Co-leader Kim eyes second Shriners win in same season
Defending champion Tom Kim felt the vibes and found his groove Saturday in Las Vegas with a 9-under 62 that gave him a three-way share of the lead in the Shriners Children's Open and a chance to win the same tournament twice in one season.
It was the second straight year Kim had a 62 in the third round at the TPC Summerlin. It led to a playoff victory over Patrick Cantlay last year in what was the early part of the season. Now it's technically the same season before the PGA Tour goes back to a calendar year.
Adam Hadwin played bogey-free — he had more birdies on the par 3s than the par 5s — for a 63 to catch Kim. Joining them was a late arrival in so many ways — Lanto Griffin, who was tied for the 36hole lead and didn't make a birdie until the 13th hole.
That was the start of three birdies in a four-hole stretch that led to a 68 and allowed Griffin to share the lead at 15-under 198.
This was hardly a threeman race going into the final round. K.H. Lee (66) was among three players one shot back. It all, 14 players were within three shots of the lead.
LPGA Tour
American Solheim Cup player Angel Yin shot a 7-under 65 to move into a share of the third-round lead at the LPGA Shanghai tournament.
Yin was tied with Maja Stark, who had a one-stroke lead after two rounds.
Yin and Stark, who shot 70, had 12-under totals of 204 on the Qizhong Garden Golf Club course in the LPGA's first return to China since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pavarisa Yoktuan of Thailand bogeyed her final hole for a 69 and was a shot back in third place.
Two-time defending champion Danielle Kang of the United States shot 73 and was four strokes behind the leaders.
LIV Golf
Brooks Koepka played bogey-free for an 8-under 62, building a three-shot lead in LIV Golf-Jeddah as he looks to win on Saudi Arabian soil for the second straight year.
Koepka picked up his first LIV Golf League victory at Royal Greens a year ago. He got off to a quick start by opening with six birdies in eight holes, then adding back-to-back birdies on the back nine in King Abdullah Economic City.
Koepka, the PGA champion playing for the first time since the Ryder Cup, was at 12-under 128. He led by three shots over Sergio Garcia (63) and Charles Howell III (64).
DP World Tour
Matthieu Pavon kept his lead at the Spanish Open to enter the final round with a two-stroke advantage.
The No. 3-ranked Jon Rahm (67) is tied for 34th and nine shots back as he struggles to defend his title won last year when Pavon finished runner-up.
Pavon hit a 5-under 66 after making six birdies to go with one bogey at the Club de Campo Villa in Madrid to double his overall lead at the end of the third round. The French player has led since his opening 63 and is 16 under after 54 holes.
Pavon, 30, is searching for his first European Tour win.
“What I learned (from last year) is that it is tough to beat Jon Rahm. Last year he got me by six shots and I thought I had a great week,” Pavon said. “This week I just try to be myself.”
England's Nathan Kimsey (65) is Pavon's nearest challenger in second place.
PGA Tour Champions
Thongchai Jaidee and 18-hole leader Rod Pampling shared the overnight lead at 7-under when the second round was suspended because of darkness at the SAS Championship in Cary, N.C. Jaidee completed four holes, and birdied Nos. 3 and 4. Pampling finished three holes, going birdie-birdie before bogeying No. 3.