Bogey-free round with five birdies puts her at 8-under par

'I want to create as many birdie chances as possible,' she says ahead of final round

Kim Min-sun reads the green on the third hole during Round 3 of the Hana Financial Group Championship on Saturday. [KLPGA]
Kim Min-sun reads the green on the third hole during Round 3 of the Hana Financial Group Championship on Saturday. [KLPGA]

Kim Min-sun moved into sole possession of the lead Saturday in Round 3 of the KLPGA Tour's Hana Financial Group Championship, which carries a purse of 1.5 billion won ($1.09 million).

Playing at The Heaven Country Club's West-South Course (par 72) in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, Kim carded a bogey-free 67 with five birdies to reach 5-under par for the day. Her 54-hole total of 8-under-par 208 put her one stroke ahead of Jang Eun-su, who sits at 7-under-par 209.

Kim, who won the Nexen-Saint Nine Masters Tournament in April, is chasing her second title of the season roughly five months later.

Starting the round in a share of second place, Kim picked up two strokes on the front nine before turning it on at the par-3 holes on the back. She drained a birdie putt of more than 3 meters on the 12th hole, then stuck her tee shot to within 2 meters on the 15th for another birdie. She closed out the round with a birdie on the par-5 18th to finish as the sole leader.

"My iron shots were really on, and I was able to build good momentum by trading birdies with the players in my group," Kim said after the round. "In the final round, I want to focus on sharpening my iron accuracy to create as many birdie opportunities as possible."

Jang Eun-su posted a 3-under-par round with three birdies to trail by one at 7-under par overall. Jang has not recorded a single bogey across all 54 holes of the tournament.

Amateur national team member Yang Yun-seo, who is set to compete at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, also entered the title race. Yang shot a 5-under-par round with seven birdies and two bogeys to move into a share of third place at 6-under-par 210.

Park Min-ji, a 20-time KLPGA Tour winner, and Hwang Yu-min, who competes on the LPGA Tour, also sit at 6-under par alongside Yang, two strokes off the lead heading into a final round that promises a fierce battle for the title.


yjc@heraldcorp.com