'I was a brat' - American opens up on how being punished by St Andrews bunkers left her feeling

Bidding to create history as the first player to be crowned champion in the event for a third time since it became a major in 2001, Korean Jiyai Shin is out in front heading into the final round at St Andrews after carding a seven-birdie 67 to move to seven-under-par.

The 36-year-old, who landed her first title triumph at Sunningdale in 2008 before repeating the feat at Royal Liverpool four years later, holds a one-shot lead over Vu, with world No 1 Nelly Korda, who’d led by three shots at the halfway stage, one further back and Olympic champion Lydia Ko and another Shin, Jenny, both on four under.

Not since Taiwan’s Yani Tseng did the trick 13 years ago has a player successfully defend this crown, but, after already becoming the first defending champion since Georgia Hall in 2019 to make the cut, it doesn’t look as though statistics matter to Vu this week.

“I don't think it weighs on my shoulders,” said the 26-year-old Californian of bidding to become a repeat champion in The R&A event. “I think I came into the week with a good mindset that it's a new week. Just going to show up the same way I do every single week. Trying to play my best and beat the golf course.”

This particular one can be infuriating as Vu discovered on two occasions in the penultimate circuit. “I was definitely a brat about it because I thought I hit a good shot, and then it happened to roll in,” she said of not only find herself in two bunkers but then having to take the ultimate punishment on both occasions.

Thankfully, her caddie knew that would probably happen at some point over the four days and helped her calm down. He said: “This is links golf. It's a major championship. Of course balls are going to fall into the bunker’. I think he was basically saying, like, you've missed every single one past two days, so this is your turn to go in the bunker.”

Picking up three birdies in the final five holes - she’s finished all three of her rounds strongly in the $9.5 million tournament - Vu salvaged a 71 after fearing that she was losing a grip on her title after going bogey-double bogey at the 12th and 13th. “Yeah, the wheels were falling off in the middle of it,” she said of her effort. “I was getting anxious, but my caddie was able to give me words of encouragement that I'm playing well and just had a couple bad breaks. Yeah, I was able to birdie 16 and, most importantly, par 17 (from through the back of the green) and then finish with a birdie 18 going into tomorrow.”

She’ll be out with leader Shin in the final group and admitted: “I don't know much (about her), but I know whenever she shows up to a major tournament, she's top ten. I'm so excited to play with her tomorrow and see her game.”

Shin is a former world No 1 and has recorded a staggering 64 professional wins. Eleven of those came on the LPGA Tour before she suddenly disappeared from the US circuit. “My rookie year was 2009 and I had many goals for the next ten years, but, after three or four years, I had finished everything,” she said of how successful she had been on the world’s most-competitive women’s circuit. “I needed a change, so that's why I moved to Japan, closer to my family, and this is my 11th year on the Japanese Tour.”

On another testing day on the Fife coast, in-form German Esther Henseleit and Swiss Albane Valenzuela carded matching six-under 66s in the morning to catapult themselves up the leaderboard before Shin produced the best afternoon performance in front of a sizeable and enthusiastic crowd. “This is my third time at St Andrews,” said the leader of also having played in the 2007 and 2013 editions. “I have a lot of experience with links courses, though not in this tough wind.”

Korda, a six-time winner on the LPGA Tour this year, started bogey-bogey and was joined in the lead by Charley Hull after the English player birdied the third. As Hull then had the wind taken out of her sails by first having to come out sideways from a bunker then backwards from another as he ran up a double-bogey 7 at the fifth, Korda moved ahead again after repairing that early damage with three birdies before the turn.

Out of nowhere, though, she hit her tee shot out of bounds at the 16th, leading to a double bogey there, and the American dropped a shot at the 17th as well before stopping the rot for a closing birdie, signing for a 75 after opening with two 68s.

“It wasn't the best of days,” she admitted. “Obviously with the double on 16 and bogey on 17, you want to finish on a good note and it was nice to finish with a birdie. I was happy to see that one roll in. Hopefully I can take that momentum into tomorrow. I played really well the first two days, so I'm going to take that momentum into tomorrow.”

After also finishing with a birdie and also signing for 75, Hull, last year’s runner up to Vu at Walton Heath, sits five shots off the lead in a group that also includes English amateur Lottie Woad. But, with lots of puff still left apparently in what has been an almost constant south to south-south westerly wind from the off on Thursday, a posse of players are still in the equation in the final major of 2024.