Julia Lopez Ramirez finishes with three straight birdies to rescue BMW Ladies third round

Julia Lopez Ramirez rescued her third round at the BMW Ladies Championship with birdies on all three closing holes. The Spaniard signed for a two-under-par 70 on Saturday, October 24, 2026, reaching 12 under for 54 holes and a share of fifth place heading into Sunday's final round in South Korea.

An uneven round transformed at the finish

Back-to-back opening rounds of 67 had put Lopez Ramirez in a promising position, but her Saturday at Pine Beach Golf Links was far from straightforward. Bogeys at the first and fifth were offset by birdies at the seventh and eighth. A string of pars followed before another dropped shot at No. 15 left her one over for the day with only three holes left.

Her response was decisive. She made birdie at 16, 17 and 18, converting a lengthy putt at the last to close with 70 rather than a potentially frustrating over-par round. Her 54-hole total of 204 strokes did not make her the tournament leader, but it restored some momentum before the final day. For a player still seeking a first LPGA Tour victory, the way a difficult round finishes can matter almost as much as the total.

Strong ball-striking, harder putting

Lopez Ramirez found 12 of 14 fairways and reached 17 of 18 greens in regulation during the third round. Yet she needed 35 putts. Those figures point to a day when consistent approach play produced numerous opportunities, without every opportunity translating into a birdie. Across the opening three rounds she reached 48 of 54 greens, an encouraging foundation for Sunday's challenge, though precision alone cannot guarantee a low score.

The Spaniard completed Saturday at 12 under alongside South Korea's Minju Kim. Korean star Haeran Ryu remained in command on 17 under following rounds of 67, 64 and 68. Minji Park, Hye-Jin Choi and Japan's Yuri Yoshida were tied at 13 under. Five shots is a substantial deficit with one round to play, making a strong finish a more measured expectation for Lopez Ramirez than an assumption she will win.

The bigger picture

The 23-year-old Spaniard is chasing her maiden LPGA Tour win. The BMW Ladies Championship is contested October 22–25 at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, with a $2.35 million purse. The closing round is scheduled for Sunday, October 25. All scores cited here describe the completed third round, not the tournament's eventual final result.

Sources: Ten-Golf, October 24 report; official LPGA leaderboard; LPGA player profile.

Illustration: archival photograph of the green at Pinehurst No. 4 (USA, 2010), by Dan Perry. It does not show Lopez Ramirez or the Korean tournament venue.