US Women's Open 2015: Saturday Leaderboard Scores and LPGA Highlights

Day 3 of the 2015 U.S. Women's Open at Lancaster Country Club is in the books, and just like Friday's round, it concluded with South Korean Amy Yang atop the leaderboard.  

Entering Sunday's final round, a grand total of 11 players have accrued totals under par, with Yang leading the way at eight under. 

And while the tournament is hers to lose with just 18 holes remaining, there is precedent for players making late charges at the U.S. Open. According to GolfChannel.com's Randall Mell, six players in tournament history have come back from five strokes down in order to conclude the weekend with shiny hardware in their possession.  

The U.S. Open's official Twitter account provided a handy overview of Saturday's course layout, which was the hardest of the three days thus far: 

On Saturday, just one player shot better than 67, and a meager 14 in the field tallied rounds under par.  

Here's a rundown of the leaderboard entering Sunday's action: 

Place	Player	To Par	Round 3 Score
1	Amy Yang	-8	69
2	Stacy Lewis	-5	69
3	In Gee Chun	-4	68
4	Shiho Oyama	-3	71
T5	Chella Choi	-2	64
T5	Michelle Wie	-2	68
T5	Mi Hyang Lee	-2	68
T5	Inbee Park	-2	70
T9	Min Lee	-1	70
T9	Morgan Pressel	-1	71
T9	Jane Park	-1	71

Once again, Yang did enough to remain in control.

She recorded her third straight round under par, shooting a 69 in order to push her outright lead to eight under.

While it wasn't the flashiest round, Yang showed resolve by rebounding from each of her three bogeys with a smattering of pars and birdies in order to maintain a stranglehold on the leaderboard's top spot.   

Yang's playing partner, Stacy Lewis, did as she typically does and used her putter to remain within three strokes of the lead. 

A birdie on No. 14 moved Lewis to within two shots of Yang at the time, but a late bogey on No. 17 dropped her back to five under overall. 

If Lewis can continue rolling the ball beautifully on Lancaster's putting surfaces, Yang will likely have to sweat out the final round. 

The biggest early storyline Saturday revolved around South Korea's Chella Choi, who throttled up the leaderboard after entering the day four over. Choi shot a 71 Thursday and followed that up with a three-over (73) showing Friday.

After just barely making the cut, Choi went on a rampage, recording nine birdies while tallying three bogeys in order to shoot six under and move to two under for the tournament.

The U.S. Open Twitter account broke down her scorecard:

And while Choi missed out on the U.S. Open's single-round scoring record, the LPGA noted her showing on the front nine was historically significant:

Choi proceeded to have some fun with reporters regarding a preferential shift in putters, according to the LPGA:

One more early highlight of note (via the U.S. Open): Lee Lopez, who sits at three over following 54 holes, flashed some silly accuracy at the par-three 13th:

According to the Fox broadcast, Lopez's hole-in-one was the 22nd in women's U.S. Open history.  

Defending champion Michelle Wie continued her steady climb up the leaderboard after shooting two under on Friday, using a two-under third round to creep into red figures. 

But according to Mell, one LPGA legend and current broadcaster noticed a pattern of inconsistency that has hindered Wie's ability to contend in ways that reflect her immense level of talent:

The peak of Wie's day came during a three-hole stretch that spanned Nos. 11-13. Wie recorded three consecutive birdies over that span as she showed impressive composure on the greens, and that outburst kept her on the fringe of the championship discussion, a sentiment the U.S. Open agreed with:

As Mell noted, Wie has admirably battled through a litany of injuries this week:

And while no player in tournament history has ever staged a six-shot comeback during final-round play, as Mell mentioned, Wie has a chance to make some history if she is able to storm back and capture back-to-back national titles.