Evian Championship 2019: Hyo Joo Kim Takes 1-Shot Lead After 3rd Round

Hyo Joo Kim fired a six-under 65 on Saturday to grab an one-shot lead following the third round of the 2019 Evian Championship at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France.

Kim's blistering round moved her to 15 under in the season's fourth major tournament. Sung Hyun Park is in second place at 14 under, while Jin Young Ko and Inbee Park are tied at 11 under, with Shanshan Feng and Mi Hyang Lee rounding out the top five at 10 under.

Tee times for the third round were moved up several hours to avoid the thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon, and weather never played a significant role in Saturday's action.

Kim got off to a sluggish start, with two bogeys over her first four holes. She didn't record another bogey the rest of the round, however, and finished with a flourish by tallying four birdies over the last six holes.

The 24-year-old is seeking her second major title. She won this tournament in 2014 and finished second in the U.S. Women's Open last year.

Ariya Jutanugarn was the only player to post a score better than Kim on Saturday. The two-time major champion shone, carding a bogey-free 64 to skyrocket into a tie for eighth place with 18 holes to play.

Lee, who held a one-stroke advantage after the second round, was one of just two players inside the top 20 of the leaderboard who failed to break par in Round 3. Pajaree Anannarukarn was the other.

Although Lee secured her best career major finish with a second-placed result in the ANA Inspiration earlier in the year, she was a non-factor in the U.S. Women's Open and Women's PGA Championship. She will need a terrific bounce-back performance Sunday to contend.

Kim and Sung Hyun Park have the potential to turn the Evian Championship into a head-to-head duel with strong starts in the final round. That said, they will bring a lot more players into the conversation if they falter because the leaderboard is crowded, starting around 11 under.

U.S. television coverage of Sunday's play starts at 6 a.m. ET on the Golf Channel before shifting to CNBC at 9 a.m. ET.