Jeon In-ji, who will enter the final round tied for fourth place. [Photo=LPGA]
Jeon In-ji, who will enter the final round tied for fourth place. [Photo=LPGA]

Jeon In-ji fired a bogey-free round to surge up the leaderboard into a tie for fourth place at the LPGA Tour's Meijer Classic.

Playing the third round Saturday (Korean Standard Time) at Blythefield Country Club (par 72) in Belmont, Michigan, Jeon carded a 7-under-par 65 without a single bogey, moving to 10-under 206 for the tournament and joining Liu Yan of China and Wei Ling-shu of Taiwan in a share of fourth place.

Yan Jing of the United States shot a 3-under 69 to reach 14-under 202, leading second-place Lottie Woad of England by one stroke and third-place Kathy Potter of Australia by two.

Jeon had failed to make a single birdie in Friday's second round, but on moving day she bounced back with seven birdies and no bogeys. After the round, she said bogey-free golf is a significant achievement. "I think making a bogey-free round on any course is very difficult because it requires a lot of patience," she said. "But yesterday, making a birdie-free round was a little harder."

The 65 is merely the latest example of the low-round bursts Jeon has produced all season. She has already shot 64 twice this year and has recorded two top-10 finishes, including a solo fourth place at the US Women's Open — a major — which concluded June 8.

Jeon credited her recent form to her work with new swing coach Kim Song-hee. Having battled back pain for most of the past decade, she said the coaching change has brought her physical relief. "Since changing coaches, I am not feeling any pain right now," she said.

Reflecting on her overall well-being, Jeon said life's ups and downs are simply part of her journey. "Because I am a golfer, I come out every week and people can see me, but if you take a step back, there are ups and downs in life — I think it was merely a part of my life," she said. "I cannot say everything is great right now or that I am 100 percent mentally healthy, but we go through highs and lows and are merely trying to enjoy the process here."

Looking ahead to the final round, Jeon said she plans to carry Saturday's momentum forward. "I want to take the good parts of today into tomorrow," she said. "The most important thing is to try to enjoy the whole process. I think that is the key because the mental side really matters."

Im Jin-hee made a bogey at the second hole but recovered with seven birdies the rest of the way to post a 6-under 66. She sits at 9-under 207, tied for seventh alongside Japan's Yamashita Miyu.

Kang Min-ji, who had moved into a share of fourth with a hole-in-one on Friday, managed only an even-par round and dropped into a tie for 10th at 8-under 208. Hwang Yu-min is tied for 46th after losing one stroke, finishing at 3-under 213.


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