SEOUL, May 11 - Korean Ryu Hyun-woo scrambled to a five-under-par 67 on Saturday to take a one stroke lead into the final round of OneAsia's GS Caltex Maekyung Open after overnight leader Kim Hyung-sung (71) bogeyed the last to slip to second place.
Runner-up last year after a blistering Sunday 63, Ryu is 12 under for three rounds at the hilly 6,349 meter (6,943 yard) Namseoul Country Club course on the outskirts of the Korean capital.
Four players share third place at nine under -- Kang Kyung-nam (68), Lee Kyoung-hoon (69), Kim Do-hoon (70) and reigning Kolon Korea Open champion Kim Dae-sub (71).
Defending champion Kim Bi-o is three under in 20th place after shooting a 70.
Although he had six birdies and just one bogey on Saturday, Ryu said the golf was tougher than his scorecard suggested.
"The greens were much faster today and some of the pin positions were very tricky," the 31-year-old said. "I wasn't always in good position with my tee shots, but fortunately my short game was ok and I managed to make birdies."
Second-placed Kim also scrambled his way around the course and was lucky to get away with a bogey on the last after seemingly hooking his tee shot into thick forest. He played a provisional, but on his way up spotted his original ball had actually ricocheted into the rough on the edge of the fairway.
"The last hole was not good," he said. "I shouldn't let something like that happen at this stage of the tournament."
Leader Ryu, a Japan Tour regular whose first professional win came only at their Coca-Cola Tokai Classic last year, is desperate for a second title so his son can live up to a weighty name conferred on him by his parents.
Ryu' s three-year-old is named Da-seung which means "multi-winner", and the toddler was waiting to greet him as he finished his round on Saturday.
"I'll just try to play the par three holes level tomorrow and see if I can make a few birdies on the par fives," said Ryu. "We'll see what happens."
Namseoul lived up to its reputation as being a graveyard for foreigners with only two non-Koreans in the top 15 -- Australians Steve Jeffress and Jamie Arnold, who both shot 70s and are four under for the tournament.
Brazilian Lucas Lee and Australian Matt Griffin -- a winner in Korea at OneAsia's Charity High1 Resort Open last year -- have a share of 20th place, a shot further behind.
Indonesia's Rory Hie is another 3 shots further behind after a round of 72 today, staying at even par for the tournament.
China's Wang Minghao, who only turned professional last week after graduating from college in the United States, stayed on course for his first payday with a 74 that left him two under -- exactly the same as Australian Jake Higginbottom, who made the transition from the amateur ranks just two days after winning the BMW New Zealand Open in November.
Scores after the third round of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open (Par-72):
204 - RYU Hyun-woo (KOR) 72-65-67
205 - KIM Hyung-sung (KOR) 67-67-71
207 - KANG Kyung-nam (KOR) 68-71-68, LEE Kyoung-hoon (KOR) 67-71-69, KIM Do-hoon-753 (KOR) 67-70-70, KIM Dae-sub (KOR) 70-66-71
209 - LEE Tae-hee (KOR) 69-72-68
210 - BYUN Jin-jae (KOR) 71-68-71, KIM Hui-soo (KOR) 70-69-71
211 - MUN Do-yeob (KOR) 70-72-69, PARK Il-hwan (KOR) 68-72-71, PARK Ju-hyuk (KOR) 68-70-73, SONG Young-han (KOR) 68-70-73
Selected:
216 - Rory HIE (INA) 71-73-72
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