Yang Hee-young "7-Under Par Surge"... 'Tied 3rd, 1 Stroke Behind'

Major Chevron Championship Round 3 Leaderboard Leap
Korda, Kim Arim, Choi Hyejin, Kim Hyoju Tied 6th
Ko Jinyoung and Jeon Inji Tied 18th, Henderson 23rd

Veteran Yang Hee-young leaps into the leading group.

Yang Hee-young is reading the putting line on the 13th hole of the 3rd round at the Chevron Championship major. [Houston, USA=AFP·Yonhap News]

On the 22nd (local time), Yang Hee-young shot a 7-under 65 in the third round of the 2023 LPGA Tour's first major, the Chevron Championship (total prize money $5.1 million), held at The Club at Carlton Woods Jack Nicklaus Signature Course (par 72, 6,824 yards) in Houston, Texas, USA, rising to a tie for 3rd place at 9-under 297. Angel Yin and Allison Koepka (both from the USA) share the lead at 10-under 298.

Starting tied for 25th, six strokes behind, Yang racked up eight birdies (one bogey). She made consecutive birdies on holes 3 and 4, and then three straight birdies from holes 7 to 9, cutting five strokes on the front nine. After a bogey on the 11th hole (par 4), she regained momentum with back-to-back birdies on holes 13 and 14, and another birdie on the final 18th hole (par 5), entering the race for the title. Her long drives averaged 275 yards, and her putting was outstanding with 25 putts. She trails the co-leaders by just one stroke, aiming for her fifth career win and first in four years since the 2019 Honda LPGA Thailand.

World No. 2 Nelly Korda (USA), Kim Hyo-joo, and Choi Hye-jin are tied for 6th at 8-under 208, just two strokes behind, eyeing a comeback victory. Kim A-lim, who led the previous day, failed to lower her score and dropped to a tie for 6th. Ji Eun-hee is tied for 13th at 5-under 211, while Jeon Ji-ni, pursuing the career Grand Slam, and world No. 3 Ko Jin-young are tied for 18th at 3-under 213. Opening event champion Brooke Henderson (Canada) is tied for 23rd at 2-under 214.

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