LOS ANGELES (AFP) - American Amy Olson will be playing with a heavy heart during a Monday (Dec 14) finish at the US Women's Open after her father-in-law unexpectedly passed away over the weekend, US media reported.

The 28-year-old Olson is pursuing her first career victory in her seventh year on the LPGA Tour and is just one shot back of leader Hinako Shibuno of Japan at the tournament in Houston.

Olson's husband, Grant, had travelled to Texas to cheer her on this week but left the Champions Golf Club facility on Sunday to join his mother and other close relatives after his father died the night before, GolfDigest.com reported.

Olson and Grant have been married for three years.

Olson has yet to win on the LPGA, but she has come close before. In 2018, she tied for second at the Evian Championship after a double bogey on the 18th hole, and she played in the final group of another major that year, the ANA Inspiration, where she finished tied for ninth.

She is seeking her first LPGA title after 147 starts and would be the first player to make the US Women's Open her first LPGA title since Hilary Lunke in 2003.

Shibuno, who led after the second and third rounds, holds a slim lead and sits at four-under-par 209 for three rounds.

The final round was suspended on Sunday, less than 30 minutes before Olson was set to tee off with Shibuno and Thailand's Moriya Jutanugarn in the day's final group.

Play never resumed, and three and a half hours later, the round was suspended for the remainder of the day.

The event was rescheduled from June due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which also kept spectators from attending.