HONOLULU — A Lim Kim birdied the final two holes for a 5-under 67 and one-shot lead over Nataliya Guseva Friday in the Lotte Championship.
Kim bounced back from a bogey at the par-4 16th with birdies at the par-4 17th and the par-5 18th. She had a 14-under 202 total at Hoakalei Country Club, with one round remaining in the event that began Wednesday.
Kim is No. 65 in the Race to CME Globe and has just two tournaments left to crack the top 60 and earn a spot in the season finale that will pay $4 million to the winner. The 29-year-old South Korean won the US Women’s Open in December 2020 for her only LPGA Tour title.
His third round also included a hole-in-one at the par-3 ninth.
Guseva, the 21-year-old trying to become the first Russian winner in LPGA Tour history, shot 68. She bogeyed the 17th for the third day in a row.
Ryann O’Toole finished third at 11 under after a 69.
Jin Young Ko shot 67 to join Auston Kim (69) and Yuri Yoshida (71) at 10 under.
