Three straight 68s put Lee atop leaderboard; Lee Ye-won one back

Kim Min-sol fires daily-best 65 to jump into tie for 8th

Lee Ji-hyun plays a bunker shot on the fifth hole during the third round of the 20th S-Oil Championship on the KLPGA Tour at Elysian Jeju Country Club in Jeju on Saturday. [KLPGA]
Lee Ji-hyun plays a bunker shot on the fifth hole during the third round of the 20th S-Oil Championship on the KLPGA Tour at Elysian Jeju Country Club in Jeju on Saturday. [KLPGA]

Lee Ji-hyun has moved into sole possession of the lead at the KLPGA Tour's S-Oil Championship, which carries a purse of 1 billion won ($749,000), as Lee bids for the first title of Lee's career.

Lee carded six birdies and two bogeys for a 4-under-par 68 on Saturday at Elysian Jeju Country Club (par 72) in Jeju. The round — Lee's third consecutive 68 — lifted Lee to 12 under par (204) overall, one stroke clear of Lee Ye-won, who sits second at 11 under (205).

Lee joined the KLPGA's regular tour in 2019 but has yet to claim a victory. This season Lee has finished in the top 10 seven times across 26 events, including three ties for third, consistently competing near the top of the leaderboard.

Lee built momentum with four consecutive birdies from the fourth through seventh holes. Bogeys at the eighth (par 4) and 15th (par 4) briefly slowed the round, but Lee closed with back-to-back birdies at the 16th (par 3) and 17th (par 4) to secure the outright lead.

After the round, Lee said the conditions had worked in favor of the field. "The wind was strong, but the greens were soft and receptive, so I was able to attack the pins aggressively," Lee said. For the final round, Lee added, "I will focus on my second shots and putts from one to two meters."

Lee Ye-won studies the approach on the fifth hole during the third round of the 20th S-Oil Championship on the KLPGA Tour at Elysian Jeju Country Club in Jeju on Saturday. [KLPGA]
Lee Ye-won studies the approach on the fifth hole during the third round of the 20th S-Oil Championship on the KLPGA Tour at Elysian Jeju Country Club in Jeju on Saturday. [KLPGA]

Lee Ye-won, who had held the solo lead through Friday, shot a 2-under 70 on Saturday to fall to second at 11 under (205). A 10-time winner on the KLPGA Tour, Lee Ye-won is chasing a second title this season and an 11th overall.

"It is actually more comfortable psychologically to be chasing from second than to start as the leader," Lee Ye-won said. "I want to win, but rather than thinking about beating someone, I will focus on my own game hole by hole and reduce my score."

Lee Jae-yun sits alone in third at 10 under (206) and will join Lee Ji-hyun and Lee Ye-won in the final-round championship group.

Kim Min-sol, the season's top money earner, fired the day's best round — a 7-under 65 featuring eight birdies and one bogey — to surge up the leaderboard. Kim jumped 47 spots from a tie for 55th on Friday to a tie for eighth.

Kim enters the final round at 6 under (210), six strokes off the lead. Last year's champion Ko Ji-won is tied for 26th at 2 under (214).


yjc@heraldcorp.com