"Fearless Kim Juhyung"... Tied 4th → Tied 3rd → Tied 1st

PGA Shriners Children's Open 3R: 9-Under Surge... Total 19-Under
World No.4 Patrick Cantlay Shares Lead with 11-Under
Im Sungjae & Kim Sunghyun Tied 5th, Kim Siwoo Tied 7th... Four Korean Players in Top 10

On the 9th (Korean time), Kim Joo-hyung shot a 9-under-par 62 with nine birdies and no bogeys in the third round of the PGA Tour Shriners Children's Open (total prize money $8 million) held at TPC Summerlin (par 71, 7,255 yards) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Taewon] Kim Juhyung (20), who delivered a flawless performance, rose to a tie for first place after the third round of the PGA Tour Shriners Children's Open (total prize money $8 million). Alongside Kim Juhyung, Im Sungjae (24) and Kim Sunghyun (24) are tied for 5th place, and Kim Siwoo (27) is tied for 7th, signaling a Korean players' surge in the 2022?2023 PGA Tour season.

On the 9th (Korean time), at TPC Summerlin (par 71, 7,255 yards) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Kim Juhyung shot a 9-under-par 62 in the third round of the tournament, recording nine birdies without a single bogey. With a cumulative score of 19-under-par 194, he shared the lead with world No. 4 Patrick Cantlay (USA), the top-ranked player in this tournament.

Kim Juhyung, who won his first PGA Tour title at the Wyndham Championship last August, the final event of the 2021?2022 season, is now on the verge of his second victory just two months later.

Kim Juhyung, who had only reduced one stroke by the 7th hole in the front nine, began his birdie hunt in earnest from the 8th hole. He recorded consecutive birdies on the 8th hole (par 3) and 9th hole (par 5), reducing three strokes in the front nine alone. His back nine was perfect. He collected birdies on six holes except for the 10th, 12th, and 17th holes. Notably, he showed overwhelming performance by making four consecutive birdies from the 13th to the 16th holes. It was almost regrettable that his eagle putt of about 4 meters on the 16th hole (par 5) slightly missed to the right.

Kim Juhyung finished the final 18th hole (par 4) with a perfect birdie, even as Patrick Cantlay, who finished earlier, recorded a daily best 11-under-par 60. He lightly holed a ball that landed 50 cm beside the pin, marking a birdie and rising to a tie for first place. During the 18 holes played that day, Kim Juhyung missed the green only once.

Kim Juhyung has shown unstoppable form throughout this tournament. Starting tied for 4th on the first day, he moved up to tied for 3rd on the second day, and finally surged to a tie for first on this day. He made 6 birdies in the first round, 4 in the second, and 9 in the third, with no bogeys recorded?a perfect game management. He is the only player in this tournament to have a no-bogey round.

The other Korean brothers also showed strength. Including Kim Juhyung, as many as four players occupied the top of the leaderboard.

Defending champion Im Sungjae recorded eight birdies without a bogey, rising 12 places from the previous day to tie for 5th with a cumulative score of 15-under-par 198.

Kim Sunghyun, who also advanced to the PGA stage in this tournament, shot 7-under-par 64 with eight birdies and one bogey, tying for 5th place alongside Im Sungjae.

Kim Siwoo, who was tied for 3rd the previous day, dropped four strokes and fell four places but still holds a chance to win with a cumulative score of 14-under-par 199, tied for 7th.

Matthew Nesmith (USA) surged to a tie for 3rd with a cumulative 16-under-par 197 after shooting 8-under-par that day. As a result, on the 9th, Kim Juhyung, Cantlay, and Nesmith will compete together in the champion group.

Meanwhile, the day's competition thrilled the gallery with a total of 48 birdies recorded by six players tied for 5th place on the leaderboard. Among these six players, the only bogey recorded was by Kim Sunghyun on the 8th hole.

Even Cantlay, who made 11 birdies that day, did not become the "owner" (teeing first) after the 8th hole due to the mass birdies recorded by his group members. In golf, the player with the best score on the previous hole tees off first on the next hole.