Moving Day lived up to its name as 63 athletes competed in the third round of the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic on Saturday afternoon at TPC Scottsdale – Champions Course.

Megan Schofill holds a two-shot lead heading into Championship Sunday, after carding an impressive 5-under par round on Saturday. The University of Auburn alumna battled back after an even par second round, draining six birdies on the day, climbing from T6 to sitting atop the leaderboard.

The 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion opened her round with a birdie on the par-5 1st. Schofill continued to gain momentum knocking birdies in left and right to round the turn with a 3-under, 33.

“I had 10 putts on the front nine,” said Schofill. “I had to make like a seven-footer on the last to one-putt every hole. That's all I could think about. I was like, oh, man, how fun would this be to one-putt every hole? Now, I missed a lot of greens, too, to make that stat sound better.”

The Epson Tour sophomore finished out her 54th hole of the tournament with a birdie to separate herself even further from the remainder of the field as she heads into Sunday in search of her first professional victory on the Epson Tour.

“I feel like it gives me confidence to know that I've done it before,” Schofill said of her high-pressure playing experiences. “Obviously, this is a different atmosphere than amateur golf, but no, I've been able to do it before, so why can't I go out there and do it tomorrow? But really, if I could do one thing tomorrow, just focus on one shot at a time. Not try and get ahead of myself or live in the past, either.”

36-hole leader Lauren Olivares started her third round off with back-to-back birdies on holes two and three, followed by another on the par-4 6th. However, from there, the Epson Tour rookie began to falter, making bogey after bogey.

Olivares signed for an even-par 71, to sit in a tie for second with Epson Tour veteran and recent champion, Amari Avery.

The 2026 IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort and Spa winner started off strong with five birdies on her opening nine. The 22-year-old struggled on the par-3 17th, making a double-bogey, but battled until the finish to have the chance for eagle on her final hole of the round. Avery ultimately had a 3-footer for birdie to card a 3-under, 68 and is heading into Championship Sunday looking for her second consecutive professional victory.

“It's kind of interesting. Today, it almost felt like match play. We were playing like nationals or something,” said Avery. “I felt like I was playing against (Schofill), but also playing against the field. Obviously, I didn't know where they were. I could only tell where she was at, and I felt with the way she was playing, I mean, she was probably in the lead, and she is now. It still felt like stroke play, because I know there's other people in the field, and I got to keep capitalizing and making birdies. But it was kind of cool just to play with someone one-on-one and both play really great golf.”

Gile Bite Starkute had a strong day on the links making an eagle, five birdies and one bogey, ultimately signing for a 6-under, 65, vaulting from T32 into solo fourth on somewhat “home turf” for the University of Arizona alumna.

Japan native, Nika Ito tied Bite Starkute for the low round of the day with a 6-under 65, highlighted by four consecutive birdies on holes six through nine, to make an equally impressive jump from T43 to T5 heading into the final round in search for her second consecutive top-10 finish.

The leaderboard remains packed, with several players at 5-under tied in the top 10, promising a dramatic final round for the title, $400,000 purse, and crucial Race to the Card points toward LPGA dreams.

The final round begins at 7:00 a.m. local time with a single tee format. Follow along with live scoring here.

Megan Schofill Takes Two-Shot Lead Heading into Championship Sunday of the Carlisle Arizona Women's Golf Classic

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