Siwoo Kim "Tied 5th, 3 Shots Behind"... 'Comeback Opportunity'

Siwoo Kim Shoots 6-Under Par on Third Day of Sony Open
Berkeley Leads, Sunghyun Kim 9th, Kyunghoon Lee 16th

Kim Si-woo is teeing off on the 5th hole on the third day of the Sony Open. Hawaii=AFP·Yonhap News

It is a winning opportunity for Kim Si-woo, ranked 84th in the world.

On the 14th (local time), Kim Si-woo shot 6 under par on the third day of the Sony Open (total prize money $7.9 million) of the 2022/2023 PGA Tour season, held at Waialae Country Club (par 70, 7,044 yards) in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, to jump to a tie for 5th place (12 under par, 198 strokes). Hayden Buckley leads (15 under par, 195 strokes), with Chris Kirk, David Lipsky, and Ben Taylor (all from the USA) tied for 2nd place (13 under par, 197 strokes).

Starting from a tie for 16th place, 5 strokes behind, Kim Si-woo collected 7 birdies and 1 bogey. He started brightly with birdies on holes 1 and 4, then added 3 more birdies on holes 7, 9, and 10. The bogey on hole 12 was offset by a birdie on hole 14 (both par 4s), and he added a valuable birdie on the final 18th hole (par 5). His powerful drives averaged 312.2 yards, and his precise iron shots had a green hit rate of 83.33%. He is 3 strokes behind the leader, aiming for his 4th career win and first in 2 years since the American Express in January 2021.

Buckley shot 6 under par to dominate the top of the leaderboard. He is ranked 203rd in the world and has yet to win a tournament. Putnam surged with 8 under par to join the race for the title. Chris Kirk, who led the previous day, recorded 4 birdies, 1 bogey, and 1 double bogey. Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) improved by 5 strokes to climb to a tie for 25th place (8 under par, 202 strokes). Last year’s runner-up Russell Henley (USA) added 3 under par to move to a tie for 32nd place (7 under par, 203 strokes).

For Korea, Kim Sung-hyun reduced 3 strokes with 6 birdies, 1 bogey, and 1 double bogey, slipping from a tie for 6th place the previous day to a tie for 9th place (10 under par, 200 strokes). Lee Kyoung-hoon showed perfect play with 5 birdies and no bogeys, jumping 20 spots from a tie for 33rd place to a tie for 16th place (9 under par, 201 strokes). An Byeong-hun also joined this group, eyeing a move up the leaderboard.