Hyo Joo Kim is on course for a wire-to-wire victory after closing with a 70 to take a five-shot lead at 11-under into the final day at the Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America.
Strong winds that began late in the day on Friday gave the players a challenge on Moving Day. The scoring average for round three at Old American Golf Club was 73.505, nearly two strokes higher than Friday’s average and more than two and a half strokes over par. Only 19 players managed to shoot an even-par score or better on Saturday.
“Today was a lot chillier than the last two days and definitely windier too, so maybe because of that I made a few mistakes early on. But I saw the leaderboard and it seemed like everyone else was feeling the same difficulty as me,” said Kim. “Carding two bogeys wasn’t a good start for my momentum but I tried to not to look at the leaderboard much. I focused on creating birdie opportunities and making sure I converted them.”
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Kim was 2-over through six holes after bogeys on the par-4 No. 4 and par-5 No. 6 but recovered with birdies on 8 and a chip-in on 13 before another bogey on 14 put her back over par.
She drove the green on 15 for a two-putt birdie and sank a 25-foot putt on 16 to move to 1-under on the day. Two solid pars on 17 and 18, including a par-save on the last, gave her a comfortable lead entering Championship Sunday.
“Oh, you’re right. I didn’t even think of that,” said Kim when asked what a wire-to-wire victory would mean to her. “I’m sure as I’m playing tomorrow, the thought of winning will pop up in my head. But I just want to do my best to play the way that I’m satisfied with and the way that I want to.”
Australian Sarah Kemp (69) and American Lexi Thompson (71) are tied in second place at 6-under.
“I would say probably my best shot was after my not-so-great shot on 17,” said Thompson. “Hit a pretty good 30-yard flop shot pitch up to about 12 feet and ended up making birdie. Yeah, there were a few (good shots). Overall just happy with how I committed to my shots out there. There was a few not-so-great shots, but it’s golf. I’ll focus on the good ones and take that into tomorrow.”
Sweden’s Frida Kinhult shot one of the low-rounds of the day, a 3-under 68, to take the solo fourth place at 5-under.
Related: Ben Griffin takes three-shot lead into final day in Mississippi
| Pos. | Player | To Par | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyo Joo Kim | -11 | 64 | 68 | 70 | 202 |
| T2 | Sarah Kemp | -6 | 67 | 71 | 69 | 207 |
| T2 | Lexi Thompson | -6 | 71 | 65 | 71 | 207 |
| 4 | Frida Kinhult | -5 | 71 | 69 | 68 | 208 |
| T5 | So Yeon Ryu | -4 | 72 | 69 | 68 | 209 |
| T5 | Sarah Schmelzel | -4 | 70 | 70 | 69 | 209 |
| T5 | Nicole Broch Estrup | -4 | 69 | 70 | 70 | 209 |
| T8 | Bianca Pagdanganan | -3 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 210 |
| T8 | Atthaya Thitikul | -3 | 70 | 69 | 71 | 210 |
| T8 | Maria Torres | -3 | 69 | 68 | 73 | 210 |
| T8 | Celine Boutier | -3 | 69 | 67 | 74 | 210 |
| T8 | Sofia Garcia | -3 | 66 | 68 | 76 | 210 |
| T13 | Katherine Muzi | -2 | 73 | 69 | 69 | 211 |
| T13 | Wei-Ling Hsu | -2 | 72 | 70 | 69 | 211 |
| T13 | Dottie Ardina | -2 | 72 | 70 | 69 | 211 |
| T13 | Mariajo Uribe | -2 | 69 | 71 | 71 | 211 |
| T13 | Leona Maguire | -2 | 70 | 67 | 74 | 211 |
| T18 | Jing Yan | -1 | 74 | 70 | 68 | 212 |
| T18 | Sarah Jane Smith | -1 | 71 | 70 | 71 | 212 |
| T18 | Lindsey Weaver-Wright | -1 | 68 | 73 | 71 | 212 |
| T18 | Yuna Nishimura | -1 | 69 | 69 | 74 | 212 |
| T18 | Yu-Sang Hou | -1 | 66 | 72 | 74 | 212 |
| T23 | Eun-Hee Ji | Par | 73 | 70 | 70 | 213 |
| T23 | Jodi Ewart Shadoff | Par | 71 | 72 | 70 | 213 |
| T23 | Charley Hull | Par | 72 | 69 | 72 | 213 |
| T23 | Ally Ewing | Par | 71 | 70 | 72 | 213 |
| T23 | Emily Kristine Pedersen | Par | 70 | 71 | 72 | 213 |
| T23 | Jenny Shin | Par | 68 | 73 | 72 | 213 |
| T23 | Gerina Mendoza | Par | 73 | 67 | 73 | 213 |
| T23 | Marina Alex | Par | 67 | 70 | 76 | 213 |
| T31 | Maria Fassi | +1 | 72 | 71 | 71 | 214 |
| T31 | Jeongeun Lee6 | +1 | 71 | 72 | 71 | 214 |
| T31 | Cydney Clanton | +1 | 72 | 68 | 74 | 214 |
| T31 | Weiwei Zhang | +1 | 69 | 71 | 74 | 214 |
| T31 | Azahara Munoz | +1 | 66 | 71 | 77 | 214 |
| T36 | Ruixin Liu | +2 | 71 | 72 | 72 | 215 |
| T36 | Minami Katsu | +2 | 68 | 75 | 72 | 215 |
| T36 | Gemma Dryburgh | +2 | 71 | 71 | 73 | 215 |
| T36 | Hannah Green | +2 | 69 | 73 | 73 | 215 |
| T36 | Annie Park | +2 | 73 | 68 | 74 | 215 |
| T36 | Cheyenne Knight | +2 | 70 | 71 | 74 | 215 |
| T36 | Xiaowen Yin | +2 | 71 | 69 | 75 | 215 |
| T36 | Jennifer Chang | +2 | 69 | 71 | 75 | 215 |
| T44 | Yealimi Noh | +3 | 69 | 74 | 73 | 216 |
| T44 | Pavarisa Yoktuan | +3 | 73 | 68 | 75 | 216 |
| T44 | Louise Ridderstrom | +3 | 69 | 72 | 75 | 216 |
| T44 | Aline Krauter | +3 | 71 | 69 | 76 | 216 |
| T48 | Dewi Weber | +4 | 72 | 72 | 73 | 217 |
| T48 | Jaravee Boonchant | +4 | 72 | 71 | 74 | 217 |
| T48 | Su Oh | +4 | 73 | 69 | 75 | 217 |
| T48 | Wichanee Meechai | +4 | 71 | 71 | 75 | 217 |
| T48 | Lauren Stephenson | +4 | 71 | 71 | 75 | 217 |
| T48 | Amelia Lewis | +4 | 70 | 71 | 76 | 217 |
| T48 | Hyo Joon Jang | +4 | 72 | 68 | 77 | 217 |
| T55 | Karis Davidson | +5 | 73 | 71 | 74 | 218 |
| T55 | Kiira Riihijarvi | +5 | 72 | 72 | 74 | 218 |
| T55 | Paula Creamer | +5 | 72 | 72 | 74 | 218 |
| T55 | Ana Belac | +5 | 72 | 72 | 74 | 218 |
| T55 | Min Lee | +5 | 76 | 67 | 75 | 218 |
| T55 | Lucy Li | +5 | 75 | 68 | 75 | 218 |
| T55 | Maddie Szeryk | +5 | 71 | 71 | 76 | 218 |
| T55 | A Lim Kim | +5 | 72 | 67 | 79 | 218 |
| T63 | Luna Sobron Galmes | +6 | 73 | 71 | 75 | 219 |
| T63 | Caroline Inglis | +6 | 72 | 72 | 75 | 219 |
| T63 | Albane Valenzuela | +6 | 74 | 69 | 76 | 219 |
| T63 | Chanettee Wannasaen | +6 | 69 | 71 | 79 | 219 |
| T67 | Lauren Miller | +7 | 72 | 72 | 76 | 220 |
| T67 | Ilhee Lee | +7 | 72 | 71 | 77 | 220 |
| T67 | Pornanong Phatlum | +7 | 69 | 73 | 78 | 220 |
| T70 | Gabriella Then | +8 | 69 | 75 | 77 | 221 |
| T70 | Polly Mack | +8 | 71 | 70 | 80 | 221 |
| 72 | Jeongeun Lee5 | +9 | 72 | 72 | 78 | 222 |
| 73 | Brittany Lang | +10 | 73 | 71 | 79 | 223 |
| CUT | Gaby Lopez | +3 | 76 | 69 | ||
| CUT | In Kyung Kim | +3 | 75 | 70 | ||
| CUT | Gina Kim | +3 | 74 | 71 | ||
| CUT | Arpichaya Yubol | +3 | 74 | 71 | ||
| CUT | Narin An | +3 | 73 | 72 | ||
| CUT | Lauren Hartlage | +3 | 72 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Paula Reto | +3 | 72 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Jennifer Song | +3 | 72 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Marissa Steen | +3 | 72 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Jasmine Suwannapura | +3 | 72 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Brianna Do | +3 | 71 | 74 | ||
| CUT | Dana Fall | +3 | 71 | 74 | ||
| CUT | Alexa Pano | +3 | 71 | 74 | ||
| CUT | Bronte Law | +3 | 70 | 75 | ||
| CUT | Valery Plata | +4 | 76 | 70 | ||
| CUT | Manon De Roey | +4 | 74 | 72 | ||
| CUT | Maelynn Kim (a) | +4 | 74 | 72 | ||
| CUT | Ines Laklalech | +4 | 73 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Riley Rennell | +4 | 73 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Emma Talley | +4 | 73 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Brittany Lincicome | +4 | 72 | 74 | ||
| CUT | June Song (a) | +4 | 72 | 74 | ||
| CUT | Angela Stanford | +4 | 72 | 74 | ||
| CUT | Kim Kaufman | +4 | 71 | 75 | ||
| CUT | Ellinor Sudow | +5 | 78 | 69 | ||
| CUT | Lindy Duncan | +5 | 75 | 72 | ||
| CUT | Mariah Stackhouse | +5 | 74 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Elizabeth Szokol | +5 | 74 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Yan Liu | +5 | 73 | 74 | ||
| CUT | Samantha Wagner | +5 | 73 | 74 | ||
| CUT | Mina Harigae | +5 | 72 | 75 | ||
| CUT | Nanna Koerstz Madsen | +6 | 77 | 71 | ||
| CUT | Linnea Johansson | +6 | 76 | 72 | ||
| CUT | Christina Kim | +6 | 75 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Mel Reid | +6 | 75 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Stacy Lewis | +6 | 74 | 74 | ||
| CUT | Pernilla Lindberg | +6 | 73 | 75 | ||
| CUT | Kristy McPherson | +6 | 73 | 75 | ||
| CUT | Hinako Shibuno | +6 | 73 | 75 | ||
| CUT | Dori Carter | +6 | 71 | 77 | ||
| CUT | Pauline Roussin | +6 | 69 | 79 | ||
| CUT | Brittany Altomare | +7 | 76 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Kum-Kang Park | +7 | 76 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Emilee Hoffman | +7 | 75 | 74 | ||
| CUT | Sophia Schubert | +7 | 74 | 75 | ||
| CUT | Natalie Yen (a) | +9 | 80 | 71 | ||
| CUT | Sydnee Michaels | +9 | 78 | 73 | ||
| CUT | Ellie Szeryk (a) | +9 | 76 | 75 | ||
| CUT | Amanda Doherty | +9 | 74 | 77 | ||
| CUT | Celine Herbin | +12 | 76 | 78 | ||
| CUT | Sadena Parks | +13 | 76 | 79 | ||
| CUT | Allison Emrey | +14 | 74 | 82 | ||
| CUT | Soo Bin Joo | +15 | 76 | 81 | ||
| CUT | Jill McGill | +16 | 76 | 82 | ||
| W/D | In Gee Chun | 74 | ||||
| W/D | Natalie Gulbis | 78 |

Simon Bale
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