Lee Kyung-hoon "Tied 5th, 5 Strokes Behind"... 'Tokyo Olympic Gold' Schauffele "Leading by 1 Stroke"

Travelers Championship Day 3: Strong 4-Under Performance, Cantlay 2nd, Tighala 3rd, Scheffler Tied 11th, McIlroy Tied 31st

'AT&T Byron Nelson champ' Lee Kyoung-hoon shot 4-under par on the third day of the Travelers Championship to leap into a tie for 5th place.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘AT&T Byron Nelson Champ’ Lee Kyung-hoon (31) is performing well.

On the 26th (Korean time), at the Travelers Championship (total prize money $8.3 million) held at River Highlands TPC in Cromwell, Connecticut, USA (Par 70, 6,852 yards), Lee shot 4-under par on the third day to climb to a tie for 5th place (12-under par 198). Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele led the tournament at 17-under par 193, and ‘Playoff (PO) Champ’ Patrick Cantlay (both from the USA) was in 2nd place at 16-under par 194.

Starting from a tie for 7th place, 6 strokes behind, Lee Kyung-hoon collected five birdies and one bogey. In the front nine, he struggled to lower his score, making a birdie on the 3rd hole but a bogey on the 4th hole (both par 4). However, in the back nine, he energized himself with three consecutive birdies from holes 13 to 15 and added another birdie on the final 18th hole (par 4). His impressive long drives reached up to 338 yards, and his iron shots had a green hit rate of 77.78%. He is 5 strokes behind the leader and has a chance for his third career win since last month’s AT&T Byron Nelson victory.

Lee Kyung-hoon was a gold medalist in the team golf event at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. He won twice on the Japan Golf Tour (JGTO), including the 2012 Nagashima Shigeo and the 2015 Honma Tour World Cup, and achieved back-to-back wins at the Korean Open, known as Korea’s national title, in 2016 and 2017. He claimed his first career win at the AT&T Byron Nelson last May, and this year, he achieved a rare consecutive win at this tournament for the first time in 22 years since Tom Watson’s three-peat from 1978 to 1980.

Patrick Cantlay (left) and Xander Schauffele are playing together on the 11th hole of the third day of the Travelers Championship. Cromwell, USA = Getty Images / Multivitz

Schauffele reduced his score by 3 strokes, maintaining his position at the top of the leaderboard for two consecutive days. Cantlay chased closely behind the leader with a daily-best 7-under par round. The two players were the duo who won the Zurich Classic in April by 2 strokes in a two-man team battle. Sahith Theegala is in 3rd place (14-under par 196), Kevin Kisner (both from the USA) is 4th (13-under par 197), and Martin Laird (Scotland) is tied for 5th.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) showed flawless play with five birdies and no bogeys. He jumped 13 spots from a tie for 24th place the previous day to a tie for 11th (10-under par 200). Defending champion Harris English (USA) also added 1-under par to join this group. On the other hand, No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) recorded three birdies, three bogeys, and one double bogey. He lost 2 strokes and dropped to a tie for 31st place (6-under par 204).