Singapore: Korea stayed on course to retain its women’s World Amateur Team Championship crown with a solid third-round outing at Tanah Merah Country Club.
On a day when China's Xu Ying and Rianne Malixi of the Philippines soared into contention for individual honours, the Korean trio of Sung Ai-jin, Oh Soo-min and Park Seo-jin strengthened their position atop the leaderboard in the team category.
Thanks to a four-under-par 68 from Sung and a one-over 73 from Oh, Korea posted a day three total of 141 in the event in which the best two daily scores in each team of three are counted. On a day marked by a 58-minute weather delay, Park’s 77 was discarded.
Heading into Saturday’s final round, the Koreans have an overall aggregate of 16-under 416 – three strokes ahead of the United States with China and Spain a further shot back in joint third.
Reflecting on her best score of the tournament to date which helped Korea stretch its half-way lead by one stroke, Sung, who holed her approach from 147 yards for an eagle-two at the 12th, said: “It was a good round. Today my putter was very good – I made some good putts from inside 10 feet. The only thing I didn't like was that I didn’t hit the fairways as many times as I wished I could. If I had hit the fairways more, I would have got a lower score.”
Asked about her team’s chances of following up victory in Abu Dhabi in 2023, the 18-year-old said: “I think for tomorrow, if everybody in the team plays their own game well, we should have a good chance of getting our hands on the trophy.”
With Xu, Zhou Shiyuan and Ren Yijia all in good form, China will be seeking a final-day surge over the Tampines Course in the country’s bid to win the Espirito Santo Trophy for the first time. With seven CLPG Tour titles between them, the China trio are not short on self-belief.
As well as vying for team glory, Xu is leading the charge in the race to finish as low individual. Buoyed by an eagle-two at the 11th, where her second shot from 110 yards unerringly found the cup, and a stunning finale that saw her birdie the final three holes, Xu signed for a four-under 68 to go with her two previous rounds of 70.
Xu, who finished tied third in the 2025 Girls’ Junior PGA Championship, said: “I want to say thanks to my team-mates, they played very well. I’m proud of them, and we will just keep going tomorrow.”
With a three-day tally of eight-under 208, she is one shot in front of Malixi and Japan’s Aira Nagasawa.
Malixi, winner of the US Women’s Amateur and US Junior Girls’ titles last year, has been beset by back injuries in 2025, having to withdraw from numerous events. But she looked back to her best today, compiling a stylish bogey-free 67 to propel herself into contention although her main focus remains on the team.
“Hearing that we jumped a lot of spots is really relieving. I’m very happy to hear that. I’m really proud of the other girls, too. We’ll be finishing strong tomorrow,” predicted Malixi, who along with Grace Quintanilla and Junia Gabasa, progressed into a share of 12th place on two-under 430 in the 36-nation event.
Nagasawa, meanwhile, picked up shots at two of the par-threes, the fourth and 16, but those gains were offset by two bogeys in an even-par 72.
Oh, runner-up in this year’s Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific and individual champion at the Queen Sirikit Cup, was one-under through 12 holes and seemingly on course for a third successive sub-par return. But bogeys at 13 and 17 took a little bit of the gloss off her day.
That, though, will be forgotten if she’s able to help her country claim victory tomorrow.
Leading Team Scores
416 – Korea 137-138-141 (Oh Soo-min 68-69-73; Sung Ai-jin 75-69-68; Park Seo-jin 69-73-77)
419 – United States 136-141-142 (Catherine Park 71-68-71; Farah O’Keefe 67-73-71; Megha Ganne 69-75-72)
420 – China 141-140-139 (Xu Ying 70-70-68; Zhou Shiyuan 71-70-71; Ren Yijia 74-70-71); Spain 139-138-143 (Paula Martin Sampredro 71-67-72; Andrea Revuelta 68-71-73; Carolina López-Chacarra 71-71-71)
421 – Sweden 144-140-137 (Meja Ortengren 70-71-70; Moa Svedenskiold 74-69-68; Kajsolatta Svarvar 77-74-69); England 141-141-139 (Annabel Peaford 72-69-70; Nellie Ong 69-74-69; Patience Rhodes 73-72-70)
422 – France 145-142-137 (Valentine Delon 74-68-71; Sara Brentcheneff 71-74-66; Constance Fouillet 79-75-74)
425 – Canada 142-143-140 (Lauren Kim 73-70-72; Michelle Xing 72-73-68; Vanessa Borovilos 70-76-72); Japan 142-141-142 (Aira Nagasawa 68-69-72; Mamika Shinchi 75-72-70; Anna Iwanaga 74-75-73)
426 – Czechia 151-141-134 (Anna Ludvova 83-78-65; Veronika Kedronova 78-67-69; Natalie Saint Germain 73-74-78)
Selected Team Scores
427 – Hong Kong, China 145-142-140 (Sabrina Wong 74-69-71; Elin Wang 71-73-69; Leung Hei-tung 76-77-72)
430 – Philippines 145-148-137 (Rianne Malixi 70-72-67; Grace Pauline Quintanilla 75-76-71; Junia Gabasa 76-76-70); Australia 147-139-144 (Ella Scaysbrook 73-68-73; Raegan Denton 74-71-73; Jazy Roberts 74-72-71)
433 – Singapore 147-143-143 (Chen Xingtong 69-72-75; Valencia Chang 78-71-72; Inez Ng 79-72-71)
434 – New Zealand 150-140-144 (Eunseo Choi 73-69-69; Vivian Lu 77-72-75; Emma Zheng 87-82-80); Malaysia 148-142-144 (Jeneath Wong 73-71-70; Zi Yu Foong 75-71-74; Charlayne Chong 78-78-79)
437 – Thailand 142-147-148 (Kritchanya Kaopattanaskul 71-72-78; Prim Prachnakorn 71-75-77; Pimpisa Rubrong 77-77-71)
440 – Chinese Taipei 148-144-148 (Chun Liao-hsin 73-72-75; Hsu Huai-chien 76-72-74; Chen Yu-chu 75-81-74)
473 – Vietnam 156-156-161 (Chuc An Le 79-73-79; Le Nguyen Minh Anh 77-83-83; Arena Tran 85-86-82)
504 – Guam 176-165-163 (Tyanna Jacot 84-82-79; Nalathai Vongjalorn 92-83-84; Mina Manibusan 93-91-92)
Leading Individual Scores
208 – Xu Ying (China) 70-70-68
209 – Rianne Malixi (Philippines) 70-72-67; Aira Nagasawa (Japan) 68-69-72
210 – Catherine Park (US) 71-68-71; Paula Martin Sampredro (Spain) 71-67-72; Oh Soo-min (Korea) 68-69-73
211 – Sara Brentcheneff (France) 71-74-66; Moa Svedenskiold (Sweden) 74-69-68; Eunseo Choi (New Zealand) 73-69-69; Megan Streicher (South Africa) 71-71-69; Annabel Peaford (England) 72-69-70; Meja Ortengren (Sweden) 70-71-70; Farah O’Keefe (US) 67-73-71 212
212 – Sung Ai-jin (Korea) 75-69-68; Nellie Ong (England); 69-74-69; Zhou Shiyuan (China) 71-70-71; Andrea Revuelta (Spain) 68-71-73
213 – Michelle Xing (Canada) 72-73-68; Elin Wang (Hong Kong, China) 71-73-69; Valentine Delon (France) 74-68-71; Carolina López-Chacarra (Spain) 71-71-71
Selected Individual Scores
214 – Veronika Kedronova (Czechia) 78-67-69; Jeneath Wong (Malaysia) 73-71-70; Sabrina Wong (Hong Kong, China) 74-69-71; Ella Scaysbrook (Australia) 73-68-73
215 – Patience Rhodes (England) 73-72-70; Ren Yijia (China) 74-70-71; Lauren Kim (Canada) 73-70-72
216 – Megha Ganne (US) 69-75-72; Chen Xingtong (Singapore) 69-72-75
217 – Mamika Shinchi (Japan) 75-72-70; Jazy Roberts (Australia) 74-72-71
218 – Raegan Denton (Australia) 74-71-73
219 – Park Seo-jin (Korea) 69-73-77
220 – Zi Yu Foong (Malaysia) 75-71-74; Chun Liao-hsin (Chinese Taipei) 73-72-75
221 – Valencia Chang (Singapore) 78-71-72; Kritchanya Kaopattanaskul (Thailand) 71-72-78
222 – Junia Gabasa (Philippines) 76-76-70; Inez Ng (Singapore) 79-72-71; Grace Pauline Quintanilla (Philippines) 75-76-71; Anna Iwanaga (Japan) 74-75-73; Hsu Huai-chien (Chinese Taipei) 76-72-74
223 – Prim Prachnakorn (Thailand) 71-75-77
224 – Vivian Lu (New Zealand) 77-72-75
225 – Pimpisa Rubrong (Thailand) 77-77-71; Leung Hei-tung (Hong Kong, China) 76-77-72
230 – Chen Yu-chu (Chinese Taipei) 75-81-74
231 – Chuc An Le (Vietnam) 79-73-79
235 – Charlayne Chong (Malaysia) 78-78-79
243 – Le Nguyen Minh Anh (Vietnam) 77-83-83
245 – Tyanna Jacot (Guam) 84-82-79
249 – Emma Zheng (New Zealand) 87-82-80
253 – Arena Tran (Vietnam) 85-86-82
259 – Nalathai Vongjalorn (Guam) 92-83-84
276 – Mina Manibusan (Guam) 93-91-92
