Yim, Sorenstam Face Off for Title

Rising new star Yim Seong-ah (Nonghyup Hansamin) will go one-on-one with Annika Sorenstam for a championship title.

On April 23, Georgia’s Stockbridge Eagles Landing Country Club (Par 72) hosted the third round of LPGA tour’s Florida Natural Charity Championship. The 2002 Busan Asian Games gold medalist Yim Seong-ah grabbed four birdies without a single bogey, totaling 16 under par and 200 strokes, and took second place one stroke short of Sorenstam’s lead (17 under par, 199 strokes). “A duel with Annika is looming, and doesn’t help my focus. But I’ll give my best shot in thinking that I will learn from the best,” said Yim.

Jang Jeong (Industrial Bank) cut five strokes from her score and tallied a 12 under par 204 stroke total, taking a leap from the previous day’s 12th-place standing into a third-place tie. Han Hee-hwon (Fila Korea) ended the day tied for ninth (10 under par 206 strokes) while Kim Young (Shinsegae) ended up tied for 11th (9 under par 207 strokes) place.

In men’s golf, Choi Kyung-ju (Nike Golf) reserved his spot on the top-10 list of this year’s PGA tour. His best performance of the previous eight games this season was a tie for 13th place at the Sony Open. Playing in the Shell Houston Open’s third round yesterday, Choi hit six birdies and one bogey, adding up to five under par and 67 strokes to take fifth place. Choi will return to Korea on April 26 to attend the SK Telecom Open after the Shell Houston Open finishes.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com