"VAN" (Sports Desk - 01.06.2025) :: West Australian Minjee Lee was one of only nine players to break par on day three to keep her hopes alive of a second US Women’s Open title at Erin Hills.
The champion three years ago at Pine Needles, Lee once again rose to a test she described as “gruelling” with a round of 1-under 71 to climb into a tie for seventh at 3-under, just four strokes back of Sweden’s Maja Stark (70).
Hannah Green, the only other Aussie to make the cut, rescued her third round late with consecutive birdies to close and will start Round 4 six shots off the lead and in a tie for 13th at 1-under par.
Birdie from 12 feet at the par-5 first set a positive tone for Lee who would go on to hit 12 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens.
While she hit 78 per cent of greens, pin placements and tricky wind conditions gave the 29-year-old few birdie putts from close range.
She made par putts from 17 and seven feet respectively at two and four, holed a 12-footer for birdie at the par-5 seventh but had no other birdie tries inside 25 feet on the front nine.
A superb approach set up birdie from inside six feet at the par-4 11th but Lee would have just one further look inside 12 feet for the remainder of her round.
“I feel like I missed a few opportunities that I did have, but I think overall the pin placements were a little bit trickier today,” said Lee.
“Didn’t feel like it was all that windy, but it was windy for the pin placements that we had, if that makes sense.
“(The course) is much firmer now. The last two days it was a little damper, so I felt like the balls stopped a little bit quicker on like the first bounce.
“But now they’re kind of rolling out to what we think it should I guess.
“With this consistent wind all day, it’s going to dry out even more. Tomorrow is meant to be nice as well.
“I think it’ll be a true Sunday test.”
Green also had a good ball-striking day but, like Lee, found it difficult to convert birdie chances.
There were two from around 20 feet at the opening two holes and then Green three-putted both three and four for bogeys, six of the 32 she would take in total.
Dropping a putt from 22 feet at the par-4 10th was a welcome sight and, after bogeys at 13 and 15, had a spring in her step after making birdies from 26 and seven feet at 17 and 18.
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