The weather on the third day of the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links was the worst yet. While the skies were mostly clear of clouds, winds played a significant factor in play.
Southern California native and Stanford University student Rose Zhang said the winds significantly impacted her play.
“The winds were pretty high,” Zhang said. “And I knew that the ocean breeze was definitely causing the ball to go all sorts of places.”
Despite the challenging conditions, a few players were able to finish the third round with a few birdies. That includes Nasa Hataoka. The 24-year-old from Japan had by far the best round of golf of the day. She finished the round with six birdies and zero bogies.
Hataoka is now -7 overall and is in first place. In a press conference after her impressive round, Hataoka said through a translator that her past experience helped her have such a good round.
Allisen Corpuz of Kapolei, Hawaii, finished the tournament's third day in second place. Corpuz had three birdies and two bougies during the third round.
Corpuz was lost for words when pondering the potential of winning it all tomorrow. “I don't even think I could put it into words… but major first win. It would mean a lot,” Corpuz said.
Monterey’s own Mina Harigae also had a decent round despite the weather conditions and had three birdies and four bogies during the third round. She finished the round +4 overall and is tied for 19th place.
Discussing how she’ll approach play during the fourth and final round on Sunday, Harigae said she’ll be making minimal adjustments. "Hitting fairways and greens is a premium, and I started to make a few more putts today... so more of the same," Harigae said.
Weather conditions for Sunday’s game are expected to be better. Pebble Beach Golf Links weather report forecasts winds to be under 12 miles per hour for most of the day.