Brooke Henderson couldn’t muster a third-consecutive 64 on Saturday, but she will still sleep on the 54-hole lead at the Evian Championship. Thanks to a Saturday 68, Henderson holds a two-shot lead heading into Sunday as she looks to claim her second major title.
“It was wasn’t as good as the first two days,” Henderson said. “Felt like the course is playing a little bit tougher for me today.”
Henderson’s 68 was somewhat of a letdown after her blistering start to the championship, but with just one bogey on the card, she was able to maintain her lead. She carded four birdies and just one bogey (on her first hole) on the day to keep her name atop the leaderboard.
“Hopefully [I’ll] go out tomorrow and continue to ball strike pretty well,” she said. “And hopefully make some putts.”
If she’s able to execute that plan, Henderson would own a special place in her native country’s golf history. With a win tomorrow, the 24-year-old would become the first Canadian-born player — man or woman — to own multiple major titles.
“[I’m] just going to play my game and see what happens,” she said. “Hopefully get a good strategy together tonight, and when I can be aggressive, I’ll definitely try to take advantage of that.”
The young Canadian won earlier this summer at the Shoprite Classic for her 11th LPGA victory, but she has not won a major since her Women’s PGA victory in 2018.
Henderson will be joined in the final pairing by a fellow major champion in So Yeon Ryu. The two-time major champion fired a third-round 65 — the second-lowest round of the day — to climb up the leaderboard and claim her place in the final tee time.
“I haven’t played really well,” she said. “And then I haven’t been in contention for, I don’t know, maybe over a year, so I’m really excited to be in this position.”
Ryu is looking for her first LPGA victory since 2018.
“At the same time, I’m a little bit nervous,” Ryu said. “But all I can do is focus on what I can do.”
Luckily for Ryu, she will enter the final round in the chase position, a spot she’s quite comfortable with. In her most recent victory at The Dinah Shore in 2017, Ryu entered the final round one shot back before firing a final-round 68 to force a playoff, which she won over Lexi Thompson.
“I want to enjoy as much as I can,” Ryu said. “But if I can hold the trophy it’s going to be amazing.”
One shot further back lurks LPGA rookie Sophia Schubert. The former U.S. Women’s Amateur champ carded seven birdies on Saturday as she posted a five-under 67 to get into the penultimate pairing.
Schubert’s previous best finish in a major is T58, and she has zero top-10 finishes in her LPGA career. Now, she’s got the opportunity to break through in the biggest of ways.
