Grace Kim is heeding some sage advice from her idol and golfing legend Karrie Webb in an audacious bid to steal the Women's US PGA Championship trophy in New Jersey.
Kim will enter championship Sunday six shots behind Irish leader Leona Maguire but not without hope after reviving her fortunes with a dogged third-round two-under-par 69.
Fellow Australian Gabriela Ruffels is tied for 12th with Kim at one under after an impressive 68 in what she declared the greatest test in golf around the famed and brutal Baltusrol layout.
The two young super talents are the leading Australians entering the final round of women's golf's second major of the year after world No.5 Minjee Lee slipped from a share of fourth to equal 26th with a disappointing four-over 75.
Reeling in a six-shot final-round deficit seems unlikely, especially on such a brute of a course.
But Lee came from seven shots back to land her maiden major at the 2021 Evian Championship, so Kim and Ruffels figure they have a chance too.
Either way, Kim is just "stoked" to be in outside contention and says advice from seven-time major winner Webb, who won the PGA crown in 2001, will be ringing in her ears when she tees off for the final round.
"She's always just like, 'enjoy yourself. It's not as stressful as it seems'. I think the last thing you can do is put a lot of stress on yourself," 22-year-old Kim said when asked what advice Webb gives her.
"Just trying to enjoy it."
Kim, who won her maiden LPGA title last month in Hawaii, is a four-time recipient of the Karrie Webb Scholarship.
Lee, 2019 PGA Championship winner Hannah Green, fellow young gun Steph Kyriacou and tour colleagues Su Oh and Karis Davidson have also claimed the award and Kim says Webb has instilled immense belief in Australia's next crop of elite women's golfers.
"It's crazy to see that myself and people like Steph Kyriacou who were always in the mix for those events to get into the Karrie Webb Scholarship to have these experiences are now playing the weekend of a KPMG event," she said.
"It's kind of insane to believe that we've come so far."
Ruffels, a former Australian junior tennis champion, has already posted four top-20 finishes at the majors since becoming the first ever Australian to win the US Women's Amateur golf title in 2019.
It's no surprise she too hasn't given up on winning on Sunday.
"I'm definitely playing well, playing solid," the 23-year-old said.
"So I'm happy, and we'll see what we can do tomorrow."
The in-form Maguire, though, is undoubtedly the player to beat.
A winner of last week's Meijer LPGA Classic in Michigan for her second Tour victory, Maguire posted a two-under 69 to get to seven under for the tournament.
She is the only player in the field to have shot all three rounds in the 60s.
"I feel like I handled it pretty well and tried not to treat it any differently than any other round, just like last week," Maguire said.
"Same mindset (Sunday). One more day of patience."
South Korea's Jenny Shin is outright second after matching the low round of the week with a bogey-free 66.
Stephanie Meadow of Northern Ireland shot a 67 to move into third at five under.
- with Reuters
