Jang Hana Leads by 5 Strokes: "Did You See My 3-Under Par Daily Best?"... Kim Hyoju in 2nd Place

'The Fourth Major' KB Financial Star Championship Day 3 'Moving Day Spurt', Park Min-ji 7th, Park In-bi Tied 21st Falters

Jang Hana is making a bunker shot on the 7th hole on the third day of the KB Financial Star Championship. Photo by KLPGA

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] "3-under par moving day spurt."

Jang Hana (29, BC Card) is dominating the race. On the 11th, at Blackstone Golf Club in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do (par 72, 6,689 yards), during the third day of the fourth major of the 2021 KLPGA Tour season, the KB Financial Star Championship (total prize money 1.2 billion KRW), she posted a daily best 3-under par to take a 5-stroke lead (9-under par 207). Defending champion Kim Hyo-joo (26) and Choi Hye-jin (22, both Lotte) are locked in a tough chase at joint 2nd place (4-under par 212).

Jang Hana started tied for the lead and recorded 5 birdies and 2 bogeys. She opened the scoring early with a birdie on the 1st hole (par 4), accelerated with consecutive birdies on the 4th and 5th holes, and recovered from bogeys on the 7th hole (par 3) and 14th hole (par 4) in the back nine with consecutive birdies on the 15th and 16th holes. Notably, she leveraged her long drives, maxing at 283.7 yards, to get within 1 yard of the hole on all three of the four par 5 holes on her third shots, racking up birdies. She combined this with an 83.33% greens in regulation rate and pinpoint iron shots.

Kim Hyo-joo is teeing off at the 2nd hole on the third day of the KB Financial Star Championship. Photo by KLPGA

For Jang Hana, this is a golden opportunity to claim her second win of the season and 15th career victory, three months after her playoff win at the Lotte Open last June. Interestingly, only six players scored under par that day. With a 5-stroke lead on a tough course, her chances of winning have increased. Kim Hyo-joo remains a key threat. She is banking on her perfect compatibility with the course, having achieved a dominant 8-stroke victory (9-under par 279) last year, including a 6-under par storm on the first day.

In the leading pack, Choi Hye-jin showed strong finishing with 3-under par, while Lee Jeong-min (29), Park Hyun-kyung (20, Korea Land & Housing Corporation), and Kim So-yi (27, Huons) are tied for 4th place (2-under par 214). Lee Jeong-min was particularly hurt by a triple bogey on the 17th hole (par 4), where her second shot landed in the rough and she incurred a penalty stroke, resulting in a damaging '4 on 3 putts'. Six-time winner Park Min-ji (23, NH Investment & Securities) remained steady with an even par, holding 7th place (1-under par 215).

The 'recommended player' Lee Ye-won (18, KB Financial Group) surge stopped at tied 8th place (even par 216). After a surprise lead with a 5-under par round the previous day, she was checked by a rollercoaster round of 6-over par, including 1 birdie, 3 bogeys, and 2 double bogeys. Among the LPGA players, Jeon In-ji (27) is tied for 10th place (1-over par 217). Park In-bi (33, KB Financial Group) struggled with 4-over par and dropped to tied 21st place (5-over par 221), facing a thorny path ahead.

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