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| Hyo Joo Kim / Photo: Getty Images |
[Sports Today Reporter Kang Tae-gu] Hyo Joo Kim is closing in on a second straight LPGA Tour title after a near-flawless third round.
On March 29 (KST), Kim fired an 11-under 61 — recording an eagle and nine birdies with no bogeys — in the third round of the LPGA Tour’s Ford Championship (purse $2.25 million) at the Wildwood Golf Club (par 72) in Phoenix, Arizona.
Kim sits at 25-under 191 through three rounds, a four-shot lead over runner-up Nelly Korda (U.S.).
The defending champion is bidding to repeat at this event. A victory here would give her back-to-back wins after last week’s Fortinet Founders Cup and would mark the eighth LPGA title of her career.
Kim began on the first hole and quickly built momentum with consecutive birdies at holes 2 and 3. She added birdies at 5 and 7 to keep the pressure on the field.
Her hot play continued on the back nine: birdies at 10 and 11 were followed by an eagle at 12 that vaulted her into the lead.
Kim closed the round with additional birdies at 13, 16 and 17 to finish the third round as the solo leader.
Meanwhile, Korda, who led after two rounds, went bogey-free with five birdies but was unable to hold off Kim.
In her second season on the LPGA Tour, Ina Yoon posted seven birdies and two bogeys for a 5-under round, moving into a tie for third at 16-under 200.
Inji Jeon is in eighth at 15-under 201, Haeran Yu is tied for 17th at 11-under 205, and Narin An, Somi Lee and Jeongeun Lee are tied for 28th at 10-under 206.
[Sports Today Reporter Kang Tae-gu sports@stoo.com]
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