Park Sung-hyun, Kim Gyu-bin tied for 13th

Kim Hyo-joo in action [Getty Images]
Kim Hyo-joo in action [Getty Images]

Kim Hyo-joo's bid for a third consecutive title at the Ladies European Tour's Aramco Korea Championship (purse: $2 million) is in serious jeopardy after she failed to close the gap on the leader in the third round.

Kim carded four birdies and two bogeys for a 2-under-par 70 at New Korea Country Club (par 72) in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on Saturday.

Her three-round total of 7-under-par 209 left her tied for 13th, six shots behind Yamashita Miyu of Japan, who fired a 4-under 68 to hold the lead for the second consecutive day at 13-under 203.

Kim, who won the tournament in 2024 and 2025, will make one final push for a third straight title in Sunday's final round.

She opened with a bogey at the par-4 third hole but bounced back with birdies at the par-5 fifth and par-5 eighth to finish the front nine 1 under. On the back nine, she birdied the par-4 14th, bogeyed the par-3 15th, then added another birdie at the par-5 17th.

Former world No. 1 Tseng Ya-ni of Taiwan moved into sole second place at 12-under 204, just one shot off the lead, after a bogey-free round of six birdies.

Park Sung-hyun, who had been tied for second on Friday, could not make up ground despite an eagle and three birdies, as three bogeys and a double bogey left her at even-par 72. She dropped to a share of 13th at 7-under 209.

Amateur Kim Gyu-bin shot a 4-under 68 — seven birdies against one bogey and one double bogey — to join Kim Hyo-joo and Park at 7-under 209 in a three-way tie for 13th.


yjc@heraldcorp.com