SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. — Jin Young Ko never seems to stress. Nor does she let up.

The world’s No. 1 player vaulted into contention for a third major championship Friday, playing the final five holes in 3 under to pull within three shots of second-round leaders Minjee Lee and Mina Harigae at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Harigae and Lee were at 9-under 133 after 36 holes at Pine Needles. Lee shot a 5-under 66, and Harigae had a 69.

Three-time major champion Anna Nordqvist and Hye-Jin Choi, who shot a 64 to come within shot of matching the lowest round in the event’s 77-year history, were 7 under. Nordqvist had a 68.

Ko was tied for fifth at 6 under with Swedish amateur Ingrid Lindblad. Ko shot 67, and Lindblad followed up her event amateur-record 65 on Thursday with a 71.

Ko hasn’t won a major since 2019, but won five LPGA Tour events last year and already has a win this year.

“I don’t think about winning,” Ko said. “I just think just myself and just focus on my game. I just talk with my caddie and have fun.”

Ko made her move with a birdie on No. 14, then pounded a 3-wood into the green on the par-5 15th and made a 65-foot eagle putt.

Nelly Korda, the No. 2 player in the world, was six shots off the pace after a 69. She’s playing in her first tournament since undergoing surgery on her left arm to fix a blood clot.

It looked for a while like Harigae might maintain sole possession of the lead for a second straight day.

But Lee, ranked No. 4 in the world, surged into a tie in the afternoon after shooting 31 on the front nine. Lee has already won two LPGA events this year.

Several players talked about the slow pace of play on an afternoon where light rain threatened stop play.

“A lot of waiting, so I feel like I just tried to pace myself,” Nordqvist said.

Lexi Thompson struggled down the stretch, just as she did in the final round last year’s U.S. Open when she surrendered a five-shot lead on the back nine and lost.

But she managed to close with a birdie for a 69 that left her 3 under.

“Got a few bad breaks, but it is what it is. It’s golf,” said Thompson, the No. 6 player in the world.

Harigae, who played collegiately about 80 miles away at Duke and idolized North Carolina’s Michael Jordan growing up, said she is much more mature person since she first joined the LPGA Tour – and hopes that will help down the stretch.

“I feel like I have better tools to navigate these new experiences,” the 32-year-old Harigae said. “I think just trying to be calm, just go about my day.”

Danielle Kang, the No. 12 player in the world, barely made the cut at 3 over after revealing she has a tumor on her spine.

Yuka Saso was among those who didn’t make the cut, marking the second straight year the defending champion has failed advance past to the weekend. She finished at 9 over.

Among the other notables who won’t be playing on the weekend are 10-time major champion Annika Sorenstam and 2014 champion Michelle Wie West.

Sorenstam, who earned her way into the event by winning last year’s U.S. Women’s Senior Open, spent a good portion of the back nine in the sand, and the 51-year-old seemed to tire as the round dragged on. She shot 81.

Wie West, playing in the second-to-last career tournament, of the year, missed the cut by two strokes, shooting 73-74. Wie West plans to play in the 2023 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach before retiring.

PGA: Cameron Smith believes he is playing the best golf of his life, and it shows. He is in the lead at the Memorial, a tournament where the Australian doesn’t have a great history.

Smith elicited one of the loudest cheers of a glorious afternoon at Muirfield Village when he holed out with a downhill chip from beyond the green on the par-3 12th.

Smith shot a 3-under 69 and kept his one-shot lead over Denny McCarthy and K.H. Lee the rest of the day by doing what he does best. He holed a 15-foot putt for par on the next hole and twice made 6-foot par putts for bunker saves down the stretch.

In six previous appearance at the Memorial, Smith only made the cut twice and both times and finished outside the top 60.

Billy Horschel putted for birdie on every hole and made four of them for a 68 that left him in the group two shots behind Smith, along with Luke List, PGA Tour rookies Cameron Young and Davis Riley, and Jhonattan Vegas.

Rory McIlroy had a 69 and was three shots behind. Defending champion Patrick Cantlay closed with two big par putts for a 69 and was five back at 3 under.

The cut was at 2-over 146. Among those missing out on the weekend were Bryson DeChambeau and Harris English, both returning from injuries. DeChambeau (hand surgery) had not played since the Masters. English (hip surgery) had not played since the Sony Open in January.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Kirk Triplett shot a 9-under 63 to take a two-stroke lead over Jerry Kelly, Ken Tanigawa and Brett Quigley after the first round of the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Iowa.

Bernhard Langer was at 66 along with Stuart Appleby. The 64-year-old Langer played the back nine in 6-under 30.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Jordan Smith surged into a two-stroke lead in the second round of the European Open in Winsen, Germany, seeking his second tour win five years after his first came at the same venue.

Smith shot a 4-under 68 on a day when several of the other early contenders struggled. His only previous win came at the 2017 European Open, also held at the Green Eagle Golf Courses near Hamburg.

Smith and second-placed Victor Perez, winner of the Dutch Open on Sunday, were the only players to post scores under par on each of the first two days.

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