Kim Sei-young set up a shootout in the desert after a sloppy third-round finish.
The South Korean player stumbled late on Saturday afternoon in the JTBC Founders Cup, handing the lead to Ji Eun-hee and putting Stacy Lewis, Lydia Ko and many others in far better position than they expected.
Three strokes ahead after an eagle on the par-four 13th, Kim failed to birdie the par-five 15th and bogeyed the par-four 16th and par-three 17th. Her two-under-par 70 dropped her into a tie for second with Lewis, a stroke behind Ji.
Photo: AFP
“It’s OK. I have one day: Tomorrow,” said Kim, the LPGA Tour rookie of the year last season after winning three times. “I like to play the chase on the lead. It’s more comfortable to me.”
She was two-over on the final five holes, while Ji and Lewis were each three-under.
Ji made a 12-foot birdie putt on 17 and finished with a 65 to reach 18-under 198 on another perfect day at Desert Ridge’s Wildfire Golf Club. She is winless since the 2009 US Women’s Open.
“My putting was really good,” Ji said. “My iron shot was really good, too. I was really struggling with my irons the last couple of weeks, but it’s getting better this week.”
Lewis had a 64, closing with a four-foot birdie putt on the par-four 18th.
“These scores are just ridiculous,” Lewis said. “You just can’t look at a leaderboard. You just go out there and make as many birdies as you can.”
The Texan won the event in 2013 and finished second the past two years. She has nine runner-up finishes in a 43-event victory drought that dates to June 2014.
“I’m just really happy to see some good scores going up,” Lewis said.
Jacqui Concolino was two strokes back after a 68. The top-ranked Ko, Carlota Ciganda and Paula Creamer were another shot behind. Ko and Ciganda shot 64, while Paula Creamer had a 67.
“When I saw some of the highlights of the leaders, they seem like they were holing a lot of putts, and that’s what I wasn’t doing the first two days,” Ko said. “I was a lot better today.”
Kaohsiung-born Candie Kung was in a share of 31st after matching her first-round 68 to be on 206 overall, eight shots off the lead. Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling had a 69 for 210 overall and a share of 59th.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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