LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England (Kyodo) Ai Miyazato shot a 2-under 70 to move into a tie for third with defending champion Jiyai Shin of South Korea after the third round of the Women's British Open on Saturday.
Miyazato, fresh off her first career U.S. LPGA Tour victory at the Evian Masters last week, moved to even-par 216, four strokes behind Catriona Matthew of Scotland.
Looking to become the first Japanese major champion since Hisako Higuchi won the LPGA Championship in 1977, Miyazato picked up a shot on the first hole and knocked in birdie putts from 10 feet on 6, 20 feet on 8 and more than 30 feet on 9.
She got into a share of the lead by making her fifth birdie of the day on the par-5 11th before she slipped back a little with bogeys on 12 and 14 at Royal Lytham and St. Annes.
"I putted well today. I was able to stroke my putts naturally in birdie chances, without overexerting myself," the 24-year-old said. "I'm in a good position on the leaderboard."