Siwoo Kim's Strength "Tied 7th, 3 Shots Behind"... Snedeker and 4 Others 'Tied for Lead'

Texas Open Day 3: Exciting 4-Under, Frittelli and Hossler, Spon Tied for Lead, Defending Champ Spieth 63rd

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is the tenacity of Kim Si-woo (27, CJ Logistics, photo).

On the 3rd (Korean time), at the Valero Texas Open (total prize money $8.6 million) held at TPC San Antonio in Texas, USA (par 72, 7,438 yards), Kim Si-woo shot 4-under par on the third day to leap to a tie for 7th place (7-under par 209). Dylan Frittelli (South Africa), Brent Snedeker, Bo Hosler, and J.J. Spaun (all from the USA) are tied for the lead (10-under par 206), fiercely competing for the championship.

Starting from a tie for 27th place, 7 strokes behind, Kim Si-woo collected 5 birdies (1 bogey). He started off well with a birdie on the 1st hole (par 4), continued his momentum with consecutive birdies on the 7th and 8th holes, and although he made a bogey on the 11th hole due to a tee shot error, he immediately recovered with a birdie on the 12th hole (also par 4). He reduced another stroke on the 14th hole (par 5), fiercely chasing the leaders. His long drives of up to 328 yards and a green hit rate of 72.22% with pinpoint iron shots stood out. His average putts per hole were 1.615.

Kim Si-woo began golf at the tender age of six and is known as the "Korean golf prodigy." In 2012, at the age of 17, he passed the PGA Tour Qualifying (Q) School, earning the honor of being the youngest to qualify. However, due to the age restriction rule (18 years), he was unable to properly participate and had to return to the Web.com Tour (second-tier) where he struggled for three years. In 2013, he was also unlucky as the Q School was abolished. Fortunately, in 2015, he returned to the PGA Tour by ranking 10th on the Web.com Tour money list.

In August 2016, he achieved his first career victory at the Wyndham Championship, and in May 2017, he won The Players Championship, known as the "fifth major," instantly rising to world stardom. Last January, he secured his third PGA Tour win with the American Express victory. In this tournament, he started fresh with 3-under par on the first day, steadied with even par on the second day, and laid the foundation for a dramatic comeback in the third round. He is 3 strokes behind the co-leaders, in a position to aim for a comeback.

Brant Snedeker is making an iron shot on the 8th hole on the third day of the Texas Open. San Antonio, USA = Getty Images / Multivitz Photo by Getty Images

Snedeker and Hosler both shot 5-under par, dominating the top of the leaderboard. Frittelli also added 2-under par to join the co-leader group. Ryan Palmer (USA), who was the leader the previous day, fell to a tie for 21st place (5-under par 211) after shooting 5-over par. In Korea, Noh Seung-yul (31, Givent) lost one stroke and dropped to a tie for 56th place (1-under par 215). Defending champion Jordan Spieth (USA) was only able to finish tied for 63rd place (even par 216).