So Yeon Ryu takes 3-stroke lead in KPMG Women’s PGA

KILDEER, Ill. (AP) — So Yeon Ryu sees another major championship in reach and a spot in history in sight. She knows what she has to do, and she took a big step Saturday.

Ryu broke away on the closing holes at Kemper Lakes to take a three-stroke lead in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

The 28-year-old South Korean star birdied the 14th and 15th holes to jump ahead of Canadian Brooke Henderson and finished with a birdie on 18. She shot a 5-under 67 on another scorching afternoon to get to 11-under 205 and move closer to her third major victory.

Henderson was second. She bogeyed Nos. 14 and 16 in a 70.

South Korea’s Sung Hyun Park was 7 under after a 71, and American Angel Yin had a 68 to get to 6 under.

Ryu won the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open and 2017 ANA Inspiration for her major victories. Adding the Women’s PGA would be quite the way to cap her birthday week after she turned 28 on Friday.

“Winning this tournament is going to be huge because I never really dreamed about becoming a Grand Slammer,” she said. “But after I won the ANA Inspiration, I started to dream about becoming a Grand Slammer.

For that, I need to definitely win this tournament, and right now, I’m in pretty good position to achieve another dream so I really want to make it.”

She also won the Meijer LPGA Classic two weeks ago in Michigan for her sixth LPGA Tour victory. And she’s in a good spot at Kemper Lakes despite the brutal weather.

After heavy rain soaked the course earlier in the week, the past two days have been marked by brutal heat, with temperatures in the mid-90s on Saturday. And with storms in the forecast on Sunday, organizers decided to adjust the tee times and have groups of three start on the first and 10th holes.