South Korea’s Kim Minsun seized control of the Hana Financial Group Championship leaderboard with a bogey-free five-under-par 67 in the third round on Saturday.
Related: Jang takes outright lead at Hana Bank Financial Championship
The World No. 79 carded five birdies at the third, sixth, 12th, 15th and 18th holes to reach eight-under-par 208 total, taking a one-shot lead into Sunday’s final round at The Heaven Country Club.
Kim moved ahead of second-round leader Jang Eun-soo, who remained firmly in contention after carding a 69.
Thailand’s Jaravee Boonchant, meanwhile, surged into the top 10 with a 67 to sit at two-under-par total, six shots behind Kim in tied seventh place.
Kim credited improved iron play and her growing comfort with the demanding rough for her move to the top of the leaderboard.
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“Today, my iron shots were much better than I expected, allowing me to play more aggressively,” said Kim. “Exchanging birdies with my playing partners also helped create good momentum.”
After making a bigger move on Saturday than in the opening two rounds, Kim said her ability to adapt to the course had been key.
“I think I’ve adapted much better to the rough, and today’s pin positions offered more birdie opportunities than in the first two rounds,” she said. “Even when I was in the rough, I was able to attack the pins more boldly, and my improved iron play helped me gain a lot of strokes.”
With the championship in sight, Kim knows that avoiding mistakes will be just as important as creating birdie opportunities in the final round.
“I want to focus on improving the accuracy of my iron shots and create as many birdie opportunities as possible,” she said. “I think this course is easier to make bogeys than to make a lot of birdies, so reducing big mistakes and minimising bogeys will also be important.”
Kim also feels increasingly confident with the putter heading into the final round.
“I don’t think it’s easy to make every putt from close range, but my overall putting feel is good and I can see the lines clearly,” she said. “Most importantly, I’m in a positive state of mind because I’m able to stroke the ball boldly without hesitation.”
With a first top-10 finish of the second half of the season within reach, Kim is now looking to turn her position into a strong result on Sunday.
“I haven’t had a top-10 finish in the second half of the season, so I really want to finish with a good result,” she said. “I’ll focus as much as possible on my own game, and even if things don’t go the way I want, I won’t waver or give up until the very end.”
