The four-time PGA Tour winner Kim Joo-hyung is taking a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Asian Games men's golf tournament in Japan.
Kim shot a five-under 65 with five birdies, one eagle and two bogeys on Friday in the third round of the competition at Kasugai Country Club East Course in Kasugai, just northeast of the main host city of Nagoya.
At 12-under 198 overall, Kim leads Wang Wei-Hsuan of Chinese Taipei and Kazuki Higa of Japan by one shot.
A second member of the South Korean team, Mun Do-yeob of LIV Golf, is tied for eighth at eight-under after shooting a 69.
Kim Seong-hyeon, who rounds out the trio, is tied for 14th at two-under following his own round of 69.
South Korea is also leading the team standings, where the two best scores for each team are added after every round, at 20-under. Japan is right behind at 19-under, with China and Chinese Taipei at 18-under.
Kim Joo-hyung, 24, and Kim Seong-hyeon, 28, will receive military service exemption either with a team gold or an individual gold, which would set them up for uninterrupted touring careers overseas. Mun, 34, has already fulfilled his military duty.
Kim Joo-hyung, who competes under his English name Tom Kim on the PGA Tour, had to play through jet lag after a long flight from the United States, where he had competed at the Presidents Cup.
On little sleep, Kim shot 67 to start the tournament Wednesday and got progressively better, with 66 in the second round and then 65 in the third round.
In the women's tournament, the 18-year-old Yang Yun-seo is the top South Korean, as she sits alone in fifth place at five-under 205. She posted a 72 with three birdies against five bogeys.
Park Seo-jin is the next best South Korean player at eight-over, which put her in a tie for 22nd, and Kim Gyu-been is tied for 24th nine-over.
In the team standings, South Korea is in eighth place at even-par, 15 shots behind the leader China and nine back of Hong Kong for the bronze medal position.(Yonhap)
