By Jeremy Harness

AP photo: Lydia Ko reacts after making a birdie on the 18th green during the third round of the USGA at CordeValle US Womens Open Golf

SAN MARTIN, Calif. – Lydia Ko has a real knack for making up ground in crucial parts of a tournament and coming away with a win, particularly in majors, and she’s on her way to doing it again this weekend.

Ko, who just turned 19 in April, trailed by nine shots after Thursday’s opening round of the U.S Women’s Open at CordeValle Golf Resort but has gained ground since then, as she narrowed her deficit to only three on Friday with a 66.

While those ahead of her on the leaderboard went south on Saturday, Ko continued her ascent to the top with a two-under 70. She traded a bogey for a birdie on the front side, but she gained two shots on the final nine holes, with birdies at the 13^th and 18^th holes to take the lead, one shot ahead of Korea’s Eun Hee Ji.

“The first round was frustrating,” said Ko, who has already won a major this year, the ANA Inspiration, which was a couple of weeks before her birthday. “(But) just because somebody shoots eight-under par the first day doesn’t necessarily mean that the tournament is going to end up (with a winner going) 32-under par,” “There’s still a lot of golf to be played.

“All I can do is play my best, and if someone plays better than me, that’s fine,” she continued. “I just have to focus on my game and not worry about what everyone else is doing, so that way I don’t get carried away with that.”

Ji took a similar route as Ko on Saturday, as she also shot 70 to stay within a stroke of the lead. She bogeyed the par-5 third hole but quickly rebounded with a birdie at the par-4 seventh. Frpm there, she picked up a shot at the 13^th and another one at the 17^th.

The best round of the day, however, belonged to Texas native Brittany Lang, who shot a four-under 68 and finds herself only two shots off the lead heading into the final round. She got off to a very nice start, recording three birdies on the front side – taking advantage of the decidedly-more friendly early-morning conditions, as she teed off at 9am PST – before bogeying the par-4 13^th.

It didn’t take her very long to recover, however. She got the shot right back with a birdie on the very next hole and gained another one at the par-5 15^th.

“I did everything pretty well,” Lang said. “I played pretty steady. I didn’t really do anything stupid. I didn’t put myself in any bad spots. I let myself be able to make pars and just have a comfortable day.

“I (also) knew going out at 9:00, it was a perfect time to play because it wasn’t too cold, and the greens were going to be softer, so I was excited.”

Sung Hyun Park went into the third round at eight-under and got off to a fairly-nice start and even picked up another shot at the eighth to boost her lead at nine-under, but a damaging double-bogey at the ensuing hole seemed to derail any momentum she had.

She steadied the ship a bit, however, parring the next four holes, but she then took two bogeys against one birdie the rest of the way to finish with a 74 and a tie with Ji for second.

While Ko steadily climbed her way to the top of the leaderboard, Mirim Lee, Thursday’s leader after shooting an opening-round 64, has gone the other way. She entered Saturday behind only two strokes, but she seemed to slowly lose steam as the round progressed.

She was particularly victimized on the front nine, with four bogeys against one birdie. Lee was able to pull it back together on the back nine with only one bogey but could not regain any ground, and she walked off the course trailing Ko by five shots.