Five birdies, one bogey lift him to 8-under par through 54 holes
'Meaningful to post a good score at a tournament like this,' he says
Kim Jun-hyung emerged as the surprise leader after the third round of the KPGA Tour's KPGA Championship.
Kim carded a 4-under-par 67 on Saturday at A-One Country Club's South-West Course (par 71) in Yangsan, Gyeonggi Province, during the third round of the 69th KPGA Championship, which carries a purse of 1.6 billion won (about $1,050,000). He recorded five birdies against just one bogey.
His three-round total of 8-under-par 205 vaulted him 22 places up the leaderboard into sole first place.
Kim collected four birdies on the front nine alone before dropping his only shot of the day at the par-4 10th, where he missed a 6-meter par putt after taking three shots to reach the green. He then steadied himself with a string of pars before closing out the round at the par-4 14th, sticking his approach shot just short of the cup to tap in for birdie.
Kim's best finish on the KPGA Tour to date is a tie for 10th.
In a post-round interview, Kim said he had played in the KPGA Tour only once each in 2024 and 2025, and that his starts this year have also been limited. "That makes this result all the more meaningful," he said. "Tomorrow I plan to play the same way — focusing on each hole one at a time, just like today."
Lee Jae-jin, Moon Dong-hyun and Kim Chan-woo share second place at 7-under-par 206, one stroke off the lead.
Rookie Ahn Ji-min, who began the day as co-leader, slipped to a tie for fifth after shooting a 2-over-par 72 to finish at 6-under 207, joining Cho Woo-young, who also dropped one shot on the day.
Fellow second-round co-leader Choi Chan had a disastrous round, giving back seven strokes with two birdies, seven bogeys and a double bogey to tumble into a tie for 34th at 1-under-par 212.
Song Min-hyuk, winner of the GS Caltex MK Open in April, sits in a tie for sixth at 5-under-par 208, three shots back, and will be looking to mount a final-round comeback.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
