Bio Kim carries four-stroke lead into final round of Caltex Open

Dubai: Bio Kim overcame an unexpected scare on the first hole, when a scoring official collapsed on the tee near to him, to take the third round lead in the KRW 1,200,000,000 GS Caltex Maekyung Open at Namseoul Country Club on Saturday.

The Korean star fired a three-under par 68 to lead on 10-under, by four from his fellow countrymen Minjun Kim and Mingyu Cho, also in with 68s, and Jiho Yang, who shot 71, in the Asian Tour’s first event back in Korea since 2019.

Dubai-based MG Keyser (RSA) shot a third round three birdie 74 to go along with his first two rounds of 73 and 72, to stand at six over par in tied 59th place.

Bio Kim started the day in a share of the lead but suffered a major distraction on the first when one of the scorers collapsed, just before he was due to tee off.

A doctor in the large crowd, who had gathered to watch the final group, as well as Kim rushed to help him before an ambulance was called. The scorer, who suffers from anaemia, eventually made a full recovery in hospital. The whole incident lasted about 10 minutes and when Kim finally got going, he made a double on the first.

‘‘To be honest, I wasn’t too distracted on the first. We all thought we had better wait to help him before getting going. I missed the tee shot, it was a tough pin position and I three putted, maybe I was just nervous,’’ said Kim.

“I eventually got my flow going and having such big crowds was huge motivation. I have a lot of memories here but I’m not thinking about things too much, just keep a very clear mind.’’

He is bidding to claim his first title on the Asian Tour on the back of an inspired run of form which has seen him post seven top 10 finishes in nine events, highlighted by a tied second finish at the Laguna Phuket Championship at the end of 2021.

He has actually won the GS Caltex Maekyung Open before, back in 2012, but it was not part of the Asian Tour then.

Kim grew up playing amateur golf at Namseoul and made his debut on the Asian Tour when tied fourth in the 2007 GS Caltex Maekyung Open before claiming equal third the following year, remarkably on both occasions he was still an amateur.

Reigning Asian Tour No.1 Joohyung Kim from Korea fired a 72 and is in a group of five players seven off the pace, along with Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasrichan who carded a 66.

Bio Kim (Korea): 67. 68. 68. 203 (10 Under Par)

Minjum. Kim (Korea): 69. 70. 68. 207 (6 Under Par)

M. Cho (Korea): 69. 70. 68. 207 (6 Under Par)

J. Yang (Korea): 69. 67. 71. 207 (6 Under Par)

K. Joshi (Ind): 68. 71. 69. 208 (5 Under Par)

V. Madappa (Ind): 71. 65. 72. 208 (5 Under Par)

H. Baisoya (Ind): 72. 71. 66. 209 (4 Under Par)