Miyu Yamashita extended her substantial lead, while Canadian teenager Aphrodite Deng made a significant climb in the rankings on Saturday at the CPKC Women’s Open held in Edmonton. Yamashita, representing Japan, showcased a strong performance by carding a 5-under-par 65 in the third round, reaching a total score of 19 under for the tournament at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club in Edmonton. With a six-shot advantage going into the final day, Yamashita aimed for her fourth LPGA victory and second of the season, finishing her round with a birdie on the 18th hole to recover from a single bogey on the 17th.
Expressing her fondness for the course, Yamashita stated, “I like this course. Putting feels really good.” Her 54-hole score of 191 set a new tournament record, and her six-stroke lead matched the previous record for the largest 54-hole lead in the tournament’s history. Gina Kim from the United States and Japan’s Yuri Yoshida followed closely behind Yamashita, with Kim posting a 6-under 64 and Yoshida carding a 66 to stand at 13 under.
Sixteen-year-old Aphrodite Deng, hailing from Calgary, made a remarkable surge with the lowest round of the day at 63, moving her to 10 under and tying for sixth place. Reflecting on her performance, Deng commented, “It felt really great, but I wasn’t really counting how low I was shooting. I was just trying to learn from my first two days and make the least mistakes as possible.”
In a notable first for the tournament, four Canadian female golfers aged 18 and under, including Anna Huang from Vancouver, Michelle Xing from Richmond Hill, Ont., and Clairey Lin from Langley, B.C., made the cut and continued competing over the weekend. Defending champion Brooke Henderson from Smiths Falls, Ont., recovered from a shaky start to finish at 7 under, trailing Yamashita by 12 strokes. Henderson expressed her determination to achieve a strong finish in the tournament.
The weather forecast for the final round on Sunday predicts a temperature of 26C with some forest fire smoke, later transitioning to thunderstorms in the late afternoon.