Inbee Park Ties for Lead "2 Wins in Sight~"... So-yeon Ryu Joins the Victory Race

Volunteers of America Classic Day 3: So-yeon Ryu Tied for Lead at 2 Under Par, Jin-young Ko Tied for 4th at 1 Stroke Behind

Park In-bee is making an iron shot on the 18th hole on the third day of the Volunteers of America Classic. The Colony, Texas, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "Tied 18th → Tied 5th → Co-leader."

Golf queen Park In-bee (32, KB Financial Group) is on her way to her second victory. On the 6th (Korean time), at the Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas (par 71, 6,475 yards), during the third day of the LPGA Tour Volunteers of America Classic (total prize money $1.75 million), she lowered her score by 2 strokes to rise to a tie for the lead (4-under 209). So-yeon Yu (30, Mediheal) and Ye-rim Noh (USA) joined her at the top, setting up a fierce battle for the championship.

Park In-bee recorded 3 birdies and 1 bogey. She opened the scoring early with a birdie on the 6th hole (par 5), followed by consecutive birdies on the 8th and 9th holes. After a bogey on the 11th hole (par 3) in the back nine, she maintained a string of pars, which was somewhat disappointing. Although her iron shot green hit rate was only 66.67%, she was satisfied with limiting herself to just one bogey. This marks her second win of the season and her 21st career victory since winning the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open in February.

It is interesting that Park In-bee currently ranks second in both prize money ($1,066,520) and Player of the Year points (90). Securing the winner’s prize of $262,500 (approximately 285 million KRW) and 30 points at this tournament would allow her to surpass Kim Se-young (27, $1,133,219, 106 points) and claim the number one spot in both categories. So-yeon Yu is a key rival to watch. She posted a daily best 6-under, relying on her "computer-like iron shots," missing the green only twice.

World No. 1 Ko Jin-young (25) is also in contention, tied for 4th place at 3-under 210, just one stroke behind. Ko Jin-young is especially under pressure as Kim Se-young has closed the gap to just 0.41 points, leaving no room to fall back. The leading group is tightly packed with seven players tied for 4th, including Jessica Korda (USA) and Nasa Hataoka (Japan), promising an intense final round. Lee Jeong-eun6 (24, Daebang Construction) is looking for an opportunity from tied 13th place at 1-under 212.