Yuka Saso submitted a 6-over-par 77 in the third round of the US Women’s Open golf tournament on Saturday (US time), taking her out of the top 10 for the first time in Houston this week.

Saso entered the day at 2-under, then evened out early with back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 3 and 4 at Champions Golf Club.

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Things took a turn for the worse at the back 9, with bogeys on 10, 15 and 18, and a double bogey on 11, giving the Japan LPGA Tour campaigner an aggregate 4-over 277 and putting her in joint 25th place with 7 others, including 2-time major winner Stacy Lewis of the United States.

Saso, a 2-time winner in Japan and the reigning Asian Games women’s individual champion, remained the Philippines’ lone hope in Texas of a breakthrough win after Bianca Pagdanganan was bundled out in Round 2.

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Meanwhile, Japan's Hinako Shibuno, the 2019 Women's British Open champion, clung to a one-stroke lead over American Amy Olson after the third round.

The 22-year-old nicknamed “Smiling Cinderella,” trying to win her US Women's Open debut, fired a 3-over par 74 to stand on 4-under 209 after 54 holes.

Shibuno, who led by three strokes when the day began, managed only one birdie against four bogeys, starting and finishing her round with bogeys.

“It was a little shock that I dropped a couple of shots but I will do my best tomorrow and try to play my way,” Shibuno said through a translator.

Olson, seeking her first LPGA title, shot 71 to grab second with the only others under par being Thailand's Moriya Jutanugarn and South Korean Kim2 Ji-yeong, both on 212.

“Definitely pleased,” Olson said. “It’s not easy. It was really a grind out there. I'm pleased with how I played.”

Moriya, whose only LPGA title came at the 2018 Los Angeles Open, fired a 72 while Kim2 matched the week's best round with a bogey-free 67, leaping into contention after making the cut on the number.

The event was rescheduled from June due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which also kept spectators from attending. -- With a report from Agence France-Presse

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