Yuka Saso wins 2021 US Women’s Open – as it happened

Yuka Saso becomes second teenager to win US OpenNasa Hataoka edged out in play-offLexi Thompson gives up five-shot lead

12.58am BST

Congratulations to Yuka Saso, the new US Women’s Open champion. She becomes only the second teenager to win the US Open, equalling the record Inbee Park set in 2008 exactly: 19 years, 11 months and 17 days. Commiserations to Nasa Hataoka, who pushed her all the way to a sudden-death play-off; also to Lexi Thompson, her back-nine collapse earning her a place in Olympic Club infamy alongside Arnold Palmer, who lost a seven-stroke lead on the back nine to Billy Casper in the 1966 men’s version. Hey, there’s worse company to find yourself in. Thanks for reading this hole-by-hole report. Nighty night!

-4: Saso, Hataoka (Saso won play-off at first sudden-death hole)
-3: Thompson
-2: Khang, Feng
E: Yin
+1: Lin, Ko, A Jutanugarn, Henderson, Park
+2: Olson, Lee6
+3: Herbin, Ganne (a)
+4: Lee, Kim, Li, Stark (a)

Related: Yuka Saso wins US Women’s Open after Lexi Thompson’s final day collapse

12.49am BST

Megha Ganne is awarded her silver medal for low amateur, then Yuka Saso is given her Mickey Wright Medal. Finally she lifts the US Open trophy, deserved reward for a sensational victory. “My dream was to be world number one and win the US Open, but I wasn’t thinking I would hold this trophy this week. I am really happy. I knew there were par fives on the last few holes and maybe I could get my chance. After 18, I felt my stomach a little ... it hurts ... I don’t know why! But I ate banana and it feels better now. This means a lot.” Then a mention for Rory McIlroy, who she has modelled her swing on. “Rory mentioned me on Instagram, saying get that trophy, so I did. Thank you Rory!” Just a lovely speech from golf’s newest superstar!

12.44am BST

Yuka Saso’s victory this week will go down as a huge surprise, though perhaps it shouldn’t: she did tie for 13th last year, after all. The manner in which she bounced back from that dismal start - double bogey at 2, double bogey at 3 - was a demonstration of top-drawer sporting moxie. Her approaches at 16 and 17 put matchplay-style pressure on Lexi Thompson, who couldn’t cope. Just a 73 on the final day, and yet it’s a performance and a victory for the ages.

12.38am BST

Saso becomes only the second teenager to win the US Open. The first: Inbee Park, who was exactly the same age, 19 years, 11 months and 17 days, when she triumphed in 2008! That is very strange; sometimes the planets just align.

12.35am BST

After being warmly congratulated by the gracious Nasa Hataoka, then drenched in champagne, an understandably emotional Yuka Saso, the 2021 US Open champion, talks to NBC. How did she bounce back from that awful start? “I was upset and my caddy talked to me. He said there are still many holes to go, so keep what I was doing the last few days and trust the process. I was just glad and thankful that I was here and able to play in this tournament. It is unbelievable! I’d like to thank my family. I wouldn’t be here without them ... [some inevitable tears] ... I’m sorry ... to all my sponsors who helped me I am thankful ... to all my friends I am really thankful ... I hope I can do more and keep this going.”

12.31am BST

A perfectly judged right-to-left birdie putt drops, and the young Filipino wins her first major at the age of 19! Who would have thought this could happen when she double-bogeyed 2 and 3?!

12.30am BST

Hataoka rolls up to three feet. A short uphill one left for par. But will she get to make it? For the third time, Saso has a putt to win the US Open!

12.28am BST

Saso has made some outrageous escapes from the rough this week, and this might be her best! Her wedge cuts crisply through the cabbage, her ball biting eight feet from the pin! She’ll have a great look at birdie, and the pressure is really on Hataoka now, because her sand wedge from the centre of the fairway is weak, only just landing on the front of the green and spinning back a little. She’ll be left with a 30-footer. She needs something special.

12.23am BST

Hataoka still with the honour. She creams her drive down the middle of the fairway, about 100 yards from the hole. Saso’s drive however leaks off to the left, takes a hard bounce, and disappears into the filth. Advantage Hataoka with the roles reversed.

12.19am BST

Yep! She hits a supremely confident par saver into the heart of the cup, and we’re going to sudden death. Back to 9 with the pair of you.

Hataoka 4-4
Saso 4-4

12.18am BST

Saso goes for it ... and seriously overcooks it! To astonished gasps, she sends a fast one six feet past, the ball always staying on the high side. Can she knock in the return and take us back to the 9th?

12.17am BST

Hataoka strides around, in preparation for the biggest putt of her life. Eventually, all decisions made, she sends a well-paced putt to kick-in distance. It was never going to drop, mind, always staying up on the right. Another par, and for the second time today, Saso will have a putt for the US Open title!

12.14am BST

Saso next. She sends hers over the flag. The ball bites and threatens to spin back, but stops pretty much dead and she’ll have a look from 20 feet. Let the putting shootout commence.

12.12am BST

Hataoka to play first. She’s 103 yards out, in thick rough, halfway up the bank on the left. She does extremely well to smash her wedge onto the fringe at the front. The ball breaks to the right but just about holds the fringe. She’s pin high, and will be pleased with that outcome. She’s left with a 30-footer.

12.09am BST

Hataoka’s tee-box radar has gone on the blink at exactly the wrong time. She hooks her hybrid into the thick stuff down the left of the second play-off hole, the 18th. Saso splits the fairway. Advantage Saso once again.

12.06am BST

Saso up first. Her putt is always missing on the high side. She’ll have a three-foot tickler coming back. Hataoka then rolls her birdie effort straight at the cup ... but it stops a dimple short. She taps in for par, but only after asking whether this is a match-play style situation. It’s not. Saso cleans up, and we’re effectively sudden death now. Meanwhile NBC inform us that Lexi Thompson has declined the kind offer of an interview, which is hardly surprising given her back-nine collapse.

Hataoka 4
Saso 4

12.01am BST

Hataoka’s lie isn’t too awful, all things considering. After some deliberation, she bumps a glorious wedge into the front of the green, her ball working right to left, ending pin high. She’ll have an uphill look at birdie from 15 feet! Saso, from the short stuff, comes up 20 feet short. Ah the ebb and flow.

11.57pm BST

NBC have a quick word with the low amateur, the extremely cheerful Megha Ganne. “No disappointment at all. I had a ton of fun, and expect to see me back here! I’m going back to school tomorrow. My friends and sister will definitely snap me back into reality.”

11.55pm BST

Here we go, then. Hataoka has the honour, and hooks her drive into the cabbage down the left. Instant advantage to Saso, who turns the screw by whistling her drive down the right-hand side of the fairway. That’s gone one hell of a way.

11.51pm BST

The play-off, then. It’s a two-hole aggregate affair, the players playing the 9th then the 18th. If they still can’t be separated, it goes to sudden death, alternating between 9 and 18.

11.48pm BST

Golf, eh? Bloody hell! Anyway, we’re guaranteed a new major champion. Nasa Hataoka, 22 from Japan, has been threatening to make the breakthrough for a while, having tied for second at the 2018 PGA and third at the same event last year. She’s also got top-ten finishes at the ANA (2020) and the US Open (2018 at Shoal Creek) already on her CV. By comparison, Yuka Saso tied for 13th at last year’s US Open, and that’s it ... though the Filipino is only 19. Or, to be exact, 19 years, 11 months and 17 days, exactly the same age Inbee Park was when she won in 2008. Park is the only teenage winner of the US Open as things stand. Is a little bit of history about to be rewritten?

11.42pm BST

Saso makes her par putt for a 73. That’s one hell of a salvage job, and she’s in a play-off with Hataoka! Meanwhile poor Thompson taps in for bogey. A 75 as uncertain as yesterday’s 66 was majestic. She shipped a five-shot lead, and while that’s not up there with Arnold Palmer’s antics here in 1966, when he lost a seven-stroke lead on the back nine to Billy Casper in the men’s version, this is going to be a tough one to process. Back in 41 with a bogey-bogey finish. Palmer never won another major after his debacle; let’s hope the same fate doesn’t befall the popular Thompson, who smiles graciously as she congratulates Saso and Ganne, who both exit the green beaming, one as low amateur, the other heading into a play-off!

-4: Hataoka (F), Saso (F)
-3: Thompson (F)
-2: Khang (F), Feng (F)

11.38pm BST

Thompson, for the par and a place in a playoff. She prods timidly at the putt, and it’s never, ever, ever reaching the hole. She laughs out loud at her mistake, but this is going to be a difficult one to get over. More on that anon, but first, Megha Ganne rattles in a par saver for a 77. Huge cheers as she’s the low amateur!

11.36pm BST

Saso prowls, though she doesn’t take too long. A putt for the US Open. She sends the ball rolling serenely towards the cup ... it’s going in ... no it’s not. It turns to the right and she’s left with, under the circumstances, an extremely testing four footer coming back up to make a play-off!

11.33pm BST

Thompson has a decent lie in the bunker. This has to go close. What if she Bob Tways it for the win? Nope. She’ll need to make a 15-footer coming back if she’s to make a play-off ... while now Saso, whose jig looked up after those double bogeys at 2 and 3, has a putt for the title!

11.31pm BST

Thompson first, from 109 yards ... and yet again she comes up short, her 9-iron dunking into the bunker at the front. The door’s ajar for Saso, who from 98 yards, lands on the dancefloor. The ball spins back, shades of Sandy at Augusta in 1988, though not quite so close. She’ll have a look at birdie from 15 feet.

11.29pm BST

Jeonguen Lee6 also pars, signing for a very disappointing final round of 76. She’s +2. Ah well, she’ll always have Charleston. Then Nasa Hataoka tidies up, and she’s carding a magnificent 68 that saw her make three birdies in the last six holes. It was so close to four. She’s set a mark at -4. Can either Saso or Thompson birdie the last to snatch it?

-4: Hataoka (F), Saso (17), Thompson (17)
-2: Khang (F), Feng (F)

11.26pm BST

Saso clips her hybrid down the middle of the very narrow 18th fairway. The pressure’s really on Thompson now. Iron for safety. She whipcracks it down the track. What a response, especially in light of what’s just happened on 17. Up on the green, Hataoka rolls her birdie effort down the green. For a sweet second, it looks like dropping, but then veers off to the right. She should tap in for a 68, but nothing’s certain in this cauldron. Before that can happen, Shanshan Feng pars for a 71. She ends the week at -2.

11.21pm BST

Thompson sends a tentative dribbler towards the hole, the ball breaking apologetically to the left. A little more pace would have taken the gentle break out of the equation. Saso taps in for birdie. And up on 18, Hataoka sends her second over the flag to 15 feet. Anything is on now!

-4: Hataoka (17), Saso (17), Thompson (17)
-2: Khang (F), Feng (17)

11.19pm BST

Saso splashes from the big bunker to three feet. That’s really cranked up some matchplay-style pressure on Thompson, who having chunked a couple of chips today, opts to take putter from off the front. She clacks it to six feet. Massive putt coming up. But beforehand, some light relief - and a huge cheer - as Megha Ganne makes her first birdie of the day. Her smile is as wide as San Francisco Bay. She’s +3.

11.15pm BST

Three putts for Megan Khang on 18, and while she’s the new clubhouse leader, the mark is only -2. Her flat stick has let her down this afternoon, though it was the four consecutive bogeys on the back nine yesterday that crushed her hopes.

11.14pm BST

Saso, having bashed a fine drive down the right side of the 17th fairway, sends her hybrid into the bunker guarding the front left of the green. Up on 18, Hataoka swishes a controlled tee shot down the middle of the very narrow fairway. And back on 17, after great deliberation, Thompson leaves her approach a club short. “I hit that real good! I was staring that down. How stupid do I look?” Some light-hearted patter with her caddy there, but you can be sure she’ll be churning inside. She needs a big up and down from the apron at the front of the green to save par.

11.08pm BST

Thompson’s lie is appalling, and she needs every fibre of her being just to lash 40 yards up the hole. She’s making a meal of this short par-five. But up on the green, Feng takes three putts from the fringe, the bogey dropping her back to -2. Hataoka, however, having dribbled her long downhill birdie effort six feet past, knocks in the return to save her par. She departs the scene with a spring in her step. Penny for the thoughts of Thompson, back up the hole, looking the other way, trying to rediscover the exact location of The Zone.

11.04pm BST

The nerves are really kicking in now. Thompson pulls her drive on 17 into the thick stuff down the left. She’ll not be able to reach from there, surely. Up on 18, Khang’s tee shot finds the cabbage down the right, but she gouges a wedge onto the green. She’s a ways from the flag, but that’s a result from where she was. Two putts, and she’ll be setting a new clubhouse lead at -3.

11.01pm BST

Feng can’t reach the par-five 17th in two from the rough. She doesn’t reach it in three, either, coming up short with her wedge. Hataoka sends her second into thick rough guarding the front, her hybrid hanging up in the breeze. It’s doubly unlucky, because she was inches away from toppling into the bunker, leaving a relatively easy splash. As it is, her ball comes out hot. She’ll have a tricky two putts for par.

10.55pm BST

Khang isn’t quite finished yet. She lands her approach at 17 a couple of feet from the cup, and tidies up for birdie. She moves to -3. Meanwhile back on 16, Thompson lets her six-foot birdie effort dribble nervously below the cup and she has to settle for par. Saso, having screeched her wedge to three feet, makes birdie. This has become very interesting indeed.

-5: Thompson (16)
-4: Hataoka (16)
-3: Khang (17), Feng (16), Saso (16)

10.49pm BST

Lexi takes a long time over her approach. Can you blame her? This is one of the biggest shots she’ll have played for a long while. She lands her wedge in the middle of the green, spin putting the brakes on and turning it left, to within six feet of the cup! Meanwhile up on 17, Hataoka whistles a drive down the middle, while Feng picks the wrong time to miss her first fairway of the day. Knowing she needs a birdie here at the very least, her shoulders drop a little.

10.45pm BST

Thompson isn’t minded to take any unnecessary risks, and lays up with her second at 16. She’s in good nick, 100 yards out, in the middle of the fairway ... which is just as well, because up on the green, Hataoka makes her birdie putt, guiding in a right-to-left slider from 12 feet, and the lead is down to one! Par for Shanshan.

-5: Thompson (15)
-4: Hataoka (16)
-3: Feng (16)

10.40pm BST

Thompson digs deep and finds a cracking drive, just when she really needed it! A big boom that gently draws round the corner. Further up the hole, Feng and Hataoka take turn to find the green in regulation. They’ll have looks at birdie from 25 and 12 feet respectively.

10.36pm BST

Thompson’s driving may have fallen out of whack, but she’s not misplaced her ability to read the speed of these greens. She rolls a monster birdie up the 15th to a couple of feet, and makes no mistake with the par saver. Two huge tee shots coming up at the back-to-back par fives, though, and her big stick has been misbehaving since the turn.

-5: Thompson (15)
-3: Hataoka (15), Feng (15)
-2: Khang (16), Saso (15)

10.33pm BST

Ko Jin-young, the 2019 winner of both the ANA and the Evian, cards a 69 and joins Xiyu Lin in the clubhouse lead at +1. Meanwhile on 16, Megan Khang can’t save her par, shoving the putt right, the ball lipping out. Slipping back to -2, the jig may be up for the likeable and relatable 23-year-old from Massachusetts. She responds to events by blowing a raspberry.

10.29pm BST

Saso finds the green at the par-three 15th, but conservatively so. It’s a long two putts for par from the front, with the pin near the back. Thompson, the nerves beginning to jangle, only just gets on as well. Up on 16, Khang comes up a bit short with a chip from the fringe, and she’ll have a six-foot test to save par.

10.24pm BST

First up, her playing partner Saso nearly drains a 30-footer for birdie. While she’s doing that, a huge roar crackles across the Lake Course. Turns out it’s only - only! - Celine Herbin holing out from a bunker on 18 (she signs for a 71 and finishes at +3) but that’s surely going to send Thompson’s mind racing. What’s happened there, then? Is somebody eating into her lead? No - neither Hataoka nor Feng can make their birdie putts at 15 - but she can’t make her par saver, and now that lead is down to two.

-5: Thompson (14)
-3: Khang (15), Hataoka (15), Feng (15)
-2: Saso (14)
-1: Yin (15)

10.19pm BST

Thompson is in danger of opening the door here. She hits a heavy chip and is left with a 15-footer for her par. Big putt coming up.

10.17pm BST

Thompson’s lie is not the best, but not the worst either. She’s able to whip hard up the track, the ball bouncing off into the first cut on the left, just in front of the green. That’s a decent effort, all told, though it’s a big up and down coming up. On 15, Hataoka sends her tee shot over the flag, the ball holding the back of the green. She’ll have a look from ten feet at a third consecutive birdie. Her playing partner Feng finds the heart of the green, straight but well short. And on 16, Khang blooters a drive down the middle. What she’d give to take back yesterday’s back nine of 40. She’s shown great spirit to keep fighting after that.

10.13pm BST

Thompson’s tee-box satnav is still on the blink. She takes 3-wood at 14 and sends a huge slice into more thick nonsense down the right. You can’t be driving like this round here, and expect to win the US Open. Then again, this is what Saso was doing yesterday, and she got away with it pretty much every time. Lexi would take more of the same right now. Meanwhile up on 14, Hataoka creams her second to four feet en route to back-to-back birdies. She’s -3.

10.10pm BST

Thompson pulls her very makeable birdie putt at 13 left of the cup. She’ll have to settle for par. Up on 15, Khang whips a delicate chip from the back to three feet and tidies up for par; that’s a fine up and down from a tight spot.

10.04pm BST

On the par-three 15th, Khang is 12 inches short of slam-dunking her tee shot into the cup for an ace. But it bounds past and into the thick stuff at the back. On the par-three 13th, Thompson fires a brave tee shot straight at the flag, and leaves herself an eight-foot uphill birdie putt. All smiles again, after a couple of nervous holes. And Xiyu Lin of China signs for a 67 that gives her the early clubhouse lead at +1. This’ll be the 25-year-old’s best finish in a major by some distance.

10.01pm BST

Before Khang can tidy up on 14, Nasa Hataoka takes aim from the fringe at 13. She sends an oscillating effort into the cup for birdie, and the 22-year-old Japanese star, who already has four top-ten finishes to her name in the majors, gets properly involved in this tournament. Bogey for Lee6, though. Then Khang makes her birdie, and this leaderboard is beginning to look rather interesting.

-6: Thompson (12)
-3: Khang (14), Feng (13)
-2: Hataoka (13), Saso (12)
-1: Yin (14)
E: Lee6 (13)

9.56pm BST

Thompson elects to putt from the hill at the back of 12. Great decision. She judges the length perfectly, lagging it from 40 feet to 18 inches. She scrambles a nerve-settling par to remain at -6. A two-putt par for Feng on 13. And up on 14, there’s a textbook birdie for Megan Khang, who batters a drive down the middle, then sends her second similarly straight, to a couple of feet. She’ll have that for a birdie and share of second.

9.51pm BST

Thompson takes her sweet time over her second. Not sure this over-thinking is doing her any good. Her ball comes out hot and rolls down the hill at the back of the green. That’s where Feng found herself, ending up with bogey. Speaking of Shanshan, she’s just found the heart of the par-three 13th. Nowhere near the flag, but look what happened to Angel Yin when she failed to find the green.

9.48pm BST

The tension has been cranked up all across the Lake Course. Thompson sends a slice into the thick stuff down the right of 12. This is no time for her driver to start malfunctioning, not on a course as penal as this.

9.46pm BST

Thompson may have stumbled, but those around her are making mistakes too. Feng can’t make her par saver on 12. Yin meanwhile takes three putts on her way to a double at the 144-yard par-three 12th. And while Lexi was making a mess of 11, Saso was bogeying it too, punishment for overhitting a chip from the back of the green and sending her ball toppling down a ridge. The back nine on Sunday at a major championship, ladies and gentlemen!

-6: Thompson (11)
-3: Feng (12)
-2: Khang (13), Saso (11)
-1: Yin (13), Hataoka (12) Lee6 (12)

9.41pm BST

Thompson’s lead is suddenly only two. Her monster par putt breaks six feet to the right, then for the first time she prods with great uncertainty at a putt, sending it bobbling to the right of the cup. Her first double of the week, and suddenly this tournament takes on a different complexion.

-6: Thompson (11)
-4: Feng (11)
-3: Yin (12)
-2: Khang (13), Saso (11)

9.38pm BST

Feng’s second into 12 bounds over the back. She gives the subsequent chip too much. “Sit! Sit!” The ball does not sit. She’ll have a 12-footer coming back for par. Meanawhile on the par-three 13th, trouble for Yin, whose tee shot tipples down the swale to the left of the green. Shortsided, she tries to stun her chip into the bank, hoping it’ll take all the pace out of it ... but her aim is poor and the ball flies through the green. A long par putt remains.

9.34pm BST

Thompson takes a long time over her chip. She steps away from it a couple of times, clearly in two minds. Unsettled, it’s no huge surprise when she chunks it. Time to regroup, because things can unravel quickly around the Olympic Club. Big putt from the fringe, in more ways than one, coming up. Meanwhile the first-round leader Mel Reid is in with her second 78 of the weekend, and finishes the week at +12.

9.30pm BST

It’s not the greatest of lies. Thompson hacks out hard, but she can’t get the ball to the green. She’s a good 30 yards short. A big up-and-down attempt coming up.

9.25pm BST

Feng launches a 5-iron straight at the flag on 11. That’s a fine shot, and she’ll get a look at birdie from ten feet. She doesn’t make the putt, though, the ball breaking off to the left on its last turn, and the chance to reduce the lead to three is gone. Back on the tee, Thompson pulls her drive into the thick stuff down the left. A slight look of concern washes across her face as she imagines the lie.

9.21pm BST

Thompson misreads the line, the ball breaking well left, but pace is her friend. Perfectly judged, and she’s left with a two-footer to tidy up. Which she does, without fear or fuss. For a player who has often succumbed to nerves from short distances, she’s holding herself together wonderfully. There doesn’t seem a chink in her armour this week, though the back nine at a major is different terrain.

9.16pm BST

A three-putt bogey for Khang on 11. Her putter’s let her down again, for the second time in three holes. She’s -2. Meanwhile a minor mistake by the leader on 10, as Thompson leaves a wedge short of the green from 70 yards. She’s left with a 30-foot putt across a ridge.

9.11pm BST

A long birdie putt for Feng on 10 comes up short. Par. She’s -4. Up on 11, Yin sends an arrow straight at the flag and leaves herself a six-foot look for birdie. But she sends a fidgety effort to the right, and that’s a huge chance to grab a share of second spurned.

9.05pm BST

Thompson sends her second at 9 to ten feet, then looks to have made the birdie putt. The ball inexplicably stays up, teetering on the right-hand edge of the cup. You’d expect it to topple, but it’s not cooperating, and she’s forced to tap in for par. Still, she’s out in 34, which compares favourably to her partners Saso (38) and Ganne (41). Thompson remains four in front at -8.

8.59pm BST

Nasa Hataoka rattles in a right-to-left 20-footer on 9, and that’s her second birdie in three holes. She’s back to -2. She’s going round with Shanshan Feng, who has now grabbed second spot all for herself after sending her approach to four feet and tidying up for birdie. Back down the hole, Thompson splits the fairway with a booming 3-wood. And up on 10, Khang sends her second pin high to eight feet, and knocks in the birdie putt. It only just drops, mind. That needed every single joule of energy. She smiles at her caddy and mimes a heart flutter. Khang is great value.

-8: Thompson (8)
-4: Feng (9)
-3: Yin (10), Khang (10), Saso (8)
-2: Hataoka (9)
-1: Lee6 (9)

8.49pm BST

Saso chips delicately to a couple of feet. What an up and down! The 19-year-old Filipino has responded excellently to those back-to-back doubles early in her round. For a while it looked as though her head was spinning, but she’s showing real moxie here. Thompson meanwhile leaves her long birdie putt four feet short, and here comes the first test for a player whose flat stick has misbehaved in the past. No problem! In it goes. The gap’s still five.

8.44pm BST

With shots in hand, Lexi can afford to play smart. Saso has to go for the pin at the par-three 8th. It’s tucked away front left, and though she sends it close, her ball bounds into the rough. Shortsided and in the thick stuff, that’ll be one heck of a chip to face. Thompson responds by aiming for the middle of the green. No point looking for trouble.

8.39pm BST

Another birdie for Angel Yin! She steers a right-to-left slider into the cup at 9 from 20 feet, and hits the turn in 31. She grabs a share of second with Feng and Saso at -3. They all should be joined by Yin’s playing partner Megan Khang, but she pulls a short birdie effort and admonishes herself in the theatrical style.

8.34pm BST

Thompson, at the back of 7 in regulation, cradles her long birdie putt to kick-in distance. No need to race heroically at the hole with a five-shot advantage over Feng ... and Saso, who begins to repair all that early damage by draining a 25-footer for her first birdie of the day.

-8: Thompson (7)
-3: Feng (7), Saso (7)
-2: Yin (8), Khang (8)

8.27pm BST

An up-and-down few minutes for the penultimate group. Nasa Hataoka bounces back from double bogey on 6 with birdie at 7. She’s -1, as is Jeongeun Lee6, whose putter has proved problematic all week; three putts on 7 and the 2019 winner is heading in the wrong direction today, two over for her round. The third member of the group, Shanshan Feng, pars both holes in her usual steady style, though nearly drained a long birdie effort on 7. She remains five off at -3.

8.18pm BST

Brooke Henderson is having a good day. Birdies at 5 and now 8 have brought her up to level par for the tournament. How the 2016 PGA champion will rue that inexplicable second round of 78. She’s been on top of her game otherwise, posting 68 on Thursday and 69 yesterday. Meanwhile back on 6, pars for Thompson (-8), Ganne (+2) and Saso (-2).

8.14pm BST

Angel Yin already has a second-place finish at the US Open to her name. The 22-year-old from LA came in behind Jeongeun Lee6 at Charleston in 2019, and she’s bothering the top end of the leaderboard again. Having birdied 1, she sends her second at the short par-four 7th into thick rough down the left. No bother! Out comes the wedge, and she flips onto the green, her ball rattling into the cup at a very satisfying velocity. She joins the group tied for third at -2.

8.05pm BST

A huge smile plays across Thompson’s face as she reacts to that sensational shot. She’s really enjoying herself this week, explaining that she’s been trying to rein in the intensity, to the point of her being more than happy to stop and sign autographs during her round. In goes the birdie putt, and she’s in total control of this US Open right now. Nothing’s over yet, mind you, as the experience of Arnold Palmer, who lost a seven-stroke lead here on the back nine to Billy Casper in the 1966 men’s version, will amply illustrate.

-8: Thompson (5)
-3: Feng (5)
-2: Khang (6), Hataoka (5), Lee6 (5), Saso (5)

7.59pm BST

One of the shots of the week by Lexi Thompson! She’s out of position down the left of 5, in thick rough, a low-hanging branch in the road. She whips out, sending the ball wide right before drawing it back into the front of the green. It bumbles up to a couple of feet, one of those lovely, serene, inevitable golfing journeys. She’ll have that to go five clear of Shanshan Feng.

7.54pm BST

Another wild drive by Ganne, and she’s forced to pitch out sideways from behind a tree at 5. A little backwards, in fact. She had no other shot. Having found the fairway, she arrows her third at the flag, but the ball takes one bounce into thick greenside rough and disappears. One yard longer, and that would have been very close. She holds her head in her hands. It’s all good experience from the university of life, before she goes to actual university at Stanford.

7.50pm BST

Lee6 gets up and down from distance at 5 to limit the damage to bogey. A lovely sand wedge in from 80 yards to ten feet. Her second spot is taken by Shanshan Feng, who has been going along very steadily: 15 pars yesterday, four to start today, and now birdie at 5. Pars all round at 4 in the final group. These are the only players now under par for this tournament:

-7: Thompson (4)
-3: Feng (5)
-2: Khang (5), Hataoka (5), Lee6 (5), Saso (4)

7.45pm BST

To illustrate how difficult the Lake Course is playing today, only 12 players from a field of 66 are in red figures for their round. Only two of that dozen are more than one shot to the good: Celine Herbin (through 7, +1 overall) and last year’s joint runner-up Amy Olsen (through 6, level par overall). This will be Herbin’s best performance in a major by far; the 38-year-old from France’s previous best is a tie for 46th at the PGA.

7.39pm BST

Lee6, currently No2, hooks her tee shot at 5 into big trouble. The thickest rough, from which she barely advances her ball an inch. Take two finds the fairway. Bogey will be a good score from here. Back on 4, Thompson splits the fairway, then arrows her second to 12 feet. She’ll have a great look at birdie, and everything is falling into place for the 2014 Dinah Shore champion here.

7.34pm BST

Megan Khang would be an extremely popular winner. When it was all turning to dust on the back nine yesterday, she battled on with a smile, and that birdie / scrambled par finish, both holes celebrated in carefree style, might stand her in good stead. That’s because, having bogeyed 2, she’s gone on to birdie 3 and now 5, rolling in from 30 feet, to join the group at -2.

7.30pm BST

A huge putt here for Thompson, who gently strokes her 12-footer into the cup to scramble par. All of a sudden, she’s got a four-stroke lead ... over Lee6. Saso makes it back-to-back doubles after pushing her bogey putt wide right. Par for Ganne, stopping the rot to great acclaim.

-7: Thompson (3)
-3: Lee6 (4)
-2: Hataoka (4), Feng (4), Saso (3)

7.26pm BST

Thompson chips her second straight at the flag, but it’s not firm enough and she’s left with a 12-footer for par. Saso’s stuttering start continues as she blasts high out of the sand, but a good 25-feet past the hole. She leaves the long par putt five feet short, too. Ganne meanwhile hangs around patiently as the pair go about their business, having settled herself with a lovely tee shot over the flag to six feet.

7.21pm BST

“That was so bad.” Thompson reacts to her 8-iron into the par-three 3rd, which she hits heavy, her ball ending way short of the green and to the right. She’s not in quite so much trouble as Saso, who dunks her effort into a deep bunker. The leading pair are dragging each other down at the minute. It’s not easy closing out a major championship, is it.

7.17pm BST

Saso’s chip into 2, her fourth, isn’t all that, leaving a 30-foot putt for bogey. She very nearly rolls it in, but the ball sticks on the lip. A double. Ganne’s third from the fringe rolls 12 feet past, and results in a bogey. A double bogey, bogey start for the 17-year-old amateur. The crowd fall sadly silent as their young hero slips to level par. Thompson also drops a stroke, failing to get up and down from the front, her saver stopping a dimple short, just like Ganne’s.

-7: Thompson (2)
-4: Saso (2)
-3: Lee6 (3)
-2: Hataoka (3), Feng (3)
-1: Stark (4), Khang (4)
E: Olson (5), Yin (4), Ganne (2)

7.11pm BST

While the 2nd takes chunks out of the final group, the Swedish amateur Maja Stark rolls in a 15-footer on 4 for another birdie. She’s -1. Then back on 3, Lee6 bounces back from bogey by snaking in a monster putt from off the front of 4. That’s a real momentum shifter! She’s back to -3, and may find herself even closer to the leaders in a couple of minutes’ time.

7.08pm BST

Lexi, in the rough on the other side of the hole, follows Ganne in sending a chaser towards the front of the green. It’s about all either player could do. Finally it’s the turn of Saso, who appears to be in about 22 minds about what to do. She eventually hacks through the thick nonsense, but only manages to advance her ball 50 yards or so, still in the deep rough. She can only hack back out to the fairway, and will need to get up and down from 50 yards for bogey.

7.04pm BST

Saso’s ball is snagged in all sorts of Olympic-standard filth. Halfway up a bank, too. She’s got to decide whether to take her medicine and chip out sideways, or just go for the green with one big gouge. She’s got the power, it might be worth going for it, given there’s no certainty in the sensible option either. A big moment coming up, early doors. She’d take bogey now, if offered, you’d imagine. Ganne meanwhile only just missed the fairway with her drive, but the rough is so lush, she does extremely well to chase her ball up to the fringe.

7.02pm BST

That wasn’t a great putt by Thompson, in truth. A bit off the toe, the ball squirting a couple of crucial millimetres to the right. She sends her drive at 2 into the first cut down the left. Not ideal, but nowhere near as bad as Saso, who sends a huge slice miles right. By all accounts she’s modelled her swing on Rory McIlroy, whose recent major-championship travails open up a world of comedic possibility here. Up on the green, it’s a three-putt bogey for Lee6.

6.56pm BST

Thompson tickles her putt up to the lip, but it stubbornly refuses to drop. No matter, that’s an opening birdie and she’s extended her lead over Saso, who does well to get up and down from the back. Ganne can’t manage it, though, and it’s a double-bogey seven. A nightmare start for the young amateur, who flings her putter onto her bag in her first show of frustration all week.

-8: Thompson (1)
-6: Saso (1)
-3: Lee6 (1)
-2: Hataoka (1), Feng (1)
-1: Ganne (1)

6.52pm BST

Saso lays up at 1, only to send her wedge over the back of the green. Ganne - who doesn’t hang about, playing at the sort of speed that would make Brooks look like Bryson - clips what seems a perfectly judged fourth towards the flag, but it keeps on rolling and topples off alongside Saso. “Aw come on!” shouts someone in the crowd. The gallery has had her back all week, and they’re not about to abandon the effervescent amateur now.

6.48pm BST

Ganne has been ice-cool all week, but the nerves may have finally caught up with her. She’s forced to take her medicine and chip back out onto the 1st fairway, then slices her third into the gallery down the right. It’s a complete contrast to the way Thompson is playing the hole: she takes advantage of her big drive by lashing a long iron straight at the flag, the ball rolling serenely to ten feet or so, setting up an eagle chance. As statements of intent go, that’s a doozy. The putter often goes cold on Thompson; if she makes this, she might decide that it’s going to be her day.

6.45pm BST

Birdie for Nasa Hataoka on the 1st. Pars for Shanshan Feng and Jeongeun Lee6, the latter knocking in a six-foot saver that should give her succour after yesterday’s putting woes. The flat stick has been letting the 2019 winner down this week.

6.39pm BST

Here comes the marquee grouping! The 17-year-old amateur Megha Ganne is up first. A slightly nervous smile turns into a broad one as the gallery welcome her with a huge cheer. She was a bit wayward off the tee yesterday, and that continues here as she sends her drive well right. Yuka Saso is up next. She was also all over the shop with the big stick yesterday, but her first drive splits the fairway. Finally it’s the leader Lexi Thompson. She’s not won on Tour for nearly two years, so some nerves would be understandable, but she obliterates one down the track. That’s gone miles. Everyone’s out, then. This is on!

6.33pm BST

Megan Khang needs a fast start today. She was right up there yesterday afternoon, until four consecutive bogeys between 13 and 16 sent her crashing down the leaderboard. Her spirit didn’t break, though, and she celebrated birdie at 17 with a smile and an ironic celebration, then did the same, with added laughter, upon draining a par saver on the last. The only way to respond to a nightmare back nine, as she came home in 40. She immediately sets up a straight 15-foot birdie chance this morning, but pulls it wide left. So much for springing out of the blocks. She remains at -1.

6.26pm BST

In just about any other year - one without the sensational antics of Megha Ganne - we’d all be talking about Maja Stark. The 21-year-old amateur from Sweden has been hovering on the periphery this week, posting rounds of 71, 70 and 73. She’s birdied 1 this morning, too, and currently stands at level par for the tournament. As things stand, she’s tied for eighth place. Normally this is nosebleed territory for an amateur, but Stark has been there, done that: she tied for 13th on debut last year.

6.15pm BST

Before the leading contenders take to the stage, word of the first-round leader Mel Reid. A 67 on Thursday sparked talk of a possible maiden major for the 33-year-old from Derby. She looked focused, bang in the zone, a study in determination. But all that intensity must have been mentally exhausting. A disappointing 73 on Friday, then a strange 78 yesterday that variously featured a shank, a whiffed chip and a hole-out from 100 yards for eagle. Out of contention, she’s already carded a couple of bogeys today, at 2 and 4, and has slipped down to +7. But when it all comes down, this week should give her plenty of confidence going forward. As a late bloomer in the majors, compared to your Lexis, Inbees and Lydias, she’s trending in the right direction. Glory soon?

6.02pm BST

The tee times for the final groups at the business end of this US Open, then. All BST.

5.59pm: Kim Hyo-joo, Maja Stark (a), Brooke Henderson
6.11pm: Megan Khang, Inbee Park, Angel Yin
6.23pm: Jeongeun Lee6, Shanshan Feng, Nasa Hataoka
6.35pm: Lexi Thompson, Yuka Saso, Megha Ganne (a)

3.28pm BST

It almost defies belief that Lexi Thompson has only one major title to her name. When she won the Kraft Nabisco in 2014 at 19, it was assumed that she’d start racking up the slams with Sorenstamian regularity. But for one reason and another, it’s never quite happened. Three second places in the majors, three thirds, 16 top-ten finishes. It’s about that time, and yesterday’s flawless 66 was carpe-diem stuff. This is the first time she’s led the US Open after any round, a stat that might not say much about most 26-year-olds, but Thompson first played in this tournament in 2007 at the precocious age of 12. This is her 15th consecutive appearance. Is she finally going to land major number two?

Yuka Saso is best placed to stop her. The powerful Filipino spent most of yesterday’s round driving like Seve, but no matter, thanks to her ability to gouge back into position, as though the penal Olympic Club rough wasn’t there, and her scrambling skills around the greens; she chips a bit like Seve, too. If she wins today, she’ll join Inbee Park as the only teenage winner of the US Open. Park won in 2008 at 19 years, 11 months and 17 days; that’s Saso’s exact age today. Some things seem written.

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