Park In-bee's Even Par Stalls "Tied 13th, 8 Strokes Behind"... Popov Leads

On the Third Day of the First Major AIG Women's Open, Minji Lee Ties for 2nd Place, 3 Strokes Behind; Inbee Jeon, Lydia Ko, and Korda Join at Tied 13th Place

Inbee Park (right) faltered with an even par on the third day of the AIG Women's Open, remaining tied for 13th place.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] 'Golf Queen' Park In-bee (32, KB Financial Group) faltered.

On the 23rd (Korean time), at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland (par 71, 6,649 yards), the third day of the first major of the 2020 LPGA Tour season, the AIG Women's Open (total prize money $4.5 million), Park finished with an even par and remained tied for 13th place (4 over par, 217 strokes). Sophia Popov (Germany) leads (4 under par, 209 strokes), with Minjee Lee (Australia) and Jasmine Suwannapura (Thailand) tied for 2nd place (1 under par, 212 strokes) in pursuit.

Starting tied for 17th place, 5 strokes behind, Park In-bee recorded 3 birdies, 1 bogey, and 1 double bogey. After 'stepping stone birdies' on holes 2 and 4, she was cruising with a birdie on the 8th hole (par 3), but suffered a critical double bogey on the 9th hole (par 4). She then parred the next 8 holes, but lost another stroke on the final 18th hole (par 4). She is now 8 strokes behind the leader, making it difficult to claim her second win of the season and 21st career victory since winning the Australian Women's Open in February.

"I had a decent start in the front nine, but my play was not good in the back nine, so it was a disappointing day," said Park In-bee. "A missed shot on the 9th hole led to a double bogey, causing me to lose momentum. Tomorrow, I will do my best while monitoring the weather conditions." Popov surged with a 4-under-par round to take the top spot on the leaderboard. She debuted on the LPGA Tour in 2015 but had no wins and ranked 173rd in last year's money list, losing her tour card.

Minjee Lee shot 2 under par and is aiming for a comeback on the final day. Lydia Ko (New Zealand) is tied for 7th place (2 over par, 215 strokes), while Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand) and Nelly Korda (USA) are tied for 13th. Korea's Jeon Ji-eun (26, KB Financial Group) reduced her score by one stroke to join this group. Shin Ji-eun (28, Hanwha Q CELLS) is tied for 26th place (6 over par, 219 strokes). Dani Holmqvist (Sweden), who was the leader the previous day, fell to tied 19th place (5 over par, 218 strokes) after shooting 6 over par.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.