Kim edges a surging Cantlay for third win

Si Woo Kim birdied two of the final three holes to finish a rock-solid, eight-under 64, coolly rallying past latecharging Patrick Cantlay by one shot to win The American Express on Sunday for his third PGA Tour victory.

A year after Kim withdrew from the desert tournament because of a back injury following an awful first round, he endured a restless Saturday night preparing to chase his first win since the 2017 Players Championship, a string of 102 straight starts without a victory.

But the 25-year-old South Korean didn’t flinch when Cantlay shot a 61 and surged out of 13th place to the front while breaking the Stadium Course record by two strokes at La Quinta.

Kim comfortably birdied the par-five 16th to pull even, then buried a 19-foot birdie putt on the island green on the 17th to take the lead, joyously pumping his fist when his perfectly paced putt dropped.

“I thought I would have a chance at a playoff,” Cantlay said after his best career round as a pro. “I played about as good as I can possibly play.”

Kim wrapped up his third bogey-free round of the tournament — all on the Pete Dye-designed Stadium Course — with a two-putt par on the 18th to finish at 23under 265.

Australia’s Cameron Davis shot a 64 to finish in a career-best third at 20 under.

Cantlay was in 56th place when the third round began, but the UCLA product’s 6561 finish vaulted him out of the crowded field and nearly led to his second victory of the 2020-21 season.

He made 11 birdies in the final round, including six in eight holes on the front nine. Cantlay capped his spectacular round with a 37-foot birdie putt on the 18th. All told, Cantlay made 20 birdies in his final two rounds.

Third-round co-leaders Max Homa and Tony Finau both faded, with Homa making five bogeys in a 76.

Elsewhere

Jessica Korda closed with a five-under-par 66 and holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat Danielle Kang in the LPGA’s Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Korda won for the sixth time on the LPGA Tour, and it was her first win in nearly three years . ... Tyrrell Hatton shot a six-under-par 66 to win the European Tour’s seasonopening Abu Dhabi Championship by four strokes after overnight leader Rory McIlroy faded with an evenpar 72 for third.