Park Ji-young takes sole 3rd round lead at MEDIHEAL-Hankook Ilbo Championship
Park Ji-young makes a third shot on the ninth hole during the third round of the MEDIHEAL-Hankook Ilbo Championship at the Ferrum Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, April 15. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon
By Kim Jeong-kyoo
The third round of the MEDIHEAL-Hankook Ilbo Championship started at 9 a.m. Saturday with great curiosity on who would vault to the top of the leaderboard on the moving day.
On Friday Lee Joo-mi hit a four-under 68 to jump to the summit, while defending champion Park Ji-young wrapped up a round with a fantastic seven-under 65.
Although Kim Min-byeol ended the second day on even-par to cede her lead to Lee, she has the potential to repeat the same first-round feat.
Given a plethora of possibilities, plus fortune both good and ill, one could hardly predict who would top the third-day leaderboard. Furthermore, a large batch of adept competitors clustering together within five strokes are ready to make a dash full tilt for the crown.
They are all equipped with proficiency to go low once they are on fire.
The game on Saturday was interrupted for about two hours by torrential rain around noon.
Overnight leader Lee hit an over-par 73, while Kim carded an even-par 72. Both players are two strokes shy of the leader at 10-under.
Park rounded off the third round with a three-under 69. She played the back nine in a two-under 34 after making the turn at one-under with two birdies against a lone bogey.
Park collected her first birdie on the second hole but endured a nasty bogey on the third, taking a stroke. However, she immediately bounced back on the fourth hole with a good birdie. Playing the front nine in one-under with two birdies against one bogey, she chased the leader by two strokes at the turn.
She grabbed the sole lead for the first time when she reeled in an inestimable birdie on the par-5 12th hole.
Reaching the final hole, she found herself in a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard. With a fantastic approach to about 2-yards, she set up a putt for a birdie. Capping the penultimate hole with a precious birdie, she took the sole lead, becoming the overnight leader for the Sunday round. Her title defense is well underway.
Park Hyun-kyung, left, gives her caddie a high five after making a birdie on the ninth hole during the third round of the MEDIHEAL-Hankook Ilbo Championship at the Ferrum Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, April 15. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon
After making the turn at an even-par 36, Park Hyun-kyung rattled off two birdies on the 11th and 15th holes to share the lead with Park Ji-young at nine-under. Park who played one group behind her ended the day with a birdie on the final hole to become the outright leader.
The high-profile Park Min-Ji reeled in two birdies before making the turn at seven-under, two strokes shy of the leader. Birdying the 15th hole allowed her to join the group at eight-under. She capped the last hole with a birdie, sharing the lead with three others. But Park who played in the last group rattled off a birdie on the final hole, taking the sole lead.
Who in the world knows the first-round leader Kim's real identity? Playing in the final group with Lee and Park, she never went away. She was like an invincible battleship. The rookie got off to an impeccable start with two back-to-back birdies on the first and second holes to dominate the field. Despite a disastrous double-bogey on the 11th hole, she looked invincible.
She repeated bouncing back, and her matchless ability to recover promptly ended the day with an even-par 72 for a two-way tie with Lee Joo-mi at eight-under for fourth place, two shots adrift of the leader. She is still in contention.
Three strokes behind the leader are Jeong Yun-ji, Kim Su-ji and Kim Ji-su at seven-under.
The author (kimjstar@hanmail.net) lives in a rural village near Seoul, studying and teaching golf.