Stephanie Kyriacou has a first major title in her sights after moving to a one-shot lead in the Amundi Evian Championship in France.
After closing out her rain-delayed second round with a 66, the St Michael’s gun fired a four-under-par 67 on an extended third day at Evian-Les Bains to get to 14 under.
Despite a three-putt on the first hole for a bogey, Kyriacou quickly responded with three straight birdies to get to minus 12 and within a shot of the lead.
A bogey on the sixth saw her two back of the leader, Japan’s Ayaka Furue, but birdies on 10 and 11, followed by a couple of important par saves on 13 and 14, kept Kyriacou in the hunt.
“14 was kind of like I hit a really bad first putt; left it like five foot short from 20 feet, but then I holed the next one, a little downhill slider,” Kyriacou said after her round. “That kind of like kept it going.”
A birdie on 15 got Steph into the outright lead for the first time before a bogey on the 15th saw her drop back into a tie for the lead alongside the fast-finishing Lauren Coughlin, who was already in the clubhouse after carding the round of the day, a six-under 65.
It was only a brief hiccup, and Kyriaocu made amends with an up-and-down for birdie at the par-5 18th to ensure the lead into tonight’s final round was all hers.
“Obviously, I know I’m in the lead, so that’s nice,” Kyriaco said after her round.
“Being in contention on Sunday is not something – I don’t think I’ve been in contention in a major before, so it’s exciting.
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Kyriacou, who burst onto the scene back in 2020 when she won the Australian Ladies Classic Bonville by a staggering eight shots, said she was looking forward to the butterflies that would undoubtedly come when asked about playing in the last group of a major and entering the final round for the first time.
“I think this is a different kind of nerves,”
“I think sometimes when you’re near the cut line, you really want to make the cut; there are like a few thoughts there.”
“This is completely different, like physical; Things like your heart rate goes up. You get a little bit numb.”
“ It’s a good thing. It’s a good thing to experience.”
And to manage those major nerves Kyriacou will lean on caddie Weileng Wang and a mantra not fit for public consumption.
“It has swear words in it,” she revealed.
At its core though is a simple philosophy of staying in the moment and playing golf as she would any other day.
“Basically, if you didn’t give a crap about everything else, how would you play this?” Kyriacou expanded.
“Along those lines. That kind of gets me through it.
“Coming down the stretch here, I know it’s Saturday, but you still get nervous. He kind of just kept my head screwed on and just said like, I’m still playing golf. It’s the same as playing a practice round, the same as yesterday.
“Just trying to keep that perspective.”
One shot back of Kyriacou are two others on the hunt for their first major, American Lauren Coughlin and Japan’s Ayaka Furue.
Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn is in fourth, three shots back after a third-round 67, while major champion Patty Tavatanakit, LPGA Tour winner Ally Ewing and former Australian Amateur champion Hye-Jin Choi are tied for fifth at -9.
Furue, who has already posted eight top-10 finishes in 2024, claimed the Scottish Open in 2022, while Coughlin finished a creditable Third at the Chevron Championship in April.
Kyriacou will begin her final round tonight at 6:36pm AEST.
