Volume 1, Number 13 September 3, 2003
 
Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Results

Another interesting result was that Minny Yeo had managed to outplay Se Ri on this day, shooting a four under 68, one of the best rounds of her career. As if it wasn't strange enough that, at the King, Sunny Lee had outplayed Se Ri the first two days, now she was being outplayed by another of the obscure Sisters, Minny Yeo. And Grace Park had managed to shoot the identical round Se Ri had, and was still in position to cause trouble on the weekend.

Se Ri needed to have one of her patented Saturday charges, and she didn't really get it. The weather continued to be bad, with the occasional weather delay as they tried to make the course playable (this had happened on Friday, too). After two pars to start her round, she notched two straight birdies, and seemed ready to move. But two bogeys on the two par 3s knocked her right back to square one. She then birdied holes 8 and 9, going out in two under, which was good but not good enough. She now sat at 7 under, which still left her 8 shots out of the lead. To make matters more scary, Grace had gone out strongly, making birdies on four of her first six holes to move to 9 under par. Two more birdies on 10 and 13 and Grace was suddenly in fourth place. Se Ri would need to improve her standing to prevent Grace from stealing the Series title from her. But Grace was thinking of other things, such as a chance to win the tournament itself. At 11 under par, she was only three shots out of the lead, with more than a full round yet to play. Kung, you see, was having a struggle of it, and though she had started the day with a four shot lead, by this point, she had not only Hee-Won and Grace but Laura Davies and Jenny Rosales breathing down her neck as well.

Another picture perfect drive in round 3
Reuters/Frank Polich

Hee-Won goes muddin' on Saturday
Reuters/Frank Polich

Indeed, had Hee-Won managed to play a bit better, she might even have taken the lead. But Hee-Won was not able to get anything to happen with her game, either. She did have an eagle on the par 5 4th, and birdied the other par 5 as well (I'm wondering if her driving distance has improved; she seems to be reaching a lot more par 5's these days). But a bogey on the 3rd hole gave her a respectable 2 under front nine. Enough to pressure Kung slightly, but not much else. Then she hit a run of pars that prevented her from moving further.

Meanwhile, Grace, who was playing ahead of the other Sisters, reached the par 5 15th hole. One of the easiest holes on the course, it did have one risk factor: a water hazard on the left that could eat wayward approaches. It's not clear if this is in fact what did happen to Grace, but considering she walked off with a bogey from this hole, it's likely. She also bogeyed the 17th hole after putting her tee shot in some heavy rough and failing to get up and down. And a round that started out looking great sputtered out into a respectable 68. Grace had positioned herself for a possible run on Sunday, unless one of the other players ahead of her went on a tear. But it could have been a lot better than it was.

Next it was Se Ri's turn. She birdied the par 5 15th, and moved to 2 under for the day (an inopportune bogey on the other back nine par 5 having knocked her back to one under previously). The flag position on 16 was truly nasty, all the way back and right, requiring an obscene amount of water carry to get close. Se Ri played it safe and left herself with an enormous two putt distance, but fortunately she got that job done. On 17, she hit a pretty good drive, then hit a very sweet knockdown shot with a ton of spin on it to avoid the by now swirling winds. It's nice to see she has been working to increase her repertoire of offbeat shots, for this one was just what the doctor ordered, stopping on a dime to the delighted oohs of the large gallery that was following her every move. From there it was a ten footer for birdie, which she converted to move to 8 under. But the 18th proved to be a struggle. She pulled her drive well into the trees, and had to hit a low runner to get near the green. From there she hit a clutch chip and putt to save par and preserve her momentum. But she had only gained (to that point) two shots on a faltering Kung. It did not look promising for Se Ri, even though she was now 9th, and a shot behind Grace.

Se Ri only made up a few strokes on Moving Day
AP Photo/Randy Squires

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