Stark Tops Crowded, Diverse Erin Hills 54-Hole Board

Erin Hills was at its seductive best in Saturday’s third round of the 80th U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally, luring players in with a gentle opening par 5, then testing them completely with a brilliant mix of demands that included a diabolical, 260-yard, drivable par-4 that was so challenging that it became the statistically second-toughest on the course.

Indeed, Moving Day became more about minimizing mistakes than heroic outcomes.

No one did that better than Maja Stark, who made only one bogey on her way to a 2-under-par 70 and the 54-hole lead at 7-under-par 209. The Swede was one stroke better than qualifier and U.S. Women’s Open rookie Julia Lopez Ramirez, whose 68 was Saturday’s best round by two strokes.

A trio of Japanese stars – Rio Takeda, Hinako Shibuno and 36-hole leader Mao Saigo – all reside at 5-under 211. Saigo began the day with a three-shot lead but faltered to a 75.

Then there’s world No. 1 Nelly Korda. The lanky Floridian who is still seeking her first win of 2025 fought her way back after a front-nine, 4-over 40 to shoot 73 for a 54-hole total of 4-under 212. Korda closed the round in style with a 6-foot birdie that caught the right lip and went down, giving her a 33 on Erin Hills’ inward nine.

Linn Grant, Sarah Schmelzel and 2022 U.S. Women’s Open champion Minjee Lee are four strokes back of Stark at 213.

Stark, the owner of one LPGA Tour and six Ladies European Tour titles, was fourth in the field in strokes-gained putting on Saturday at +3.68 and fifth in strokes gained off the tee at +1.61. That’s a strong combination of power and touch. The 25-year-old former Oklahoma State University All-American has enjoyed past U.S. Women’s Open success, tying for ninth in 2023 at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

“I think me and my caddie (Jeff Brighton) did a good job of not putting ourselves in bad positions,” Stark said after her round. “There's a lot of runoffs, especially today. They put the pins in some really nasty places. I feel like we played real smart today. I'm really happy with the steady round.”

After yielding six rounds of 68 on Thursday and a 66 and 67 on Friday, only Lopez Ramirez broke 70 on sunny, breezy Saturday at Erin Hills, a reminder that this was the weekend at the U.S. Women’s Open with its uniquely special tests. After Friday’s suspended round was completed on Saturday morning, Saigo’s 8-under total of 136 led the field. Going into Sunday, the lead is 7 under par.

Most of the field took advantage of the easiest hole on the course, the par-5 first. Takeda started her day with an eagle, one of four on the hole that played one-third of a stroke under par. Lopez Ramirez also kicked off her round with an eagle. Combined, the top five on the leader board played the first hole in 7 under par in Round 3.

Lopez Ramirez, making her U.S. Women's Open debut, was the medalist in the Naples, Fla., qualifier. The 22-year-old Spaniard, who was an All-American at Mississippi State, made only one bogey. She averaged 288.7 yards off the tee on Saturday – 30 yards better than the field average – and showed a deft touch on the greens, needing only 27 putts.

“Honestly, it's pretty much where I want to be, so I think it's really exciting and gets my confidence up,” said Lopez Ramirez, who has Mississippi State assistant women’s golf coach Lauren Whyte on her bag. “Honestly just seeing my game in the right place and trending, it's very exciting, and excited to go play more.”

Saigo, who birdied No. 1, took a three-stroke lead over a half-dozen players into the third round but didn’t make her first par until No. 7, recording four bogeys in five holes beginning on No. 2. She fought her way back to 7 under par but closed bogey-bogey.

Nevertheless, it sets up for a potential shootout on Sunday with 11 golfers within five strokes of Stark’s lead.

On Sunday, it’s final exam time.

Notable

• No. 15, which played 260 yards on Saturday to make it a drivable par-4, played to an average of 4.47, making it the second-toughest in Round 3 behind the fourth hole (4.48). It yielded one eagle, 11 birdies, 13 bogeys, five double bogeys and five “others.”
  
  
• Four of the five most-difficult holes on Saturday were the stretch from No. 3 through No. 6. The hardest was the 409-yard fourth hole, where the hole location was back and right, just above the severe slope to the runoff area that feeds to native grass. The par-4 played to a stroke averge of 4.480.
  
  
• Angel Yin provided one of the best examples of the whimsy of Erin Hills. She made an eagle on the par-5 14th hole and stepped to the tee on the 260-yard par-4 15th no doubt thinking about making another eagle. Instead, she walked away with a triple-bogey 7. She shot 73 and is at even-par 216.
  
  
• Eighteen different countries were represented among the 60 golfers to survive the 36-hole cut. One player, Nataliya Guseva, plays unattached. The United States led the way with 12 players, followed by the Republic of Korea (11) and Japan (10). Sweden was next with four.
  
  
• Six amateurs out of an original field of 26 are playing the weekend. Rayee Feng, a 16-year-old from Short Hills, N.J., and the youngest player left (she was the second-youngest this week behind Asterisk Talley), currently leads for low-amateur honors at 1-over 217, a stroke ahead of world No. 1 Lottie Woad

Quotable

“It's not easy when it means so much out there. I would say that what came to my mind was Rory on 13 at Masters. You know, this golf course is going to get you. Doesn't matter where you are on the leaderboard. It's going to get you. Being able to kind of stick to my routine mentally that's the most proud I've been in a long time.” -- Gaby Lopez, who shot 71 to be at 214 despite a triple-bogey 8 on No. 18, her ninth hole of the day.

“We use the same [travel bags] from USC, so it's obviously the exact same, it looks the exact same. I think it's equally my dad and my boyfriend's fault for not checking the bags. But they loaded it in the car, my dad took him to the airport, and he grabbed the wrong set.” -- Amari Avery, about how she lost her clubs after fleeing a break-in at her rented Airbnb place and had to borrow the set belonging to Gabriella Ruffels.

“It's 100 percent more exhausting like mentally, physically. It's just such a long walk this week. I don't know, for fans it's probably even worse. But it just feels like uphill after another uphill. So, yeah, I just think it's just grueling. And it should be. It's a U.S. Open and our top major.” – 2022 U.S. Women’s Open champion Minjee Lee

Ron Sirak is an award-winning Massachusetts-based golf writer whose work has previously appeared on USGA websites and publications.