[골프한국 하유선 기자] World No. 9 Kim Hyo-joo (28), the representative of Korean women’s golf, leaped to the top again on the third day of the LPGA Tour Honda Thailand (total prize money of 1.7 million dollars) on ‘Moving Day’.
In the third round of the tournament held at the Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course (par 72, 6,576 yards) near Pattaya on the 25th, Kim Hyo-joo caught 7 birdies and blocked 1 bogey, hitting 6 under par 66 strokes.
Kim Hyo-joo, who made her first appearance in the 2023 season on the LPGA Tour, tied for 9th in the first round and was pushed down to a tie for 20th in the second round. And thanks to the propaganda that day, he recorded an interim total of 13 under par and 203 strokes, rising to a tie for 7th place. He was the only Korean player to make the top 10.
Kim Hyo-joo, who caught her first birdie at the 4th hole (par 3) in the 3rd round, recorded a bogey at the 7th hole (par 5), and then made up for it with a birdie at the 8th hole (par 3).
Kim Hyo-joo, who reduced one stroke in the first half, caught a birdie on the 10th hole (par 5), marched par, and changed the atmosphere with a birdie on the 15th hole (par 4). In the 16th to 18th holes, where he recorded consecutive birdies in the first round, he made another consecutive birdie, completing the ‘four consecutive hole birdies’.
Kim Hyo-joo kept all the fairways in the third round and recorded 14 hits on the greens. Most of all, it is encouraging that the number of putts, which were 28 and 31 in rounds 1 and 2, respectively, decreased to 26 in round 3.
However, the save rate of bunkers around the green during the three days of this tournament is not high. Once in the first round and twice in the second round, he fell into the bunker and lost all strokes. On this day, he entered the bunker three times and managed to save only once.
In addition to Kim Hyo-joo, world No. 1 Lydia Ko (New Zealand) and world No. 2 Nellie Corda (USA) stood shoulder to shoulder in a tie for 7th place.
Lydia Ko hit a 5 under par 67 in the 3rd round and rose 8 places, and Koda reduced 3 strokes and fell 4 places.
/Golf Korea www.golfhankook.com /News team news@golfhankook.com