Sizzling Kim leads tight Wyndham
Si Woo Kim had a hole in one on the way to a 62 for a two-shot lead over Doc Redman and Rob Oppenheim through three rounds of the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Kim, who’s at 18-under after 54 holes, made history three years ago when at 21 he became the youngest winner of The Players Championship. Now, he’s seeking his first victory since, and playing strongly wherever he tees it up.
Kim has broken 70 in nine of his last 10 rounds, including all four at TPC Harding Park to finish tied for 13th at the PGA Championship. He has continued that stellar play at Sedgefield Country Club, where he won his first
PGA Tour event in 2016.
Redman had a 63, while Oppenheim set a career low on tour with a 62 in second at 16-under.
Billy Horschel shot a 65 and was three strokes back at 15-under. Mark Hubbard (64) and Jim Herman were another stroke back at 14-under. Herman shot a 61, a career best and tied for lowest round of the tournament.
Kim got going when his 8-iron on the 161-yard, third hole found the cup for his third ace on tour. Kim clipped the cup on the par-3 12th, settling 14 inches away for another birdie. Kim kept it up with birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes to take the lead.
Oppenheim was bidding for a 60 when he birdied the next-to-last hole to move to 17-under. But his only bogey of the round on the final hole dropped him back. Redman, 22, is also seeking his first PGA Tour win. He joined the tie for second after matching his career low score of 63.
The PGA Tour moved up tee times, grouped competitors in threesomes and sent them off on the first and 10th tees to beat the bad weather expected later Saturday. The early, dry conditions set off a run of low scores that contenders had no choice but to keep up with throughout the round. In all, 52 of the 77 competitors finished with rounds in the 60s.
There were two 61s, the lowest score this week, from Jim Herman and Zach Johnson, the Payne Stewart Award winner who is striving to make the playoffs after a subpar season. Johnson was projected at 109 in FedEx points after starting the round outside the playoffs at 129. Past champion Webb Simpson (65) and Peter Malnati were at 13-under.
PGA CHAMPIONS TOUR
Jerry Kelly bogeyed two of the last four holes for another even-par 70 on Firestone’s challenging South Course in Akron, Ohio, leaving him with a one-stroke lead in the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship.
The only player at par or better after two days in the PGA Tour Champions’ first major of the season, Kelly, at 2-under, had some company in red numbers going into the final round. Woody Austin and Scott Parel each shot 67, and Colin Montgomerie had a 68 to get to 1-under on the testing course that was the longtime site of a PGA Tour event.
Kelly played the back nine in 2 under with three birdies and a bogey to reach 4 under. He countered a bogey on the par-4 11th with a birdie on the par-4 13th, then dropped two more strokes with bogeys on the par-3 15th and par-4 17th.
“I could have made two or three more birdies,” Kelly said. “I was burning some edges. You’re going to make mistakes out here, I know that. I just need to make birdies to counteract those mistakes and limit the mistakes. So, even par is not a bad day.”
EUROPEAN TOUR
Connor Syme will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Celtic Classic in Newport, Wales, after a late collapse from Thomas Pieters. Scottish golfer Syme carded eight birdies in a flawless third round of 8-under 63 at Celtic Manor, the venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup, to move 15 under for the tournament. Sam Horsfield (68), who won his first European Tour title two weeks ago, is in second place. Third-place Sebastian Soderberg (65) is two shots off the lead on 13 under. Pieters (70) held a three-shot lead after two eagles in the space of three holes around the turn, but ran up a triple-bogey on the 15th after topping his tee shot.
LPGA
Azahara Munoz birdied the 18th hole to take a one-shot lead after the third round of the Ladies Scottish Open in North Berwick, Scotland.
The Spaniard shot a 2-under 69 for a 7-under 206 total, just ahead of American Stacy Lewis (70).