Ryu Hae-ran leads Hite Jinro Championship after round 3, chases 5th KLPGA win

Ryu Hae-ran moved into sole possession of the lead Saturday at the Hite Jinro Championship, the final major of the KLPGA Tour season, which carries a purse of 1.5 billion won ($1.1 million).

Playing at Blue Heron Golf Club (par 72) in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, Ryu carded a 1-over-par 73 in the third round, recording three birdies against four bogeys.

Her three-round total of 1-under-par 215 put her one stroke ahead of Yu Seo-yeon, who sits in second place at even-par 216. Ryu is the only player in the field to be under par through 54 holes.

Ryu is competing in her first domestic event in about two years and two months, having last played in South Korea at the Jeju Samdasoo Masters Tournament in August 2024. She is chasing her fifth KLPGA Tour victory; her most recent win on the tour came at the Nexen-Saint Nine Masters in April 2022.

Starting the third round in second place, Ryu picked up her first birdie at the par-3 second hole but immediately gave a stroke back with a bogey at the par-4 third. She dropped further shots at the par-4 sixth and par-4 ninth holes, finishing the front nine 2 over.

A bogey at the par-4 15th extended her struggles on the back nine, but Ryu found her focus down the stretch, making consecutive birdies at the 17th and 18th holes to finish the round as the outright leader.

"It was a much harder and more grueling day than yesterday," Ryu said. "There wasn't a single easy hole, and the course setup was extremely difficult. The day felt very long because the course was so tough — I was the only one under par on the scoreboard."

Kim Min-sol, who had led after the first two rounds, dropped five strokes Saturday and fell into a three-way tie for third at 1-over-par 217, alongside Lee Ye-won and Seo Eo-jin.

Kim recorded one birdie and three bogeys on the front nine, then added a bogey and a double bogey on the back. However, she remains just two strokes off the lead heading into the final round and will have a chance to mount a comeback.

"Today was a day when nothing went right, and I found myself in a lot of difficult situations," Kim said. "But I'm only two strokes behind the leader, so I think if I give my best tomorrow, I can get a good result."

Yu Seo-yeon made the biggest move up the leaderboard Saturday. She had stood at 5-over-par 149 and tied for 31st through Friday, but fired a 5-under-par 67 with seven birdies and two bogeys.

The round lifted Yu to even-par 216 and vaulted her 29 places from tied 31st to sole second, leaving her one stroke behind Ryu heading into Sunday's final round.