Kim Min-sol leads after round 3 of Mediheal-Hankook Ilbo Championship, eyes historic 4th rookie win

Kim Min-sol, chasing what would be an unprecedented fourth rookie win on the KLPGA Tour, maintained her lead through the third round of the Mediheal-Hankook Ilbo Championship, which carries a purse of 1.2 billion won ($848,000).

Kim carded a 4-under-par 68 on Saturday at Mongvert Country Club's Myeongseongsan Course (par 72) in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, recording five birdies against a single bogey.

Her three-round total of 13-under-par 203 left her tied for the lead with Choi Ye-rim.

Kim won twice on the KLPGA Tour last year but received her tour card mid-season and failed to meet the 50-percent participation requirement, making her eligible to compete as a rookie this year. She is now on the verge of becoming the first player in KLPGA history to win four times in a rookie season.

She has already claimed three titles in 2026 — the iM Financial Open in April, the Mercedes-Benz Korea Women's Open in June and the McCall-Mona Yongpyong Open in June — and leads the tour in prize money (989.62 million won), player-of-the-year points (313) and rookie-of-the-year points (1,621). A victory this week would cement her status as the season's dominant player alongside the historic milestone.

Kim held the outright lead at 9-under through 36 holes and made pars on the first six holes Saturday before picking up her first birdie at the seventh (par 4). She followed immediately with a birdie at the eighth (par 3), holing an approximately 11-meter putt. Another birdie at the 10th (par 4) extended her run, though a bogey at the 13th (par 4) briefly interrupted her momentum. She bounced back with consecutive birdies at the 14th (par 5) and 15th (par 3) to set up a final-round charge.

"The wind was strong and the pin positions were trickier than on Friday, so I tried to play safely," Kim said. "I've earned another chance to compete in the final pairing, and I'll give my best on every shot to produce a good result."

Choi Ye-rim shot a 7-under-par round to join Kim at the top of the leaderboard. Choi turned professional in 2018 and has played 235 events on the regular tour without a victory.

Choi has finished runner-up nine times in her career, including at the McCall-Mona Yongpyong Open in June where Kim took the title. She will face Kim in the final pairing Sunday with her first win on the line.

"My iron shots went exactly where I was aiming, and my putting held up too, which let me play a good round," Choi said. "Tomorrow I don't want to try too hard — I'll just keep managing my mindset the way I have been and play my game."

Lee Ji-hyun fired a 9-under-par 63 to tie the course record and move into third place at 11-under 205, two strokes off the lead. Seo Gyo-rim, who sits second behind Kim in both prize money and player-of-the-year points with two wins this season, shot 6-under to jump to fourth at 10-under 206.

Lee Da-yeon and Lee Ga-young shared fifth place at 9-under 207, while Noh Seung-hee, Ahn Ji-hyeon and Kim Seo-yun were tied for seventh at 8-under 208.