Oftentimes, the winner of a major championship gets a couple of key breaks along the way. On Friday, everyone in the field at the U.S. Women’s Open got a break – the weather was not nearly as bad as predicted. As a result, as was the case in Thursday’s first round, there were a lot of low scores.

Tee times were moved up 80 minutes and at the end of the day, 19 players were under par. And now that everyone has played both the Jackrabbit Course and the Cypress Creek Course at Champions Golf Club, all 66 who made the cut at 3 over par or better will play Cypress Creek on the weekend.

Here are 3 things to look for in Saturday’s third round.

Sister Act

In a lot of ways, the Jutanugarns have been like the Williams sisters in tennis – the younger sibling has overshadowed the older. But now Moriya Jutanugarn, 26, is in a position to put both herself and her 25-year-old sister Ariya in the record books. They would join Hollis Stacy and Martha Leach along with Harriot and Margaret Curtis as the only sisters to both win USGA titles.

Moriya, the runner-up in the 2011 U.S. Women’s Amateur, is at 2 under par after 36 holes, five strokes behind leader Hinako Shibuno. Ariya, who is also at 2 under par, has 10 LPGA wins to one by Moriya and won the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open and 2011 U.S. Girls’ Junior. Stacy won six USGA titles; the U.S. Girls’ Junior three times (1969-71) and three U.S. Women’s Opens (1977, ’78, ’84). Harriot Curtis won the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1906 while Margaret Curtis won it in 1907, ’11, and ’12.

Let’s see how that plays out on the weekend for the Jutanugarns, who are actually paired together on Saturday, starting at 11:02 a.m. CST with Stacy Lewis.

Amateurs Roar

If anyone has any doubts about the future of the women’s game, they need only look at how well the amateurs have fared in the 75th U.S. Women’s Open. Of the two dozen who teed it up on Thursday with no chance of winning the $1 million first prize, six made the cut. And not only did they make the cut – they are making noise.

Linn Grant of Sweden finished 36 holes at 4-under-par 138 and is in second place, three strokes behind Shibuno. Kaitlyn Papp, of Austin, Texas, is in a tie for third place at 139 while another Swede – Ingrid Lindblad – is at 141. Pauline Roussin-Bouchard of France is at even par along with Maja Stark, also of Sweden, while Gabriela Ruffels of Australia, the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, is at 1 over par.

The only amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open is Catherine Lacoste of France in 1967. Think about that this weekend.

Comeback Queens

While it is always good to have the lead – no matter what day it is – being ahead after two rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open doesn’t necessarily predict who will hold the trophy on Sunday. Eleven of the past 16 champions were three or more strokes behind after 36 holes. The last 36-hole leader or co-leader to win the championship was Michelle Wie in 2014.

So who does that mean we should keep an eye on Saturday? Sitting at 2 under par, five strokes behind Shibuno but just two strokes out of second place, are past U.S. Women’s Open champions Cristie Kerr and Ariya Jutanugarn, as well as two-time major winner Stacy Lewis and former LPGA Rolex Rookie of the Year Moriya Jutanugarn.

Rolex Rankings No. 1 Jin Young Ko and two-time U.S. Women’s Open winner Inbee Park are lurking at 1 over par. Saturday is moving day – let’s see who makes a move.

Ron Sirak is a Massachusetts-based freelance writer who frequently contributes to USGA digital channels.