By David  Shefter, USGA

	Eun-Hee Ji silently crept up the leaderboard Saturday, posting a 1-under 70 to get within two shots of Cristie Kerr. (John Mummert/USGA)

Bethlehem, Pa. – This 64th edition of the U.S. Women’s Open at Sock’em Valley – err Saucon Valley – is turning into a real bruiser.

The venerable Old Course is doing its best to land one right hook after another. On Friday it took out Lorena Ochoa, the world’s No. 1-ranked player. In Saturday’s third round, another hopeful, Paula Creamer staggered off the course, thanks to a walloping blow at the 253-yard 10th hole that led to a triple-bogey 7 and eventually a 79.

Others among the final 10 pairings who wobbled off included 14-year-old amateur Alexis Thompson (78), Italian Giulia Sergas (76), Japan’s Yuri Fudoh (80), Kristy McPherson (77), first-round leader Na Yeon Choi (76) and Australian Lindsey Wright (77), who had top-10s in the last two women’s majors.

Of the last 20 golfers to complete their Saturday rounds, only two competitors, Teresa Lu and Eun-Hee Ji, bettered par on the 6,740-yard layout. Both posted 1-under 70s, and in Lu’s case, it was her second consecutive sub-par round (she shot 69 on Friday). The scoring average for those groups was 74.75 (the third-round field average was 74.67).

But Lu and Ji were two of the few to dodge Saucon Valley’s lethal punch. Morgan Pressel did, as well, with a 69 that moved the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion into a tie for 11th.

Another player side-stepping a knockout was 36-hole leader Cristie Kerr, the 31-year-old American seeking a second Women’s Open to go with her 2007 title. The Floridian has mastered the rope-a-dope, at least through 54 holes, as her three rounds of 72 or better would suggest. Kerr’s third-round 72 (2-under 211) left her two strokes ahead of Ji, a 23-year-old Korean whose only U.S. victory came last year at the Wegmans LPGA in Rochester, N.Y.

Four shots back at 2-over 215 were Lu and 24-year-old Georgian Jean Reynolds (74), the money leader on the 2009 Duramed Futures Tour, where she has two victories.

Koreans In-Kyung Kim (72) and Hee Young Park (72), along with Candie Kung (68) sit six behind at 216. Kung, the 2001 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion, did not record her first birdie until her 42nd hole of the championship. But the lowest third-round score moved Kung up 32 positions from the start of the day.

“I’ve been consistent with my ball-striking all week,” said Kung, a Chinese Taipei native who now resides in southern California. “And they just had the course set up a little easier today; some pins that I was able to get at with wedges.”

Easy and Women’s Open are not three words generally put in the same sentence. In fact, Saucon Valley has physically and mentally zapped just about everyone, especially on the greens.

“The green is so tough,” said Lu, who found 12 of 18 in regulation. “Undulating and really fast, so you really focus on your second shot to put it in a good spot. Like today, I have some balls – totally miss-hit it – and I had really tough putts.”

Ji, meanwhile, posted a 3-under 32 over her final nine holes to get into contention. She birdied 10, 14 and 17 in a round that saw her hit 13 of 18 greens and all but one fairway (13 of 14).

“Beginning the round today, I think my game was a little bit shaken up, particularly in my putting,” said Ji through a translator. “I wasn’t putting well. But going toward the latter half of the round, my feel for my shots and the putting returned and I was able to play better.”

But all eyes on Sunday will be on Kerr. She already has one LPGA Tour win in 2009 and Women’s Open setups seem to fit her style. In 13 previous Opens, she owns four top-10s, including the ’07 triumph, and two other top-15 efforts.

On Saturday, she held it together despite the swirling winds, the first time all week the players saw more than a light breeze.

“The wind dried out the greens,” said Kerr, whose only three-putt all week has come from the fringe, so she technically doesn’t have one. “This [post-round] rain will help. But it was a lot tougher to get the ball close to the hole.”

As for being a front-runner over being the hunted, Kerr added: “I think I have the advantage. I’ve won every way there is to win on Tour. I was leading the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles [through 54 holes] when I ended up winning. I’ve also come from eight shots behind in an LPGA tournament to win. I think with my experience and the way I’m playing, I think to have the lead is the advantage.”

Now the only question remains if Kerr will take a just a Sunday jab from Saucon Valley over a technical knockout.

Avoiding the big blow might lead to another Women’s Open trophy celebration late on Sunday.

And in the process, throwing her own right-hook at Saucon Valley.

David Shefter is a USGA Digital Media staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.