Hyo Joo Kim and Hye-Jin Choi Brave the Elements to Take a One Shot Lead Heading into Sunday's Final Round at the Dow Championship
By Jeremy Friedman
MIDLAND, Mich. – On a day where the wind was the prevailing factor in Saturday’s third round at the Dow Championship, Hyo Joo Kim and Hye-Jin Choi braved the headwinds to be one of a handful of teams to shoot under par and take a one shot lead at 10-under par heading into Sunday.
The wind, which was a consistent 10 to 22 miles per hour throughout the day with gusts up to 35 miles per hour, proved to be an even greater challenge on the alternate shot format in shooting low scores on moving day.
“The wind was obviously very strong today, so that was a big factor that was different than the first round,” said Kim.
“Team Lotte” as they affectionately call themselves this week, faced the challenges head on with three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine, making the turn at 1-under. After a bogey on No. 11, they came back with a birdie on 12 and followed up with six pars to finish one shot in the lead heading into Sunday.
Behind them at 9-under par is Yana Wilson and Gina Kim, who started the day three shots back at 9 under. After an opening hole bogey, Team Weapons of Grass Destruction closed the day with a birdie on the par-3 18th to put them in contention and in the final grouping on Sunday.
Trailing by two is Lilia Vu and Alison Lee, two longtime friends and UCLA teammates who are enjoying the team format this week, taking them back to their days with the Bruins women’s golf team. They also were one of the few teams to move up the leaderboard in shooting 1-under par for the day, 8-under for the championship.
“I feel like we just kept it really light out there,” said Lee. “Being in the middle of the year you get to a point where you start to fatigue a little bit when you play so many events. We just kept it light. The fact that we shot under par today and going into tomorrow I feel pretty good about it.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Vu. “The energy is light and we are having a good time out there. Given the conditions today I think we did pretty well.”
World No. 1 Nelly Korda and her teammate Olivia Cowan, two shots back to start the day, fell several spots on the leaderboard after a 6-over 76 in the challenging wind conditions to stand T13.
Sunday’s final round of four-ball (better ball) will begin at 7:55 a.m. ET off of No. 1 and No. 10, with the leaders teeing off at 9:39 a.m. ET. Live coverage will air on Golf Channel from Noon-1 p.m. ET, followed by CBS Sports from 1-3 p.m. ET.
