LAST UPDATE | 17 Feb
LEONA MAGUIRE’S CHALLENGE for the Aramco Saudi Ladies International faltered on Saturday, a two-over round of 74 seeing her slip nine shots off the lead ahead of tomorrow’s final round.
Maguire struck form with yesterday’s 64, having opened the tournament with a 76. Alas, day three proved to be more similar to day one than two, with her sole birdie coming on the par-five second hole. Maguire then bogeyed holes seven, 13 and 14 to sign for a 74 that leaves her in a tie for 21st place.
Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand leads, holding a three-shot lead over Esther Henseleit, thanks to today’s round of 69. Henseleit vaulted herself into contention with a round of 65, the best 18 holes recorded across the third day.
On the PGA Tour, both Rory McIlroy and Seamus Power posted rounds in the sixties to climb the leaderboard at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera.
Power signed for a four-under 67 that featured one birdie and eight pars on the front nine and caught fire on the turn, going eagle-birdie-birdie. Power then handed back a couple of shots with consecutive bogeys on 15 and 16, but he birdied the last to go one better than yeterday’s 68.
He and McIlroy are tied on four-under for the tournament, with McIlroy signing for a third-round 69. He started brilliantly, birdieing each of the first two holes, but didn’t find another birdie until the 11th hole, by which point he lost a shot with a bogey on eight.
McIlroy then bogeyed the 12th but bounced back with a birdie on the 13th, then bogeying 16 and birdieing 17 to sign for a round of two-under. Having shot a 66 yesterday, McIlroy’s tournament has been railroaded by a brutal run on Thursday, in which he doubled 15 and then tripled 16.
Tiger Woods, meanwhile, confirmed he withdrew from the tournament because of flu.
“I would like to confirm that I had to withdraw from @thegenesisinv due to illness, which we now know is influenza”, posted Woods on X. “I am resting and feeling better. Good luck to the players this weekend. I’m disappointed to not be there and want to thank @GenesisUSA and all the fans for the support.”
Patrick Cantlay remains in the lead, and you can follow the live leaderboard here.
Updated at 21.40 with details from PGA Tour
