▲ Yang Yoon-seo taking a shot
Amateur Yang Yoon-seo (Incheon Girls' High School-affiliated Broadcasting and Correspondence High School), born in 2008, barely held onto a share of the lead after a late-round struggle in the third round of the Korea Women's Open Golf Championship (total purse of 1.5 billion won), a major tournament organized by the Korea Golf Association.
Yang carded a 1-over 72 with four birdies, two bogeys, and one triple bogey in the third round of the 40th Mercedes-Benz Korea Women's Open held Saturday at the Lakewood Country Club's Mountain & Forest Course (par 71) in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, finishing with a three-round total of 3-under 210 to share the top spot with Kim Min-sol.
Yang, who had topped the leaderboard after shaving off four strokes in the second round to lead the joint second-place group by two shots, seemed to maintain her momentum on Saturday.
She carded three birdies in the front nine alone, pulling far ahead of the chasing pack.
The trouble began on the back nine.
Losing her concentration, Yang dropped four shots over a four-hole stretch from the 12th hole (par 3) to the 15th hole (par 4).
She suffered her first bogey after missing a 1.8-meter par putt on the 12th hole, and failed to sink a 2.3-meter par putt on the 14th hole (par 4).
On the 15th hole, she committed a costly triple bogey.
She found herself in trouble when her tee shot sliced to the right and landed in the rough.
Yang attempted to hit the green directly, but her second shot failed to clear the lake and went into the water, resulting in a penalty stroke.
She finally reached the green on her fourth shot but three-putted, slipping from her sole possession of the lead.
However, Yang did not falter further.
Instead, she reclaimed a share of the lead by carding a birdie on the final 18th hole (par 4).
After landing her ball just 1.6 meters from the hole with an accurate second iron shot, she successfully sank the birdie putt.
Yang is an amateur powerhouse who won the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship in February and was recently selected for the South Korean women's national golf team for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Competing as the WAAP champion, she also caused a sensation in April at the Chevron Championship, the first major of the LPGA Tour season, where she was tied for 16th place heading into the final round.
However, Yang faltered with a 4-over par in the final round, finishing tied for 38th.
With limited experience, Yang has shown a tendency to struggle in the late stages of major tournaments, drawing keen attention to whether she can overcome this hurdle and stay in contention for the title at this event.
"I was very nervous before starting," Yang said after the round. "Although I lost focus on the back nine and dropped some shots, I'm satisfied that I finished well."
Reflecting on the 15th hole where she carded the triple bogey, she added, "The ball was buried in the rough. I tried to play aggressively, but I hit it fat, and it ended up in the penalty area. But it's in the past, so I think there's nothing I can do about it now."
"As an amateur, I will head into the fourth round with the mindset that I have nothing to lose," Yang pledged. "As a member of the national team, the Korea Women's Open is a meaningful tournament for me. I will do my absolute best."
According to the Korea Golf Association, an amateur has won the Korea Women's Open only four times in history: Chung Il-mi (1993), Kim Mi-hyun (1995), Jang Jeong (1997), and Song Bo-bae (2003).
No foreign player has ever won the tournament.
▲ Kim Min-sol hitting a tee shot
"Super rookie" Kim Min-sol, born in 2006, shot a 3-under 68 on Saturday with four birdies and one bogey, climbing from a tie for fourth to share the lead.
Kim, who played on the second-tier tour last season, earned her tour card after winning the KLPGA Tour's BC Card-Hankyung Ladies Cup as an invitee. She then quickly established herself among the top players by also winning the Dongbu Construction-Koreit Championship.
This season, she lifted her third career trophy at the iM Bank Open in April.
Choi Ga-bin and Patcharajutar Kongkraphan (Thailand) finished tied for third with a three-round total of even-par 213.
All other players failed to overcome the challenging course, finishing with over-par totals.
"Legend" Jiyai Shin, who primarily plays on the Japanese tour, carded a 1-under 70 on Saturday to finish at 1-over 214, tying for fifth alongside Kim Min-sun and Jeon Seung-hee.
Ko Ji-won, Hong Hyun-ji, Jun Woo-ree, Shin Da-in, Kim Si-hyun, and Choi Ye-bon all tied for eighth at 2-over 215.
Park Min-ji, who is chasing a historic 21st career victory—the first for any female player—shaved off two strokes on Saturday to finish at 4-over 217, heading into the final round tied for 17th.
(Photo: Courtesy of Korea Golf Association, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.