Yoo Hyun-jo surges to share lead with 7 birdies, eyes third win of season

Tied with Seo Eo-jin at 10 under, one stroke ahead of Lee Ye-won

Rivals Kim Min-sol, Seo Gyo-rim slip to tied 16th, tied 28th

Yoo Hyun-jo smiles after holing out for birdie on the fourth hole during the second round of the Daebo Housedi Championship, the KLPGA Tour's season finale, at Seowon Hills in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on Saturday. [KLPGA]

Yoo Hyun-jo fired back-to-back strong rounds at the KLPGA Tour's season finale, putting herself squarely in contention for a third win of the year.

Yoo carded a bogey-free 7-under-par 65 in the second round of the Daebo Housedi Championship on Saturday at Seowon Hills West and South Course (par 72, 6,649 yards) in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, which carries a purse of 1.2 billion won ($894,000).

Her 36-hole total of 10-under-par 134 put her in a share of the lead alongside Seo Eo-jin. The reigning Player of the Year and scoring average award winner, Yoo will chase her third title of the season — and fifth of her career — in Sunday's final round.

Having recorded an eagle on the par-4 13th hole and a hole-in-one on the par-3 14th on Friday, Yoo continued her precision play on Saturday. She opened her account with a birdie on the par-4 second hole, sticking her approach to within 2.5 meters of the cup, then drained another on the par-3 fourth after her tee shot settled 0.7 meters from the pin. A third birdie followed on the par-4 sixth, where she landed her second shot 2.3 meters from the hole, giving her three strokes gained on the front nine.

On the par-5 11th, her second shot found a bunker, but she recovered to within 1.2 meters with her third and converted for birdie. She added another on the par-4 12th, then closed out her round with consecutive birdies on the par-5 15th and par-3 16th to finish in a share of the lead.

"Yesterday, luck was on my side, but today my game itself was just working well," Yoo said. "I got off to a good start with birdies early on, and I'm especially pleased with the bogey-free round." Looking ahead to the final round, she added: "The cold weather is the biggest challenge, I think. The greens are quite tricky, so putting will be key."

Lee Ye-won tees off on the second hole during the second round of the Daebo Housedi Championship, the KLPGA Tour's season finale, at Seowon Hills in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on Saturday. [KLPGA]

Seo Eo-jin posted a 6-under-par 66 on Saturday, carding seven birdies against one bogey, to sit alongside Yoo at 10-under 134 and share the lead heading into the final round.

Lee Ye-won, who claimed her second win of the season at last week's S-Oil Championship, shot a 7-under round to move to 9-under 135 and take sole third place. A victory here would make Lee the first player in KLPGA Tour history to win three titles in a season for four consecutive years.

Kim Min-sol and Seo Gyo-rim, locked in a battle for the season money title and Player of the Year award, both fell off the pace. Kim, the current money leader, went 3-under 69 with four birdies and one bogey to sit at 3-under 141 in a tie for 16th. Seo, who leads the Player of the Year points standings, collected six birdies but offset them with three bogeys and a double bogey to card a 1-under 71, leaving her at 1-under 143 in a tie for 28th.

Kim currently leads the money standings with 1.6 billion won in earnings and sits second in Player of the Year points with 525. Seo trails in the money race at 1.41 billion won but leads the points table with 563. Sunday's final round will determine who claims each individual title.

yjc@heraldcorp.com