Choi seeks first LPGA Tour win in her 124th event; Yang eyes seventh career title, Yin Ruoning hunting home-course comeback

Yang Hee-young (left) and Choi Hye-jin embrace on the 18th green at Seosan Golf Club in Shanghai, China, after completing the third round of the Buick LPGA Shanghai on Saturday. Choi holds the outright lead while Yang sits alone in second place, one stroke back. [Getty Images]
Yang Hee-young (left) and Choi Hye-jin embrace on the 18th green at Seosan Golf Club in Shanghai, China, after completing the third round of the Buick LPGA Shanghai on Saturday. Choi holds the outright lead while Yang sits alone in second place, one stroke back. [Getty Images]

Choi Hye-jin held the lead for a third consecutive round at the Buick LPGA Shanghai — a $3.2 million event on the LPGA Tour — and will enter Sunday's final round chasing her first tour victory.

Choi carded four birdies and one bogey for a 3-under-par 69 on Saturday at Seosan Golf Club (par 72) in Shanghai, China. Her three-round total of 9-under 207 kept her in sole possession of first place heading into the final round.

After firing an 8-under, bogey-free opening round, Choi dropped two strokes in the second round due to putting troubles but bounced back with three birdies Saturday. She was particularly sharp on the front nine, making four birdies over the first nine holes to protect her lead.

"On the front nine, I hit good shots close to the pin just like the other players in my group and created a lot of birdie chances — and I converted them well," Choi said after her round. "On the back nine, my tee shots kept finding the rough, which made it hard to get the ball close to the flag. I had birdie chances on the last three holes but couldn't convert."

On her mindset heading into the final round, she said: "Since it's only a one-stroke gap, I want to focus on my own game tomorrow. I want a good result." She also spoke about playing alongside title contender Yin Ruoning. "She's a player with an excellent ball-striking game and short game. I'm looking forward to the competition on Sunday."

Choi joined the LPGA Tour in 2022 and has 12 career wins on the domestic Korean tour, but has yet to claim a title on the American circuit. Entering this week, she had played 123 LPGA Tour events, recording four runner-up finishes among 33 top-10 results.

Yang Hee-young, a six-time LPGA Tour winner, also moved into contention. Yang posted seven birdies against three bogeys for a 4-under 68, moving to 8-under 208 and into sole second place.

Yang had trailed Choi by two strokes through Friday and cut the deficit to one. She is chasing her seventh career title, which would be her first since the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in June 2024 — a gap of roughly two years and four months.

"My putting was better today than yesterday," Yang said. "There were some mistakes in the middle of the round, but overall I played well." She added that Choi "has great energy — it's fun to play with her," and said she would focus on staying patient and keeping her concentration in the final round.

China's Yin Ruoning also made a strong move, firing a 5-under 67 to reach 7-under 209 and take sole third place. The world No. 6 and 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games silver medalist trails Choi by two strokes and is hunting a come-from-behind win on home soil.

Sunday's final round — the concluding day of the opening event of the LPGA Tour's fall Asia swing — shapes up as a three-way battle, with the two South Korean players at the top of the leaderboard facing a challenge from Yin.


yjc@heraldcorp.com