Kim secured a wire-to-wire win, leading 3R by 5 strokes.
After a year and five months on the U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour, Hyo Joo Kim is ready to quench her thirst for victory.
Kim shot a 1-under 70 in the third round of the LPGA Tour’s Ascendant LPGA ($1.8 million purse) on Monday (Aug. 8) at the par-71 Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas.
With an 11-under-par 202 total, Kim leads by five strokes over Lexi Thompson (USA) and Sarah Kemp (AUS).
After taking a two-stroke lead on the first day, Kim extended her lead to three strokes in the second round and five strokes in the third round to set up a wire-to-wire victory.
If Kim holds on to the lead in the final round, 온라인카지노 it will be her first LPGA Tour victory in 541 days since the Lotte Championship in April of last year.
Kim won the Lotte Championship last year, giving her five career victories, but has struggled since then with two runner-up finishes and four third-place finishes.
This season, she was particularly disappointed that she was unable to break through to the winner’s circle despite leading the field in greens in regulation and scoring average.
However, Kim continued her dominance in her 17th start of the season, playing at the top of her game.
The strong winds and chilly conditions made the course difficult, and while she didn’t shave as many strokes off her score as she did in rounds one and two, the fact that she finished two strokes off the pace was a testament to her experience.
Two early bogeys set her back, but she bounced back with birdies on the eighth (par-4) and 13th (par-5), and after a bogey on the 14th (par-4), she bounced back with back-to-back birdies on the 15th (par-4) and 16th (par-3).
“It was cold and windy, so I made some mistakes early on, but I realized that other players were having the same problems as me,” Kim said, “so I tried my best to make birdies on the holes where I had birdie opportunities.”
“I hope to carry the momentum from my good finish into tomorrow,” said Kim, “I’m sure I’ll be thinking about winning tomorrow, but I’ll do my best to make sure I play well enough to be satisfied.”
Kemp shaved two strokes off her score to move into a tie for second place (6-under par 207) after tying for ninth the day before, while Thompson shot an even-par 71 to move up one spot from the previous day.
Frida Sinnert (SWE) followed in fourth place (5-under par 208).
So Yeon Yoo shot a 3-under 68 to move into a tie for fifth place (4-under 209).
The 3-under 68s by Yoo and Sinult were the best scores of the day.
World No. 5 Celine Boutier (FRA) and Ataya Thititjer (THA), who were among the favorites to win the tournament, fell eight strokes to tie for eighth (3-under 210), making it difficult to catch Kim.