THE first two days of the Ladies Scottish Open were notable for the scorching sun but day three gave the field a timely reminder of what links golf is all about.

Winds of up to 35mph turned the composite Gullane course into an entirely different beast from the opening two days of the tournament.

American Tiffany Joh had set the pace and was leading by three shots on thirteen under par going into yesterday’s third round but the 31-year-old made hard work of the treacherous conditions, recording a bogey-laden round of 80 to drop to four under and tied for seventh place.

The early starters had the best of the weather but it was Thailand’s world number three Ariya Jutanugarn, along with South Korea’s Amy Yang who remained solid enough to surge to the top of the leaderboard on eight under par.

Both recorded 73s yesterday but it is perhaps the position of Jutanugarn, whose shot of the day was a 40-yard chip-in for an eagle on the par 5 sixteenth which helped balance out the four bogeys she recorded, at the top of the leaderboard that is most surprising.

The 22-year-old admitted on day one that she is no fan of links golf and yesterday certainly was a severe test for even the most hardened of links aficionados. You would have thought that being battered by such strong winds for five hours would be enough to put anyone off links golf for life but while Jutanugarn may have stopped just short of admitting that she enjoyed the experience, the constant gale did make her feel that she getting to experience real Scottish weather.

“I would normally say I didn’t like it much when the wind start to blow but I said: ‘Here is the Scottish Open, here is the real one now’,” she laughed.

“I was really happy about how the conditions were because it made me feel like it’s matching my expectations, like it’s really Scottish. It’d be better if it’s not like this for the final round though.”

The Thai is in excellent form this year having won the US Women’s Open last month to add to her Women’s British Open title from 2016.

Going into today’s final round, where the forecast says to expect more wind as well as rain, the Thai will be many people’s favourite to take the title. But she is refusing to put undue pressure on herself and is reluctant to set her sights too high when it comes to any scoring targets.

“It’s all going to depend on the conditions what I can score,” she said.

“If it’s like round three, if I shot even, I’m going to be really happy about that. Maybe a lot of people are thinking that I’m the favourite to win the tournament but for me, I’m not paying attention to winning. When I come out here, I just really want to have fun and I had so much fun yesterday.”

Lurking a shot behind the leaders is Australia’s Minjee Lee while a further shot back are South Korea’s world number four So Yeon Ryu and her compatriot, Haeji Kang.

The leading European is Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, whose 68 was one of the rounds of the day and left the world number 21 three off the lead.

There have been a number of monster drives this week but Ciganda is currently leading the way in the driving stats with a wind-assisted drive of over 350 yards. The 28-year-old, whose uncle was the manager of Athletic Bilbao until May of this year, admitted she was happy to have set off early and be safely in the clubhouse as she watched the leaders slowly but surely come back to her.

“It was tough out there, so I think 3-under was pretty good,” she said.

“In the beginning, it wasn’t bad but then after five or six holes, the wind picked up. I was just trying to hit the fairways, make some pars and I made some good putts. And I finished with a good birdie on 18.”

“When we come to the UK, I’m expecting tough conditions and wind and rain and I like that. I think last year, when we played at Dundonald, the wind was even stronger.

“It’s a challenge. Even for the caddies, they have to be very good at it. It’s a lot of thinking and more fun.

“I love links golf, and I love playing in Scotland, the Home of Golf. It’s always fun to come here. I would love to win here, especially before next week’s British Open.”

The leading Brit is Georgia Hall, the Englishwoman who topped the 2017 Ladies European Tour Order of Merit, whose 71 has left her on three under in a tie for tenth place while British number one, Charley Hull, is a shot back after a 71.

The two Scots who made the cut, Kelsey MacDonald and Kylie Henry, both took advantage of the slightly gentler early conditions to shoot 71s leaving MacDonald tied for 33rd on one under par and Henry on par going into the final day.