After finishing up her second round on Saturday morning, Republic of Korea native Yu Jin Sung blitzed the Seowon Hills Course at Seowon Valley Country Club in the afternoon, carding a bogey-free, 9-under 63 in the third round of the BMW Ladies Championship to sit in solo second with 18 holes to play in her home country.

The 63 is the lowest round to be recorded this week in Korea and ties the 2024 LPGA Tour rookie’s lowest career round on the LPGA Tour, as Sung also carded a 63 on day two of The Amundi Evian Championship this past July.

Sung was tied for 12th at the beginning of round three and sat nine shots behind 36-hole leader Hannah Green at 7-under overall. After parring the first two holes, the 24-year-old grabbed a pair of back-to-back birdies on the par-4 3rd and par-3 4th holes to quickly climb to 9-under. Sung struck again with a birdie on the par-5 8th hole, what would be her final birdie of the front nine, moving her to 10-under for the tournament.

Sung picked up two more back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th holes, now sitting at 12-under overall, and then grabbed another birdie on the par-4 13th hole to move to 13-under. Sung made three more birdies on holes 15, 16 and 18 to close out her 9-under effort, putting herself within two shots of the 54-hole lead and well within reach of her first LPGA Tour title.

“It was a long day. Played 26 holes, including the remainder of round two,” said Sung. “I am exhausted (but) at the same time happy because I was hitting it so well. It feels great to be playing good and also to play so well here in Korea in front of the fans. I also think this round was good because it has boosted my motivation and morale.”

Sung first earned LPGA Tour membership after finishing in a tie for seventh at the Final Qualifying portion of LPGA Q-Series last year. In her rookie season, the 24-year-old has only earned one top-10 finish – a tie for eighth that came at the Dow Championship alongside her playing partner Mao Saigo – and recorded two other top-25 results.

Things have been a bit rocky for Sung lately, as before last week’s Buick LPGA Shanghai, Sung hadn’t made an LPGA Tour start since the Portland Classic in August, electing to stay home in Korea while dealing with a back injury. That experience has made Sung even more grateful for her solid play this week at the BMW Ladies Championship, and even though she isn’t fully back to 100 percent physically, her performance at Seowon Valley Country Club indicates that she is certainly heading in the right direction with her recovery efforts.

“I had back problems, so I was getting treatment in Korea whilst starting in events here,” revealed Sung in her post-round interview on Saturday. “I’m feeling much better but not fully recovered, so I must continue to focus on treatment. I am much better though (and) thankful to be able to perform as well as I did today at this event.”

Sung will have a two-shot deficit to make up in the final round if she wants to track down Hannah Green and claim her first career Tour victory in her home country, a goal that she could absolutely achieve if she records another round deep in the red on Sunday at the BMW Ladies Championship.

But the rookie isn’t getting too far ahead of herself and will be working hard to stay focused on her own game on day four in the Republic of Korea, knowing that she can only control what she can control with so many other great players also in contention.

“I will try my best to stop my nerves from getting to me,” Sung said. “(There are) many players out there that can shoot low scores in a day, (so I) must keep that in mind. I must focus on my game whilst recognizing that I am not the only one who can make birdies out there.

“It would be a lie to say I am not interested in winning. But winning cannot be achieved by wanting it alone. I must focus on what is in my control and do that, and then perhaps I may be rewarded.”

Korea Native Yu Jin Sung in Solo Second After Third-Round 63 at BMW Ladies Championship

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