Sungjae Im Takes a Breather, Tied 18th at the Open... Westwood Leads by One Stroke

Arnold Palmer Invitational Day 3: DeChambeau and Conners Tied 2nd, Spieth Tied 4th, McIlroy Tied 7th

Im Sung-jae is closing his eyes on the green of the 6th hole on the third day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Orlando, Florida, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is a breather for Im Sung-jae (23, CJ Logistics), ranked 17th in the world.

On the 7th (Korean time), at the Bay Hill Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, USA (par 72, 7,454 yards), during the third day of the PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational (total prize money $9.3 million), he failed to reduce his strokes and fell to a tie for 18th place (5 under par, 211 strokes). Veteran Lee Westwood (England) leads with 11 under par (205 strokes), while 'The Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau (USA) and Corey Conners (Canada) are tied for second place, one stroke behind at 10 under par (206 strokes).

Im Sung-jae started from a tie for 7th place, 4 strokes behind the leader, exchanging three birdies for three bogeys. After a bogey on the 3rd hole (par 4), he made consecutive birdies on the 5th and 6th holes and another birdie on the 9th hole (par 4), gaining momentum. However, in the back nine, he recorded only two bogeys on the 12th and 14th holes. His green in regulation rate was only 61.11%, making it difficult to create birdie opportunities. Although he is now 6 strokes behind the leader, he is still in a position to aim for his second career win, one year after his victory at the Honda Classic in March last year.

Westwood surged to the lead with a 7 under par round, and DeChambeau also posted 4 under par to continue competing for the win. Keegan Bradley, with a daily best of 8 under par, is tied for 4th place (9 under par, 207 strokes) along with Jordan Spieth (both USA). Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) shot even par and remains tied for 7th place (7 under par, 209 strokes). Among Koreans, An Byeong-hun (30, CJ Logistics) struggled with 3 over par, tied for 55th place (1 over par, 217 strokes).