Lee Soyoung's Tenacity "Leading for Three Days..."... Choi Yerim 1 Stroke Behind in 2nd Place

E1 Charity Open Day 3: 2 Under Par, Yu Hae-ran 3rd, Lee Jeong-eun 6th Tied 4th in Final Chase

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] Lee So-young (23, Lotte) continues to show her tenacity.

On the 30th, at South Springs Golf Club in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province (par 72, 6,501 yards), during the third day of the KLPGA Tour E1 Charity Open (total prize money 800 million won), she posted 2-under par to maintain her lead for the third consecutive day (14-under par 202 strokes). Choi Ye-rim (21, Hite Jinro) surged with a 6-under par round to climb to second place, just one stroke behind (13-under par 203 strokes). Yoo Hae-ran (19, SK Networks) is in third place (12-under par 204 strokes), and Lee Jeong-eun6 (24, Daebang Construction) is tied for fourth (11-under par 205 strokes), setting the stage for a late chase.

Lee So-young started with a 2-stroke lead and made only two birdies. She endured a tedious streak of 12 consecutive pars up to the 12th hole (par 4). She faced some setbacks on the greens, missing a 1.9m putt on the 5th hole (par 5) and a 1.2m putt on the 12th hole (par 4). Fortunately, she changed the momentum with back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes. Especially on the 14th hole (par 3), she boosted her confidence by scoring a 'hole-in-one-like birdie' for the second consecutive day. Her tee shot with a 9-iron from 143 meters just fell short of the hole.

Lee So-young also said, "I was exhausted playing pars on all nine holes in the front nine," and added, "I will play even harder tomorrow." She is poised to claim her fifth career win after one year and eight months since the All For You Championship in September 2018. It is pleasing that South Springs was the winning course back then. She expressed confidence, saying, "It is a strategic course where you have to decide between offense and defense," and "I will do my best with the feeling of starting over from the beginning."

Choi Ye-rim regretted missing a very close 0.7m birdie putt on the 16th hole (par 4). She made her only bogey on the 17th hole (par 4), which ultimately dropped her to second place. Yoo Hae-ran impressed with an eagle on the 13th hole (par 4) from 234 meters, achieving 'one on, one putt.' LPGA Rookie of the Year Lee Jeong-eun6 reduced her score by five strokes to enter the contention for the title, and Lim Hee-jung (20, Hanwha Q CELLS) joined the tie for fourth place. Domestic number one Choi Hye-jin (21, Lotte) remained tied for 18th place (6-under par 210 strokes).