Kim not fazed by wind, rain at Open
I.K. Kim stood on the first tee at the Women’s British Open in St. Andrews, Scotland, and seemed to have everything going against her.
The wind was rising. Heavy rain was falling. The temperature was dropping. If that wasn’t enough, Inbee Park had just toured Kingsbarns Links in a course record-tying 64 and was one shot behind. Stacy Lewis, another past Women’s British Open champion, was another shot back after a 65.
In weather that turned out better than expected — only one heavy shower — Kim shot a bogey-free 66 by converting a string of birdie putts. With one round to play, the 29-yearold South Korean was at 17-under 199 and had a six-shot lead over Georgia
Hall (70) and Moriya Jutanugarn (67). Lexi Thompson, who started the third round two shots behind, stumbled to a 74 and wound up 10 shots back. Thompson took a double bogey on the 16th hole on her way to a 74. She was tied for 13th, along with Michelle
Wie, who posted a 69.
Thomas Pieters ended a rollercoaster round with a 30-foot birdie putt for a four-under 66 that gave the Belgian a share of the lead with Zach
Johnson going into the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.
Pieters built a big lead early with five birdies on his opening eight holes at Firestone, only to run into trouble off the tee. He made only three pars over his last 11 holes and wound up with his best chance yet to win in America.
Johnson, who hasn’t won since capturing his second major at St. Andrews in 2015, holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 65. They were at nine-under 201. Hideki Matsuyama had a 67 and was two shots behind. Rory McIlroy was blasting all day — he has hit 39 of his 42 drives at Firestone at least 300 yards — but had to settle for a 68 that left him three shots back.
Jordan Spieth took bogey on the last two holes for a 71 to slip seven shots behind in his bid to win his third straight tournament.
Paul Goydos shot a tournamentrecord 60 and is tied with Kenny
Perry and Gene Sauers after two rounds of the PGA Tour Champions’ 3M Championship in Blaine, Minn.
Goydos, who shot 59 at the PGA’s 2010 John Deere Classic, was seven under through 12 holes, before birdies at 15, 16 and 17 and an eagle on the parfive 18th. He needed one putt on 16 greens and two on the others at the