Imperious Perez to the four in Kuala Lumpur
Pat Perez yesterday extended his lead at the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur to four shots after shooting an eight-under-par 64.
The American, looking for his third career victory on the PGA Tour, carded nine birdies against one bogey in his third round, having improved by one shot in every round so far.
Perez, who led by a single stroke coming into yesterday, turned on the style on the back nine with six birdies. After three rounds, Perez is on 21-under 195.
“These guys are so good and you can make so many birdies out there so fast and I know that,” said Perez.
“So if I can get another six birdies tomorrow, I might be tough to catch.”
Schauffele remained within sight of his compatriot after a five-under 67 — including an eagle on the 10th — while South Korea’s Sung Kang is a further shot away after a seven-under-par 65.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama’s nine-underpar 63 was the lowest score of the day in the Malaysian capital and took him into a tie for fourth place alongside American Keegan Bradley.
Meanwhile, defending champion Justin Thomas’s chances appear over after he finished the day tied 24th at six-under-par, despite posting his best round with a 69.
The US PGA champion and Player of the Year had a double bogey on the par-5 fifth hole, but recovered with a flurry of birdies and an eagle on No. 16.
Clear skies at TPC Kuala Lumpur brought out the best from Whee Kim with a hole-inone on the 199-yard, par-3 15th. The South Korean won a BMW hybrid vehicle.
“It landed perfect and thought: ‘Oh made it, it’s going to go in,’” Kim said.
Meanwhile, Korean Jin Young Ko, who is perhaps best known for her runner-up spot at the 2015 Ricoh Women’s British Open, yesterday stole the limelight from some of the biggest names in women’s golf at the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship, firing a flawless six-under-par 66 to surge two strokes clear of the field ahead of today’s final round.
Ko racked up six birdies on the Ocean Course, including two in her last three holes, to post a 15-under total of 201 on a sunny and breezy day at SKY72 Golf & Resort.
World No. 2 Sung Hyun Park, who has a mathematical chance of taking over at the top of the Rolex Rankings should she win today, carded a third-round 68 to finish at 13-under, level with World No. 7 In Gee Chun, who also returned a 68.
England’s Charley Hull lies in a three-way share of 11th on nine-under-par.