South Koreans hold top four spots at Evian Championship
ÉVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Hyo Joo Kim fired a wave of South Koreans on top of the Evian Championship standings on Saturday shot move clear at 15-under 198.
Kim & # 39; s last impressive round of majors golf didn't quite match her first – a record 61 here as a teenager five years ago when she took the title in her elite debut.
Top-grade Sung Hyun Park closed the gap in second place by making a birdie on the par-5 18 for a five-under 66 on the hillside overlooking Lake Geneva.
Four shots back in a draw for third place were the seven-time big winner Inbee Park (69) and the world number 2, Jin Young Ko (66), who won the first major, the ANA Inspiration, in April. won.
"I really think this course is suitable for Korean players because all the courses in Korea are built in the mountains, & # 39; Inbee Park said. "We are really used to the waves and lies we get."
The game started early in cooler conditions and ended at 2:15 PM. local time, just as a stormy rain showered at Evian Resort Golf Club.
Sunday's forecast requires sustained rain and a temperature drop of around 30 degrees Fahrenheit from temperatures in the opening round on Thursday.
Evian has not escaped some autumnal weather despite switching back to July. The $ 4.1 million tournament has been played in September since it has been elevated to majors status for the 2013 edition.
"I think I'm familiar with the track conditions when it rained," Sung said Hyun Park through an interpreter. She planned to stay dry later Saturday Saturday and & # 39; just lie on my bed and read comics. & # 39;
Four South Koreans were in front of 10 under after the leading group played the eighth, where Mi3's 3-3 Mi Hyang Lee rolls foot par putt around the lip and came back to her.
After Sung Hyun Park was free at 12 o'clock by drilling her bunker eagle shot in the par-5 ninth, Kim made a little bird to close inside a lap and then took shots at nos. 13 and 14 to lead straight.
Park came along with a birdie on the par-5 15th and then fell back when only Kim made a 4-footer for birdie who both had on par-3 16th.
Four players are in eight places, including Ariya Jutanugarn, whose 64 tied the lowest round of the week.
Also in that group were the best placed Americans, Megan Khang (67) and the LPGA Tour rookie Jennifer Kupcho.
Kupcho, the inaugural Augusta National Women & # 39; s Amateur winner in April, made Eagle-3 in seventh and reached the turn in 32 strokes. But she needed a bird on number 18 for card 69.
The Jutanugarn sisters from Thailand made great strides on the leaderboard.
Ariya Jutanugarn quoted the softer greens, after heavy nightly rain, for helping her on a course where her best finish is in ninth place.
"I feel that it never fits my game because it is so narrow and so tight," said Jutanugarn, who has been number 1 worldwide. in parts of every season starting in 2017.
The 66 from Moriya Jutan brought her to seven, one behind her younger sister.
After the title of the Evian Championship was decided on Sunday, another major tournament, the British Women's Open, starts on Thursday in Woburn, England.
