Miyu Yamashita extended her comfortable lead, while Canadian teenager Aphrodite Deng made significant progress on the scoreboard during the CPKC Women’s Open held in Edmonton. Yamashita from Japan carded a remarkable 5-under-par 65 in the third round, bringing her total score to 19 under for the tournament at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club in Edmonton.
With a six-stroke advantage heading into Sunday, Yamashita aimed for her fourth LPGA victory and second win of the season after recovering from a lone bogey on the 17th hole with a final birdie on the 18th. Expressing her fondness for the course, Yamashita credited her strong putting skills for her success.
Yamashita’s 54-hole score of 191 set a new tournament record, and her six-shot lead tied the record for the largest lead after 54 holes. Gina Kim of the United States and Japan’s Yuri Yoshida followed closely at 13 under with impressive rounds of 6-under 64 and 66, respectively.
Sixteen-year-old Calgary native, Aphrodite Deng, who was last year’s low amateur in Mississauga, surged up the leaderboard with the lowest round of the day, a stellar 63, to reach 10 under and secure a tie for sixth place. Deng expressed her focus on minimizing mistakes and learning from her previous rounds.
In a tournament first, four Canadian females aged 18 and under made the cut at the CPKC Women’s Open. Among them, Vancouver’s Anna Huang, amateurs Michelle Xing from Richmond Hill, Ont., and Clairey Lin from Langley, B.C., continued their strong performance over the weekend. Huang, Xing, and Lin posted scores of 7 under, 1 under, and 2 over, respectively.
Defending champion Brooke Henderson from Smiths Falls, Ont., rebounded from early setbacks and finished the day at 7 under after a solid round of 68. Despite trailing Yamashita by 12 strokes, Henderson remained optimistic about her performance and aimed for a strong finish in the tournament.
As the competition heats up, the final round on Sunday is expected to see a high of 26C with some forest fire smoke before potential thunderstorms later in the day.
