In the third round of the Amundi Evian Championship, Australian Stephanie Kyriacou took the lead with a birdie on the final hole, finishing the day a stroke ahead of Ayaka Furue and Lauren Coughlin. Kyriacou, a 23-year-old from Sydney, shot a 67 in hot and sunny conditions at the Evian Resort Golf Club, bringing her 54-hole total to 14-under-par at the fourth women’s major of the season. She played 19-and-a-half holes on Saturday due to the second round being suspended overnight because of thunderstorms. Kyriacou completed her second round in the morning before taking a nap and then starting her third round five hours later.
Starting the third round two strokes behind Furue, Kyriacou managed to rally on the back nine, duelling with Furue for the lead. Coughlin set the clubhouse target at 13-under with an eagle on 18, her second eagle of the day. Kyriacou had a rollercoaster round, going out in 34 with an early bogey followed by three consecutive birdies and another bogey on the sixth. She then made back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11, overtaking Furue with a tricky downhill birdie putt on the final hole.
Kyriacou shared her thoughts after the round, noting how playing the course more helped her figure out its tips and tricks. She expressed excitement about being in contention on the Sunday of a major for the first time and acknowledged the challenging day. Furue, just one shot behind the lead, was not satisfied with her performance, citing issues with her shots. Pajaree Anannarukarn is in fourth place, three strokes further back at 10-under-par, while Ally Ewing had the round of the day with a seven-under-par 64 and shares fifth place with Hye-Jin Choi and Patty Tavatanakit.
Among the English players, Georgia Hall was the only one to make the cut and is currently 13 strokes behind the leader in tied 21st place after shooting a 71 in the third round. Charley Hull missed the cut by five shots after shooting a 79 and a 69, while amateur Lottie Woad was +3 for her two rounds. The leaderboard remains tight as the tournament heads into its final day, with Kyriacou holding the lead by just one stroke. With the pressure mounting, the players will have to navigate the challenging course and conditions to secure a victory in one of the season’s major events.
