Home star Lauren Coughlin holds a two-shot lead at the 54-hole mark of the Aramco Championship after another tough day at Shadow Creek.
The American, who led after two rounds, made bogeys on the third and sixth holes before picking up her first birdie of the day on seven.
Related: Lauren Coughlin storms to five-shot lead
She made another birdie on 11 before back-to-back bogeys on 13 and 14; however, she finished strong with a birdie at the last to close out a round of 73 (+1) and sit atop the leaderboard on seven-under-par.
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“As you’ve probably seen, this golf course is really hard, especially if you get in the wrong spot,” said Coughlin. “I felt like I did a pretty good job today of at least getting in spots, and if I did get a little out, making sure I walked away with no worse than bogey.
“I could have had a few putts drop, but I really wish that shot on 16 would have not gotten caught up on the collar there. Other than that, I played really good. It’s going to be really hard tomorrow, so just going to see how it goes.
“Hitting the greens is huge out here because just how the fringe-rough I guess you can say, intermediate, whatever it is. You don’t really want to chip out of that because it can be really difficult to judge how it’s going to come out.
“I feel like my lag putting has been really good all week. Even though I may not be in the right spot per se on the green, I may have a really long putt, I’ve been able to two-putt them solidly all week. Hitting the green has been huge.
“I have just stayed as patient as possible and taking what it gives. Again, just trying to guess as best you can on some of the bounces and hope the wind catches it when you’re trying to get it. I’m just going to keep trying to stay as patient as I possibly can tomorrow and whatever happens, happens.”
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World number two Nelly Korda is in outright second place two shots behind compatriot Coughlin after a round of 69 (-3) on day three in Las Vegas.
Korda rolled in back-to-back birdies on holes three and four before dropping her only shot of the day on 15.
The two-time Major champion ended the day the same way she started it with back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 to be in second place on five-under-par.
“Shadow definitely showed its colours the last couple of days,” said Korda, who won the Match Play here in 2024. “It’s been playing brutally hard, just especially the back nine. I’m very happy with my round. These rounds are sometimes even mentally the hardest, so I stayed in it quite well.
“Match play you can be aggressive and well if this doesn’t work out you lose the hole. Now you’re playing stroke play, and bogeys, doubles, triples – they all come into play. You’re trying to minimise those mistakes and you can’t be as aggressive as you would be in that match play tournament.
“It’s very different. It’s a very hard golf course, and with the wind the past couple days, it hasn’t really helped us. In fact, it’s so firm too, so it’s very hard to stop golf balls. You’re almost just playing for a run-up. There is no real advantage to being a longer hitter. It’s all just about placement here.”
Japan’s Miyu Yamashita and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen are in a share of third place on three-under-par heading into the final day.
Madsen has had a consistent week around Shadow Creek recording rounds of 72-70-71 despite the variable conditions.
“It’s been fun. I like it here at Shadow Creek. It’s a great golf course. It challenges every part of the game,” said the LET winner. “My consistency is due to just accepting every time I’ve made a mistake and just trying to get the ball back in play.
“Okay, that’s a bogey and there are still chances. Not letting it bother me too much. So, yeah, the game has been pretty solid. I would like to hit a little bit more fairways tomorrow, but, overall better putting than last couple weeks so that’s been good.
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“A lot of people were saying that they didn’t like stroke play here. I really like it because you have to think about a lot of shots. I was talking to my caddie on 15 today. You’re not even mad that it goes over the green because you’re like, it’s better than being short.
“There is just so much too where you have to think about where is it better to leave the ball, even if you can’t really hit the green. Like on the third hole it’s super tough to hit the ball, so where is the best leave to make an up-and-down.”
