Canadian teenager Aphrodite Deng is in line to make a little history Sunday at the U.S. Women’s Open, but leading the way at the biggest event in women’s golf is the game’s best player — Nelly Korda.
Korda, who birdied her final three holes to shoot a 4-under 67, is looking to win her second major in a row this season and fourth title overall of 2026. With a win Sunday, Korda — who is ranked No. 1 in the world — would be the youngest American to reach four majors on the LPGA Tour since Mickey Wright all the way back in 1960.
Korda is tied for the lead through 54 holes along with fellow major champion Sei Young Kim, while eight golfers are within three shots of the top spot.
Seven different people held a share of the lead at one point Saturday at Riviera Country Club and Deng, who earned her way into the field after winning the U.S. Junior Girls’ Championship last summer — the first Canadian to ever win that event — was very close to adding her name to that list early.
The 16-year-old got off to an incredible start, birdying her first three holes, highlighted by a chip-in on the par-4 3rd. She added another birdie on the par-3 6th before giving one back on No. 8. Deng had a few other chances on the back nine, missing a five-foot birdie try on No. 10 and a 14-foot attempt on No. 17. Deng bogeyed the par-4 13th but added a final circle on her scorecard on the par-3 16th.
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Her tidy short game was on display through the third round, as she ended up in the top 10 in strokes gained: short game and putting for the day.
“My putting was good today. I was just trusting my line and just getting my speed right,” Deng said. “I think the conditions were still really hard. I saw everyone playing really good (in the morning), so I knew I had to play good today. I just hit all my shots straight and put myself in better positions.”
Deng shot a 3-under 68 and was inside the top 10 on the leaderboard for most of the afternoon until it bunched right up at the end of the day. She sits tied for 11th through three rounds. Her 68 was just two shots off the record for the lowest-ever score by a teenager at the U.S. Women’s Open and three shots off the lowest score by an amateur in tournament history.
Deng is as eager as ever for a solid Sunday and if she finishes inside the top 20, she’ll be just the sixth golfer in history to pull off that feat after winning the U.S. Junior Girls’ Championship the year prior – and the first since 1983 when Heather Farr finished tied for 11th.
Deng said she’ll keep the same mindset heading into the finale and also said winning the U.S. Junior event last year will help her on Sunday at Riviera.
“I learned a lot from that tournament just playing in front of the camera. It's match play, so it's very tight (and) it kind of helped me with my nerves this week,” Deng said.
Brooke Henderson was the other Canadian to make the cut but shot a 3-over 74 Saturday after a tough day with her ball-striking. She hit only seven greens in regulation and lost almost 2.5 shots to the field on approach.
Henderson, who is tied for 34th, is grouped with Melanie Green for the final round and will tee off at 12:25 p.m. ET while Deng will play with Minji Kang and goes at 2:30 p.m.
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