Yang Hee-young combined five birdies and three bogeys on the second day of the tournament at Riyadh Golf Club (par 72) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the 16th (local time) to score a 2-under 70.
Yang Hee-young, who recorded 2-under for two consecutive days, tied for fourth with Chen Fei-yoon (Taiwan), Leona Maguire (Ireland), and Paula Leto (South Africa) with a four-under 140 overall.
He maintained a four-stroke gap with Pati Tavatanakit (Thailand, 8-under 136 strokes).
The tournament is hosted by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund (PIF), and a large number of top rankers have participated in the event with prize money equivalent to the major tournament of the LPGA tour. The total prize money is $5 million (KRW 6.66 billion) and the winning prize money is $750,000 (about KRW 1 billion).
Sung Yoo-jin (24, Hanwha Q Cells), who challenged the LPGA tour this year, added 3 under par on the day and ranked 17th with 1-under 143 overall, while Lee So-mi (25, Daebang Construction) tied for 28th with even par 144.
Veteran Shin Ji-ae (36, 3rd ribbons) was sluggish with 3 over par on the day and tied for 59th place with 147 strokes in 3 over par, making the third round as a cut-off Maginot line.