Chun In-gee Fires 65 to Climb into Tie for 4th at LPGA Meijer LPGA Classic

Chun In-gee, who has signaled a resurgence in the 2026 LPGA Tour season, has once again put herself in contention for a victory.

Chun, a four-time LPGA Tour winner, carded a bogey-free 7-under-par 65 in the third round of the Meijer LPGA Classic (total purse of $3.25 million) held at Blythefield Country Club (par 72) in Belmont, Michigan, on June 21 (KST).

With a three-round total of 10-under 206, Chun jumped from a tie for 36th after the second round to a tie for 4th, four strokes behind the sole leader, Yan Jing (USA, 14-under 202).

Yan, who represented China at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, is still seeking her first LPGA Tour victory.

Hsu Wei-ling (Taiwan) and Liu Yan (China) are also tied for 4th alongside Chun.

Lottie Woad (England) sits in 2nd place at 13-under 203, while Cassie Porter (Australia) follows in 3rd at 12-under 204, both chasing the leader.

After struggling with back and shoulder injuries following her victory at the 2022 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, a major tournament, Chun has been regaining her form this season, recording two top-10 finishes in eight events.

Notably, she demonstrated top-tier performance by finishing in sole 4th place at the U.S. Women's Open earlier this month.

While Chun played a round without any birdies or bogeys in the second round earlier this week, she adopted an aggressive style in the third round, highlighted by a 278-yard average driving distance.

Although she missed five greens, she managed to secure birdies by limiting her putts to 26.

After recording three birdies on the front nine, Chun added four more on the back nine to join the race for the title.

In her official interview after the third round, Chun said, "Honestly, yesterday's round was a bit boring, but before starting today's game, I talked with my caddie about how I felt I could make a lot of birdies."

Regarding her putting feel, Chun added, "I definitely gained confidence after training with my coach during the U.S. Women's Open. Having my putter fitted to suit me has also been a big help."

Im Jin-hee also shot a 6-under round, combining seven birdies with one bogey to reach a total of 9-under 207.

Im, who is tied for 7th, five strokes behind the leader, remains in contention for her second career LPGA Tour victory since the Dow Championship, a team event, last year.

Meanwhile, Kang Min-ji, who had climbed near the top of the leaderboard after a hole-in-one in the second round, failed to lower her score with two birdies and two bogeys, slipping to a tie for 10th at 8-under 208.

(Photo: Getty Images Korea)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.