▲ Jang Yu-bin smiles warmly while looking at the ball
Jang Yu-bin, who became the first Korean player to join LIV Golf last year before returning to the domestic circuit this season, has moved closer to his first victory since his return.
On Saturday (June 13), Jang maintained his sole lead in the third round of the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Tour's KPGA Classic with I'm Vita (total purse of 700 million won), held at the Northwest Course (Par 72) of Cypress Golf & Resort in Seogwipo, Jeju.
In today's round, played under a modified Stableford format, he carded a 5-under 67 with seven birdies and two bogeys to earn 12 points, bringing his three-round total to 39 points.
Jang pulled five points ahead of co-runners-up Song Min-hyeok and Park Eun-shin (both at 34 points) and will challenge for the title in the final round on June 14.
Jang, who swept six titles including the Grand Prize (Player of the Year) and the prize money title on the 2024 KPGA Tour with two wins and five runner-up finishes, returned to the domestic stage after a year of struggling in LIV Golf last year.
In his second tournament after his return, the Woori Financial Group Championship, he finished tied for second, but finished outside the top 10 in all other events.
Through this tournament, Jang is aiming for his first victory in one year and eight months, since the Baeksong Holdings Asiad CC Busan Open in October 2024.
Having swept 12 points in the second round, Jang continued his momentum early in the third round.
He dropped a 4.5-meter birdie putt on the 2nd hole (Par 4) and made a long 13.6-meter birdie putt on the 3rd hole (Par 3).
His birdie run continued.
He grabbed consecutive birdies on the 4th hole (Par 4) and 5th hole (Par 5), scoring eight points in the front nine alone.
On the back nine, he recorded a birdie with an accurate iron shot on the 11th hole (Par 4), widening the gap with second place.
However, Jang stumbled with alternating bogeys on the 13th hole (Par 4) and 15th hole (Par 4).
After losing two points, Jang succeeded in adding points with aggressive course management in the remaining holes.
On the 16th hole (Par 4), he attacked the green directly over a bunker to grab a birdie, and on the 18th hole (Par 5), he reached the green in two shots with his signature long drives to record another birdie.
"There were some unsatisfying parts because my rhythm was broken, but I think I stood up again. I want to praise myself," he smiled after the round.
He added, "As the sole leader, I'm in a position of being chased, but I will play as calmly as possible in the fourth round."
Kim Min-kyu, who is currently playing in LIV Golf, put up a strong performance today with eight birdies and one bogey to card a 7-under 65, earning 15 points. With a three-round total of 29 points, he jumped from tied for 33rd the previous day to 6th place.
"I returned on June 9 from Spain (where the LIV Golf tournament was held)," he recalled. "My body is tired from the long-distance travel, but I'm adjusting day by day."
He added, "Since I was sponsored by Chong Kun Dang, the tournament sponsor (until I entered LIV Golf), I really wanted to participate in this tournament. I will play more aggressively in the final round to create opportunities."
The modified Stableford format is a system where rankings are determined by awarding points according to the performance on each hole instead of the number of strokes.
A par is worth 0 points, a birdie is 2 points, an eagle is 5 points, an albatross is 8 points, a bogey is -1 point, and a double bogey or worse is scored as -3 points.
Since it is difficult to get high scores with stable play that just maintains par, it requires aggressive course management.
(Photo: KPGA Tour, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.