Yoon Ina, 23, has moved close to back-to-back top finishes and her first top-10 in a major.
Yoon shot a 1-under 71 with three birdies and two bogeys in the third round of the Chevron Championship, the first major of the LPGA Tour season, at Memorial Park Golf Course (par 72) in Houston, Texas, on Saturday (Korea time). With a tournament total of 8-under 208, she sits alone in fifth place at the $9 million event.
Dropping two spots from a tie for third the previous day, Yoon saw her deficit to leader Nelly Korda of the United States (16-under) widen to eight strokes. Still, she maintained steady play and held the highest position among Korean players. After finishing fourth at last week's LA Championship—her best result since her U.S. debut—she will aim for a second consecutive top finish and her first top placement in a major in the final round.
Yoon opened strongly with three straight birdies on holes 1 through 3 but recorded only two bogeys afterward. "I had slight expectations after the good start, but a few putts didn't drop and bogeys came, so overall it was disappointing. Still, I'm proud of myself for starting the final day of this year's first major in the top 5," she said. "I'm fairly confident when chasing. In the final round, I plan to play with my usual confidence and be a bit more aggressive."
World No. 2 Korda trimmed two more strokes to lead Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand (11-under) by five strokes, raising the prospect of a wire-to-wire victory and her first title at this event in two years. Im Jin-hee was tied for 10th (6-under), while world No. 3 Kim Hyo-joo and amateur Yang Yoon-seo (Incheon Girls' High School Broadcasting and Correspondence High School) were tied for 16th (4-under). World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand failed to make the cut after posting a combined 3-over through the first two rounds.
