Rose Zhang fired a 6-under-par 66 on Saturday to move into the lead after three rounds of action at the Mizuho Americas Open in Jersey City, N.J.
Zhang turned in a bogey-free round while picking up six birdies to climb three spots on the leaderboard. She now sits at 11-under 205, two strokes ahead of Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul, India’s Aditi Ashok and Cheyenne Knight, who are all tied for second.
“(Saturday) was pretty much what I expected. The golf course was playing a little more difficult, especially with the winds gusting up a little bit more and it’s in a different direction,” Zhang said. “So there was nothing that I didn’t anticipate when I went out here.”
At 20 years old, Zhang is playing in her first event on the LPGA Tour. She starred at Stanford, where she was a two-time NCAA champion and was named Pac-12 Golfer of the Year in 2022.
“I was expecting myself to scramble into the cut. That was the first priority for me. But I’ve been enjoying every moment. I feel like the weekend is something that I’ve been — I’ve experienced before but as an amateur, so obviously it is a little different,” Zhang said of the impressive start to her career. “I’ve just been trying to take it all in.”
Thitikul and Ashok both recorded third-round 68s, while Knight notched a 70.
Thitikul carded an eagle at the par-5 sixth to go along with three birdies and a bogey. Ashok got off to roaring start, securing five birdies through her first 10 holes. Her only blemish was a bogey at the par-4 15th.
“I think I was putting it really good, so I think whatever chances I got I kind of holed them,” Ashok said. “Five under through 10, and I think it got really cold and windy after that. I think I was just trying to make pars after that.”
Knight was nearly bogey free as well, but she picked one up at the par-4 17th.
Australian Minjee Lee (72) is in sole possession of fifth. South Koreans Hae Ran Ryu (66) and Eun-Hee Ji (70) and Jennifer Kupcho (69) are tied for sixth.
Stephanie Kyriacou, whose 65 marked the low round of the day to vault 40 spots, is in a three-way tie for ninth with Sei Young Kim and world No. 1 Jin Young Ko, both of whom are from South Korea.
–Field Level Media