Haeran Ryu doubled her lead to four strokes with a 4-under 68 on Saturday in a windy and rainy third round of the BMW Ladies Championship in her home country.
This season’s double-major winner moved to 17-under 199 with birdies on her last three holes at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam-gun, South Korea. Ryu’s lone bogey at the par-3 15th hole was her first of the tournament.
“Today such a long day. We play over six hours,” said Ryu, who began the day with a two-shot lead. “So a little tired right now. But I just try to be more accurate with my shot because it’s a little windy out there and there’s a lot of rain today. So I got more distance. So more longer clubs, so I just want it more straighter. It works.”
Ryu, 25, is looking for her sixth title on the LPGA Tour. She won her first two majors this season at the Women’s PGA Championship and the Evian Championship.
Ryu’s compatriots Minji Park (65 on Saturday) and Hye Jin Choi (66) are tied for second place with Japan’s Yuri Yoshida (68) at 13-under. South Korea’s Minju Kim (69) and Spain’s Julia Lopez Ramirez (70) share fifth place at 12-under.
Choi climbed into contention by playing the front nine in 8-under 28, carding six birdies and an eagle at the par-5 sixth hole. She ran into trouble on the back nine, including a double bogey at No. 17.
“I had a really good score on the front nine,” Choi said. “I felt good about my ball-striking early on, so I was able to play confidently and make a lot of birdie putts.”
Park navigated the tough conditions with seven birdies in a bogey-free round, including three straight birdies to finish the day.
“Today, I kept trying to adjust my game and manage the course according to the conditions which really paid off,” Park said.
Four players are tied for seventh place at 11-under: South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim (67) and Minsun7 Kim (72), Thailand’s Chanettee Wannasaen (66) and American Lauren Coughlin (72).
Defending champion Sei Young Kim of South Korea plummeted 39 spots into a tie for 62nd place with a round of 77 that included three double bogeys, two bogeys, one birdie and an eagle at the par-5 17th.
This is the second of four events on the fall Asian swing, followed by tournaments in Malaysia and Japan.