Choi Hye-jin Takes 3-Stroke Lead in 3rd Round of Lotte Open
Jung Yoon-ji 2nd, Lee So-young 3rd, Park Joo-young Tied 4th
Kim Hyo-joo 6th, Defending Champion Sung Yoo-jin 38th
‘Overseas player’ Choi Hye-jin has a chance to win.
On the 3rd, Choi Hye-jin surged with a 6-under-par round in the third round of the KLPGA Tour Lotte Open (total prize money 800 million KRW) held at Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon (par 72, 6,725 yards), taking the top spot on the leaderboard at 15-under-par 201 strokes. Starting from second place, 2 strokes behind, Choi swept up 6 birdies without any bogeys. She jumped to the lead by 3 strokes, aiming for her 11th career win on the KLPGA Tour.
Choi Hye-jin is using a distance measuring device at the 8th hole of the 3rd round of the Lotte Open. [Photo by KLPGA]
Choi Hye-jin has accumulated 10 wins over 4 years on the KLPGA Tour, including 2 wins during her amateur days. Her most recent victory was at the SK Telecom·ADT Caps Championship in November 2020. She won the Player of the Year award for three consecutive years from 2018 to 2020. Choi debuted on the LPGA Tour last year. After tuning her form with a tie for 7th place at the KLPGA Tour E1 Charity Open, which ended on the 29th of last month, she is now showing her skills in her second domestic tournament.
Choi reflected, "Last week, I was too focused on hitting straight shots, which left me with some regrets, but this week I tried to play in my own style." She added, "Being bold with my shots worked well, and my putting was sharper." She expressed her strong desire to win, saying, "I want to win badly," and vowed, "In the final round, I will stay calm and focus only on my own play."
Jeong Yoon-ji, who was the leader the previous day, shot 1-under-par and dropped to second place (12-under-par 204 strokes). Lee So-young added 3-under-par to move into third place (11-under-par 205 strokes), eyeing a comeback. Park Joo-young, returning from maternity leave, is tied for fourth place (10-under-par 206 strokes) along with Kim Ji-soo. LPGA member Kim Hyo-joo is tied for sixth place (8-under-par 208 strokes), and defending champion Sung Yoo-jin finished the third round tied for 38th place (2-under-par 214 strokes).
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