Im Sungjae Tied 6th "Tough March to 2nd Win"... Piercy Leads for Third Day

PGA Tour 3M Open Day 3: 4 Under Par, Grillo Chases 2nd Place by 4 Shots, 'Special Temporary Member' Kim Juhyung Ties for 24th

Im Sung-jae is reading the putting line on the 12th hole on the third day of the 3M Open. Blaine, USA=Getty Images/Multibits

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] Im Sung-jae (24, CJ Logistics) continues his 'march toward a second victory.'

On the 24th (Korean time), at the Twin Cities Golf Club (par 71, 7,431 yards) in Blaine, Minnesota, USA, during the third day of the PGA Tour 3M Open (total prize money $7.5 million), he added 4 under par to stand tied for 6th place (11 under par, 202 strokes). Scott Piercy (USA) dominated the top of the leaderboard on the third day (18 under par, 195 strokes), challenging for a 'wire-to-wire' victory. Emiliano Grillo (Argentina) is 4 strokes behind in 2nd place (14 under par, 199 strokes), and Tony Finau (USA) is tied for 3rd (13 under par, 200 strokes).

Im Sung-jae recorded 7 birdies and 3 bogeys. He started strong with a birdie on the first hole (par 4), but bogeys on the 2nd and 7th holes slowed his momentum. A standout moment was a 'hole-in-one-like birdie' on the 8th hole (par 3), where his tee shot landed just 0.6 meters from the hole. In the back nine, after exchanging a birdie on the 10th hole (par 4) for a bogey on the 11th hole (par 4), he relied on an average of 1.58 putts per hole to chip away birdies on the 12th, 14th, 16th, and 18th holes consecutively. He is 7 strokes behind the leader, still in a position to compete for the win.

It is interesting that Piercy is ranked 297th in the world. He has not entered the 'top 10' even once this season. However, in this tournament, he has been firing stormy shots with 6 under par on the first day, 7 under par on the second day, and 5 under par today. This is a great opportunity for him to claim his 5th career win after a long gap of 4 years and 4 months since the Zurich Classic in April 2018. Korea's 'special temporary member' Kim Joo-hyung (20) is performing well, tied for 24th place (5 under par, 208 strokes). Noh Seung-yul (32) remains tied for 31st place (4 under par, 209 strokes).