Only two players shot 80 or higher in the third round, a sharp drop from nine in the first round and 16 in the second. With only sharp-hitting players who made the cut remaining and pin positions eased, scoring conditions improved.
Yet only two players delivered bogey-free rounds at the third round of the DB Women's Championship (total prize money 1.2 billion won) held Sunday at Rainbow Hills Country Club (par 72) in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province. The feat was achieved by Seo Kyo-rim, who carded one birdie without a bogey, and Kim Soo-ji, who added five birdies with no dropped shots.
Kim's 5-under-par 67, in particular, was the flawless low round of the day.
After stringing together pars through the sixth hole, Kim picked up her first birdie on the par-5 seventh. She then collected three consecutive birdies on the par-4 12th through 14th holes on the back nine. Adding another birdie on the par-5 16th, Kim completed her scorecard at 5-under 67 and surged from a tie for 26th the previous day to a tie for sixth at 3-under 213. Kim, who ranks second in greens in regulation at 80.55% thanks to her precise iron play, has yet to register a top-10 finish this season. She now has a prime opportunity to post her best individual result of the year.
Lee Da-yeon, who shot an even-par 72, is alone in fifth at 4-under 212, with Park Hye-jun, Lee Seung-yeon and Han Jin-sun joining Kim Soo-ji in a tie for sixth heading into the final round. Seo Kyo-rim, the other player with a bogey-free card, sits in a tie for 23rd at 3-over 219.
The title race tightened considerably as Ko Ji-won, who had led alone by five strokes the previous day, dropped two shots to fall back to a one-stroke solo lead at 8-under 208.
Yoo Hyun-jo, who shaved four strokes, moved into sole second place at 7-under 209, while Kim Min-sol (also minus four) and Thailand's Patcharajutar Kongkraphan (minus three) share third at 6-under 210, eyeing a come-from-behind victory.
