propelled her up to -6. Meanwhile on 10, the 2016 champ Ariya Jutanugarn sends a wedge over the flag at 10, nearly spinning it back into the cup for eagle. The ball rolls a further couple of feet past, but that’s another birdie and she’s -9. And bogey for Celine Boutier at 8, a short putt pushed right of the cup. She’s back to -7.

4.22pm BST

It’s beginning to look as though any faint hope of a home victory will be down to Bronte Law. She’s level par through 6, and remains at -7. But hot on the heels of Georgia Hall’s double at 9 comes bogey at 8 for Charley Hull, who slips to -5 as well. Hall and Hull have eight shots to make up on Ashleigh Buhai, a player who so far has dropped one shot all week.

4.17pm BST

A lovely tee shot into 6 by the leader Ashleigh Buhai. Pin high, 12 feet to the left. She’s a bit tentative with the birdie putt, though, and it dies off to the left. A good chance to extend her healthy lead at the top even further goes by the wayside. Meanwhile we were spared the sight of Georgia Hall’s head poking out the top of the wild nonsense she drove into. But we do witness the misery of double bogey. She clatters down the standings to -5, and the chance of her becoming the first player since Yani Tseng in 2011 to retain the British Open may have just gone, right there.

4.07pm BST

Bother here for the defending champion Georgia Hall. She sends a hook towards the gallery down the left of 9. It clears the punters, bounces on a path, and disappears into waist-high vegetation. That’s some mutant cabbage. Meanwhile the smile still hasn’t returned to Hinako Shibuno’s face: an underhit chip from the side of 5 leads to her first bogey since the 4th yesterday. Here’s the latest leaderboard, now featuring no English players at all.

-13: Buhai (5)
-10: Ciganda (9)
-9: JY Ko (9), Shibuno (5)
-8: Nordqvist (15), A Jutanugarn (8), Masson (7), Boutier (6), SH Park (6), Salas (5)

3.59pm BST

Ariya Jutanugarn isn’t far from eagle at 7. But birdie will suffice. She joins the group at -8. Lizette Salas repairs the damage of 3 with birdie at 5. She’s -8 again. Caroline Masson rolls in a 25-foot birdie putt on 5, and she’s back to -8 too. And Charley Hull pulls a eight-footer for birdie at 8. The home charge is stalling on the easier front nine.

3.56pm BST

England’s dreaming as Bronte Law and Georgia Hall line up birdie putts. Law first. She’d sent her second at 5 over the flag, leaving a relatively straight 12 footer coming back. But she underhits it, the ball dying to the left and stopping one dimple short. Georgia Hall meanwhile clips her tee shot at 8 to eight feet ... but she underhits her putt too, her effort dying right. Both players take turns to look pained, a little bit of frustration creeping in.

3.50pm BST

Back-to-back birdies for Ko Jin-young! A tee shot at 8 to 15 feet, and a putt guided nervelessly into the hole. Back-to-back majors as well? You wouldn’t bet too much money against it. Meanwhile they call Hinako Shibuno “Smiling Cinderella” back home in Japan, her sunny demeanour beloved by fans. She’s not smiling right now, though, a lesser-spotted cloud of misery gently hovering over her head after she sent a sensational approach at 4 to six feet, only to misread the right-to-left break on the birdie putt. I doubt she’ll wallow for too long.

3.44pm BST

Another long putt at 7. It’s sunk by Carlota Ciganda’s playing partner Ko Jin-young from 25 feet for birdie. The world number one rises to -8. Meanwhile China’s Jing Yan is going along very nicely: birdies at 3, 6, 8 and now 11, and she’s -7. Yan, Ciganda and Nordqvist are showing that it’s possible to score low today. The English charge isn’t going to plan, though. Only Georgia Hall is under par for her round at the moment, with birdie at 2 her only prize through the first seven holes. She’s -7, as is Bronte Law, who has parred the opening three. And Charley Hull is still one over for her round, -6 overall through six.

3.37pm BST

Scrub “ever-expanding” from that last entry, will you? Masson hits a second poor approach in a row, this time at 5. Her ball apologetically squeaks onto the front of the green, but well away from the flag. She leaves the first putt well short, then pulls the par saver. Bogey. Meanwhile Ciganda finds the par-five 7th in two, then curls in a 40-foot right-to-left breaker for eagle! Ciganda’s been in the mix so often at the majors in recent times. She may be due one. This could be it! Shibuno can’t make her birdie putt on 3, meanwhile, so she’s now got company in second spot.

-13: Buhai (3)
-10: Ciganda (7), Shibuno (3)
-8: Nordqvist (12), Boutier (4), SH Park (4)

3.33pm BST

It’s easy to forget that Hinako Shibuno is playing in her first major championship this week. The 20-year-old Japanese sensation makes it all look so simple. She gently swishes a 6-iron pin high at 3. She’ll have another look at birdie, this time from 15 feet. Meanwhile a first birdie of Park Sung-hyun’s round, the reward for an approach to three feet at 4. She joins the ever-expanding group at -8.

3.28pm BST

A three-putt bogey for Salas at 3. Maybe not technically, the first was from the fringe at the back, but you get the gist. She slips to -7, and her four-birdie blitz at the start of yesterday’s round seems an awfully long time ago. Moving the other way: Celine Boutier, who birdies 4 and joins the group at -8.

3.24pm BST

Carlota Ciganda nearly slam-dunks her tee shot at 6 into the cup! It pitches six inches from the hole, then scoots four feet past. Wow. We’ve come close to a hole-in-one already this week, Marina Alex nearly acing 8 yesterday. But a birdie is more than acceptable. Meanwhile on 4, Masson doesn’t panic, and sends a lovely wedge to three feet, and tidies up to scramble her par. And back on 2, Shibuno very nearly bumps a wedge across the big green and into the cup for eagle. Birdie, though she’s still three back because Buhai makes a 20-footer to maintain her cushion at the top.

-13: Buhai (2)
-10: Shibuno (2)
-8: Nordqvist (12), Ciganda (6), Masson (4), Salas (2)

3.17pm BST

Just a birdie for Nordqvist at 11, then. Apologies for getting y’all excited. And to further dampen the mood, belated news of Charley Hull, who couldn’t scramble her par at 2, the Woburn member dropping back to -6. Meanwhile Shibuno has cracked two lovely woods down 2 and she’s near the front of the green, hunting down a birdie. But trouble for Masson at 4, as her approach clatters into overhanging branches down the right and leaves her ball 50 yards short of the green.

-12: Buhai (1)
-9: Shibuno (1)
-8: Nordqvist (11), Masson (3), Salas (2)

3.13pm BST

Bronte Law lines up a six-foot birdie chance on the par-five 2nd. She shoves it right, and storms off the green in a hot funk. She’s yet to make a birdie this week on this very accommodating hole, which could explain her immense irritation. Her playing partner Lizette Salas misses a short birdie chance as well, racing it four feet past. She nails the one coming back. Neither player in the penultimate group are exuding rays of sunshine right now. They remain at -7 and -8 respectively.

3.09pm BST

Hmm, Nordqvist at 11. There’s been no televised footage, and depending on which source you believe, she made either eagle or just (just!) birdie. In case of the latter, she’ll be -8, in a share of third with Salas and Masson. We’ll keep you posted on that.

3.05pm BST

Caroline Masson curls in a 30-footer for birdie at 3. She joins Lizette Salas at -8. The world number one Ko Jin-young is in hot pursuit: having started shakily with bogey at 2, she’s bounced back with birdies at 3 and 4, the latter the result of an obnoxiously good second shot sent to a couple of feet tops.

3.02pm BST

Thanks John. Now then! The two-time major-winning Swede Anna Nordqvist appears to be on a qvest for number three. Having turned in 33 with those early birdies at 2, 3 and 5, she’s taken it up a notch further. Birdie at 10, followed now by eagle at the par-three 11th! They’ve moved the tee boxes up in the hope of a little more positivity on the par fives, and there we have it. She’s six under for her round already, and has a share of second. This is why they call it Moving Day. Meanwhile opening pars for Buhai and Shibuno in the final group.

-12: Buhai (1)
-9: Nordqvist (11), Shibuno (1)
-8: Salas (1)

2.52pm BST

Georgia Hall has a long, speedy putt to play on the third, while Hull’s attempt to rescue par is off to a bad start with an undercooked first putt from the fringe of the green. Right, here comes the leading pair. Shibuno, second on -9, has the honour. A broad smile as her name is read out, and she clatters her drive down the middle. Ashleigh Buhai’s first shot is hit with what looks like an almost casual deportment but it bumps and runs to safety.

And, with all the leading protagonists on the course, Scott Murray is back...

2.47pm BST

Jutanugarn and Hall are on the third, and within touching distance of each other on the fairway. Charley Hull has work to do on the second after a shot that lands in the no-mans land between sand and rough. How did it go? Badly, is the answer. Topped it and faces a race to make par on a very birdie-able par five. Ko claims back that bogey on the first with a birdie on the second. Salas’s second shot to the first green is safe enough, what can Bronte Law conjure with a nine-iron? It was a fine effort but she wasn’t aided by a rather deadened surface.

2.42pm BST

Bronte Law, the leading Brit on -7, takes to that opening tee. And is safe as houses on the first fairway. Lizette Salas, the other member of the penultimate pairing, fades her drive to a similar sense of safety. Just Buhai and Shibuno to come now.

2.39pm BST

Minjee Lee hits the crossbar - the flag, to be precise - with a pitch from a raised fringe of the fifth. Jutanugarn has an eagle chance on the second, and goes for it. That leaves her seven feet to make birdie, and seven she feet she deals with. Georgia Hall, on that par-5 second, has her own birdie chance. And she reads it perfectly, giving the ball just a nudge and letting the ridges take the strain. Up to -7 she goes.

2.34pm BST

Charley Hull’s bunker shot is a beauty, and lands her with a decent birdie chance, though her attempt falls short. Marina Alex sinks a birdie putt on the fourth to wipe out a bogey on the third. Sung Hyun Park is underway with a straight - and true - drive. It flies down the fairway, around 290 yards. Celine Boutier begins her round with far less of a thump but her shot is safe on the fairway. She will be taking the next, as her opponent is one of the game’s biggest hitters. Ko makes a mess of her putting and three-putts to suffer a bogey on the second.

2.25pm BST

Up on the first tee, Caroline Masson, on -7, gets her round underway, and hits her shot to the right of the fairway. Up steps Charley Hull to loud applause, but a few groans as she whacks it 240 yards into the bunker. She is followed by a large crowd. Another home favourite, Hall, seems to have misread the green completely. Jutanugarn makes her par while Nordqvist’s birdie putt falls short. Her charge is slowing somewhat.

2.20pm BST

Ariya Jutanugarn, her shot delayed by someone’s mobile bleeping, plays her second to the lip of the green. Georgia Hall follows up by hitting hers up and to the left of the hole, closer than her playing partner. Their birdies will be some task. Ciganda, at the second after making birdie on the first, has to lay up from a bunker, and may struggle to make par. Anna Nordqvist is at the eighth, and has a birdie chance.

2.13pm BST

The defending champion Georgia Hall takes to the 1st tee. A huge roar as she tees it up. Pin-drop silence as she hits her drive. Another roar as her ball splits the fairway. She’s going round today with Ariya Jutanugarn, who won this tournament on this very course three years ago. Thailand’s first major champion sends her ball down the road too. The third round just got real.

And with that, I’m going to have a quick break. John Brewin will treat you right in the meantime. See you again soon.

2.06pm BST

Hannah Green is so close to raking in a long birdie effort on 18. But she’s more than happy to kick in for par, and that’s a fine 68 that moves the PGA champ all the way up to -4. There’ll be no second major this year, but having threatened to miss the cut, she’s now in the process of turning an average week into a more impressive (and lucrative) one. She was going round today with Jessica Korda, who shot 69. She’s -3, and pretty much all of the above applies to her as well. It’s been a feelgood pairing.

2.00pm BST

Brooke Henderson finds tree-bound trouble off the tee at 2. Always out of position, she ends up making bogey. A huge disappointment on a hole that offers birdie on a plate. She drops to -3. Her playing partner Minjee Lee is on the dancefloor in two, but trundles her long eagle putt 12 feet past, and she fails to make the one coming back. She trudges off the green as well, having made a par that will feel like a bogey. She’s -5.

1.57pm BST

Another birdie chance for Nordqvist, who sends her tee shot at 6 straight at the flag. A little short, but it’s an uphill left-to-right curler from 20 feet. A chance to have a good run at it, but she leaves a very tentative effort three feet short. Par, and she remains at -6. Her playing partner Lexi Thompson has hit her tee shot pin high. In goes a lovely birdie putt from 15 feet, and she’s back to -3. Her putter works just fine from medium to long range; it’s the tiddlers that get her nerves jangling and addle the head.

1.50pm BST

But low scores are out there, and someone’s going to make a run at the leaders. It may well be Anna Nordqvist, who cards her third birdie of the day after sending a lovely approach at 5 to four feet. She’s -6, though she walks off the green with the sort of stern look most players wear when they’ve just four putted from three feet. Typical Scandi supercool.

-12: Buhai
-9: Shibuno
-8: Salas
-7: Law, Boutier, SH Park, Hull, Masson
-6: Nordqvist (5), A Jutanugarn, Hall, JY Ko, Ciganda, Kang
-5: Gillman (F), S Kim (12), M Lee (1), N Korda, Alex, Lee6

1.44pm BST

It would be fair to describe Brooke Henderson as swashbuckling. Will you take a look at this swing.

1.30pm BST

Last year’s runner-up Pornanong Phatlum finishes round three with at 69. Ditto the 2018 Evian champ Angela Stanford. Both are -2 going into Sunday. Back on 4, Anna Nordqvist passes up a good chance for a third birdie in a row, setting a gently breaking ten-footer too far out to the right. She remains at -5.

1.24pm BST

Back-to-back birdies for Anna Nordqvist. Shots picked up at 2 and 3 send the two-time major winning Swede up to -5. Meanwhile the reigning PGA champ Hannah Green, having just survived the cut, is flying up the leaderboard. Birdies at 8 and 14 sandwiching an eagle at the short par-four 12th. No footage of this yet, but a wild stab in the dark suggests a chip-in from the fairway. She’s -4.

1.16pm BST

Kristen Gillman finishes with three pars and signs for a 66. That’s the joint second-best round of the week, and she’s the very early clubhouse leader at -5. Meanwhile Xiyu Lin and Kim Sei-young are threatening to put together similarly impressive rounds. Both have hit the turn in 33 strokes, rising to -4. Lin has a couple of European Tour wins to her name, both at the Sanya Open back home in China, while Kim’s CV includes top-ten finishes at all the majors. Just a little too far back to covert their work into a maiden major title.

1.07pm BST

Lexi can’t take advantage of her big break. Having sent her second up the fairway on the par-five 2nd, she wedges for the pin, tucked away to the left. She takes up a massive divot, roughly half of the historic county of Buckinghamshire, as her ball sails too far left. She faces a tricky up and down from a tight lie with little green to play with. A gorgeous soft-handed stab sets her up for par from two feet ... but she yips it. Her fourth bogey of the week, and she’s back to -2. This is becoming a huge mental problem for Thompson. The number of short putts she misses is off the scale. A big factor not converting her huge talent into more major championships, right there.

12.57pm BST

Up on the green, Moriya Jutanugarn strokes in a birdie putt from 12 feet and rises to -4. Yesterday’s first 11 holes, played in four over par, have proved so expensive. Meanwhile her Thai compatriot Pornanong Phatlum, who ran Georgia Hall so close last year at Lytham, is putting together a round in the free-flowing style of someone happy to have avoided the cut by the skin of their teeth. A late run of birdies, at 13, 14 and 17, have boosted last year’s runner-up to -2.

12.52pm BST

It beggars belief that Lexi Thompson just has the one major to her name. The 2014 ANA Inspiration, and that’s it so far for the super-talented 24-year-old from Florida. Going into the weekend at -3, she needs something special today if she’s to improve on her best British Open finish of a tie for eighth here at Woburn in 2016, never mind win the thing. But a birdie putt from 15 feet slips by the left on the 1st. She’ll need a bit of good fortune too, and she gets it on the par-five 2nd, hooking her tee shot towards the tall trees down the left. A massive cannon off a trunk sends her ball sailing back in the correct direction. She’s in the semi-rough. She’s got away with that big-style.

12.45pm BST

Angela Stanford finally won that elusive maiden major last year at the age of 40. The Texan was a runner-up at the 2003 US Open, tied for third at the 2011 Dinah Shore, tied for fourth at the PGA in 2004, and tied for fifth in this event in 2014. She got over the line at last year’s Evian Championship in dramatic style. Eagle at 15, double bogey at 16, birdie at 17. And even then she needed her compatriot Amy Olsen to double bogey the last and fall short of a play-off. Stanford won’t be winning major number two this week, but she’s putting together a fine round today. Birdies at 7, 12, 13 and now 17 have zipped her up the standings to -3.

12.30pm BST

The weather at Woburn is much the same as it’s been for the first two days. Lovely and calm. So it’s conducive to low scoring yet again. Kristen Gillman - on her rookie year as a pro, but already with a top-ten finish at the ANA Inspiration under her belt - is proving that already. The 21-year-old US Amateur champion is tearing it up today. Birdies at 1, 5, 6, 11, 14 and now 15. One more before she gets home, and she’ll be matching Ashleigh Buhai’s best-of-week 65. She’s -5.

12.23pm BST

Here are some of the big names who didn’t make the cut. Shanshan Feng (2012 PGA). Ryu So-yeon (2011 US Open and 2017 ANA). Karrie Webb (Career slam). Paula Creamer (2010 US Open). Catriona Matthew (2009 British Open). Inbee Park (Career slam). Pernilla Lindberg (2018 ANA). Stacy Lewis (2011 ANA and 2013 British Open). Lydia Ko (2015 Evian and 2016 ANA). And Laura Davies (two PGAs, a US Open, the du Maurier Classic when it was a major, the British Open when it wasn’t). The depth of the field illustrated, right there.

12.10pm BST

Today’s tee times ... for your perusal.

8.45am Sarah Schmelzel (US), Mariajo Uribe (Col)
8.55am Angela Stanford (US), Charlotte Thomas (Eng)
9.05am Kristen Gillman (US), Pornanong Phatlum (Tha)
9.15am Felicity Johnson (Eng), Chun In-gee (Kor)
9.25am Annabel Dimmock (Eng), Linnea Strom (Swe)
9.35am Jasmine Suwannapura (Tha), Su Oh (Aus)
9.45am Angel Yin (US), Azahara Munoz (Spa)
9.55am Minami Katsu (Jpn), Anne Van Dam (Ned)
10.05am Hannah Green (Aus), Jessica Korda (US)
10.20am Brittany Altomare (US), Austin Ernst (US)
10.30am Karo Lampert (Ger), Cheyenne Knight (US)
10.40am Hur Mi-jung (Kor), Momoko Ueda (Jpn)
10.50am Ayako Uehara (Jpn), Yu Liu (Chn)
11am Mirim Lee (Kor), Yuka Yasuda -a- (Jpn)
11.10am Kim Sei-young (Kor), Annie Park (US)
11.20am Xiyu Lin (Chn), Maria Torres (Pur)
11.30am Sakura Yokomine (Jpn), Brittany Lang (US)
11.40am Teresa Lu (Tai), Gerina Piller (US)
11.55am Jodi Ewart Shadoff (Eng), Jenny Shin (Kor)
12.05pm Ally McDonald (US), Nicole Broch Larsen (Den)
12.15pm Sarah Kemp (Aus), Caroline Hedwall (Swe)
12.25pm Atthaya Thitikul -a- (Tha), Moriya Jutanugarn (Tha)
12.35pm Lexi Thompson (US), Anna Nordqvist (Swe)
12.45pm Jeongeun Lee (Kor), Jing Yan (Chn)
12.55pm Kim Hyo-joo (Kor), Megan Khang (US)
1.05pm Olivia Cowan (Ger), IK Kim (Kor)
1.15pm Pavarisa Yoktuan (Tha), Morgan Pressel (US)
1.25pm Brooke Henderson (Can), Minjee Lee (Aus)
1.40pm Marina Alex (US), Nelly Korda (US)
1.50pm Jeongeun Lee6 (Kor), Danielle Kang (US)
2pm Carlota Ciganda (Spa), Ko Jin-young (Kor)
2.10pm Georgia Hall (Eng), Ariya Jutanugarn (Tha)
2.20pm Caroline Masson (Ger), Charley Hull (Eng)
2.30pm Park Sung-hyun (Kor), Celine Boutier (Fra)
2.40pm Bronte Law (Eng), Lizette Salas (US)
2.50pm Hinako Shibuno (Jpn), Ashleigh Buhai (SA)

12.00pm BST

Ashleigh Buhai didn’t wait around for Moving Day. The 30-year-old South African - a teenage prodigy who has taken a while to realise her potential - played the back nine in 32 strokes yesterday evening. That established a three-stroke 36-hole lead over Hinako Shibuno, the infectiously exciting young Japanese talent making her major championship debut. With the relatively short-hitting Lizette Salas in third, it’s safe to say the top of the leaderboard has a fresh, unexpected look about it.

But there are some big names lurking. The defending champion Georgia Hall for one, leading an English charge with Bronte Law and Charley Hull. The world number one Ko Jin-young and the number two Park Sung-hyun. Ariya Jutanugarn, who won this event here in 2016. The US Open champion Jeongeun Lee6. We could go on, but time’s a factor, and there’s golf to be played. Let’s get out there. It’s on!

Continue reading...