Andy DevaneyThere’s something about the Standard Portland Classic that seems to coax golf balls into doing things they probably shouldn’t. On Saturday, it was Japan’s Akie Iwai who bent the sport to her will, ripping off an eagle and back-to-back birdies on holes 5, 6 and 7 en route to a blistering 8-under 64. That round catapulted her to 18-under par through 54 holes, two shots clear of the field and staring down her first LPGA title.
For context, this is Iwai’s rookie season on the LPGA Tour. She’s already proven she can hang around the big leagues—runner-up earlier this year at the JM Eagle LA Championship—but this week in Portland she’s writing her own script. She’s also rewriting her own record books: her three-day total of 198 is the lowest of her career.
“I would say very important playing in high position, good position,” Iwai said, which loosely translates to: she knows she’s sitting pretty. “So I need more good position, such good atmosphere. I need to play in something special atmosphere out here.”
Kim, Grant and Kaur in Pursuit
Australia’s Grace Kim is hot on her heels at 16-under. The 24-year-old strung together a 67 that featured four birdies, one eagle, and a hole-out on the par-four 17th that would have impressed even Seve. She’s poured in 17 birdies this week and rolled the rock better than anyone in the field, needing just 75 putts through three rounds.
“I just try to find my tempo,” Kim explained. “You want the putter to feel well in your hands and have that tick-tock tempo. Making sure I feel good over it rather than going into it kind of like half questioning it.”
Linn Grant sits four back at 14-under after her lowest round of the season, a 65 decorated with six birdies and a towering eagle at the 7th.
The Swede sounded more like a philosopher than a golfer afterward: “I feel like my whole year this year I have been like trying to find my peace a little bit… not putting too much pressure when you go out; just try to see it as like I really enjoy playing golf and not just something that I have to do.”
Local favourite Gurleen Kaur rounds out the top four at 13-under, despite mixing a double bogey into her Saturday 70. “I think anybody’s game still tomorrow,” she said. “This course is known for being low and I know that if I get it going tomorrow I definitely have a chance.”
Ace Alert
Then there was Haeran Ryu, who earned herself a $50,000 Toyota credit by jarring a 5-iron at the par-three 16th. It was her first ace on the LPGA Tour and, in her words, “so incredible.”
What’s at Stake
If Iwai can hold her nerve on Sunday, she’ll become the 10th Rolex First Time Winner of the season and the fourth Japanese champion at the Standard Portland Classic, joining Mika Miyazato (2012) and—well, you can almost hear the ghosts of Ayako Okamoto and company nodding in approval. She’d also pass $1 million in career earnings before she’s even unpacked her Tour rookie luggage.
Kim, meanwhile, has the chance to notch her third LPGA title and become the first multiple-time winner in this wild 2025 season. Grant could grab her first trophy in two years, and Kaur is swinging for a storybook breakthrough.
The truth is, this Standard Portland Classic feels less like a gentle walk in the Oregon pines and more like a street fight with a 14-club arsenal.
Whoever survives Sunday will not only need their swing in tune but their nerves wired with steel. And given the way Iwai has played, she might just be the one walking away with the belt.
