Parks battle for Maekyung Open golf title

Parks battle for Maekyung Open golf title

South Korea's Park Sang-Hyun struck a four-under-par 68 while rival Park Jun-Won shot 70 to share the third-round lead at the $1 million GS Caltex Maekyung Open on Saturday.

Park Sang-hyun of South Korea hits a shot during the final round of the Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia PGA Championship at the Damai Indah Golf’s Bumi Serpong Damai course in Jakarta on March 30, 2014

The pair sit ten-under in the OneAsia tournament at the par-72 Namseoul Country Club, two shots ahead of Hwang Jung-Gon, who fired 66.

Fellow South Korean Lee Kyoung-Hoon, the overnight leader by two, is now four under after falling to a 78 on the 6,348-metre (6,943-yard) course on the outskirts of Seoul.

Twice the runner up on OneAsia, Park Sang-Hyun is keen to add to the two titles he has already won on the Korean domestic tour since turning professional 10 years ago.

"I'm feeling confident,” he said. "I just need to keep my mind and body together for one more round, but it won't be easy."

South Koreans typically dominate the tournament, but several foreign contenders shone on Saturday, including Australian Scott Hend, who was level par despite battling a migraine throughout his round.

"I don't know where it came from," he said in comments released by the organisers. "It really was a bad migraine throughout the round. I really struggled out there, so I am very pleased with my score."

Park Jun-Won was two over with five still to play, but four consecutive birdies propelled him back into contention.

"I am playing well and enjoying myself so my aim is to do the same thing again tomorrow," he said. "I will try my best, but I have no expectations... just play as well as I can and see what happens."

Leading scores after round three:

(Korean unless stated otherwise)

206 - Park Sang-Hyun 72-66-68, Park Jun-Won 72-64-70

208 - Hwang Jung-Gon 69-73-66

209 - Scott Hend (AUS) 71-66-72

210 - Jang Dong-Kyu 69-72-69, Kim Nam-Hun 75-66-69, Park Il-Hwan 70-69-71

211 - Lee Dong-Min 72-70-69, Hyun Jeong-Hyup 70-70-71, Kim Seung-Hyuk 68-71-72, Kim Woo-Hyun 69-68-74

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