Kaske retains share of lead while Phachara stays close
Seongnam - Finland’s Janne Kaske and Taehee Lee of Korea extended their overnight one-shot lead to four after signing for matching three-under-par 68s in the penultimate round of The 38th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship on Saturday.
The 32-year-old Kaske surged into the outright lead after firing four birdies to turn in 32. He dropped a shot on the 11th hole but made it up with a birdie on 16th where he hit an incredible bunker shot to about 20 feet before nailing the putt.
However, Kaske would relinquish his sole possession of the lead after dropping another shot on the par-three 17th. He now shares it with Lee with their three-day total of nine-under-par 204s at the fabled Namseoul Country Club.
Young Thai talent Phachara Khongwatmai battled to a 70 to move into third place with Hyungjoon Lee of Korea, who returned with a second straight 69, at the KR₩1,200,000,000 (approx. US$1,067,000) event, which is celebrating its 38th edition this week.
Korea’s Sanghyun Park, highest-ranked player in the field, kept his hopes of a successful title defence alive as he battled to a 69 to lurk five shots back in fifth place alongside countrymen Junwon Park and Innchoon Hwang. Park is also chasing for an unprecedented treble in the storied event.
Kaske, who won twice on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in 2015, is standing on the verge of his maiden title on the region’s premier Tour. He secured his Asian Tour card thanks to a stellar season on the ADT in 2018.
Lee, a two-time winner on the local circuit, marked his card with four birdies and a bogey to stay in control at the event, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Korea Golf Association. The 34-year-old had held a share of the lead since the opening round.
After stumbling with a double-bogey on the fifth, Phachara recovered with a birdie on the ninth to turn in 37. He would return home with two birdies in his closing four holes to give himself a chance at improving on his tied-12 finish last year.
