1 Under Par on Day 3 of This Year's Final Major AIG Women's Open, Shibuno Tied for 2nd, Park In-bi and Saxstrom Tied for 4th
Jeon In-ji is reading the putting line on the 5th hole on the third day of the major AIG Women's Open. Muirfield (Scotland) = Getty Images / Multibits
[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is a breather for ‘Flying Dumbo’ Jeon In-ji (28).
On the 7th (Korean time), at the East Lothian Muirfield in Scotland (Par 71, 6,680 yards), during the third day of the final major of this year’s LPGA Tour, the AIG Women’s Open (total prize money $7.3 million), she finished with 1-under par, slipping to a tie for 2nd place (9-under par 204). Ashley Buhai (South Africa) leads at 14-under par 199, 2019 champion Hinako Shibuno (Japan) is tied for 2nd, and ‘Golf Queen’ Park In-bi (34) and Madelene Saxstr?m (Sweden) are tied for 4th (7-under par 206).
Jeon In-ji started 1 stroke behind the leader, recording 3 birdies and 2 bogeys. She started smoothly with birdies on holes 2 and 5 but gave back all the strokes she had gained with bogeys on holes 9 and 15. Fortunately, she made a birdie on the 17th hole (par 5), promising a comeback drama on the final day. Her tee shot accuracy was remarkable, missing the fairway only twice, but her putting count soared to 33. She is 5 strokes behind the leader, still in a position to hope for victory.
Jeon In-ji is a ‘big match specialist’ who has won 3 of her 4 LPGA Tour victories in majors. This year, she won the third major of the season, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June, collecting 3 major trophies out of the 5 major LPGA Tour events. If she wins this tournament, she will make new history by achieving the ‘Career Grand Slam’ by winning 4 different majors. Among Korean players, only Park In-bi has achieved this remarkable record.
Ashley Bouchard is taking her second shot on the 14th hole on the third day of the Major AIG Women's Open. Muirfield (Scotland) = Getty Images / Multibits
Buhai swept up 8 birdies (1 bogey) to top the leaderboard. Her streak of 4 consecutive birdies from holes 4 to 7 was outstanding. She had 25 putts. Buhai debuted on the LPGA Tour in 2008 but has yet to win a tournament. Her best result this year was 4th place at the Lotte Championship in April. ‘US Women’s Open Champion’ Minjee Lee (Australia) is tied for 6th (5-under par 208), and ‘Evian Champion’ Brooke Henderson (Canada) is tied for 9th (4-under par 209).
For Korea, Park In-bi recorded 3 birdies and 2 bogeys. She struggled on the greens with 32 putts. ‘Lotte Championship Champion’ Kim Hyo-joo (27), Park Sung-hyun (29), and Choi Hye-jin (23) are aiming to climb the ranks from a tie for 9th. ‘Eldest sister’ Ji Eun-hee (36) and Kim A-rim (27) are tied for 15th (3-under par 210), Kim Se-young (29) and Lee Jeong-eun 6 (26) are tied for 19th (2-under par 211), and Yoo So-yeon (32) is tied for 29th (1-under par 212).
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