5-Under in Round 3 of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Flawless Performance for Three Consecutive Days
Schenk in 2nd, Sungjae Im 13th, Siwoo Kim 23rd
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) has all but secured a wire-to-wire victory.
On May 3 (local time), at TPC Craig Ranch (par 71, 7,569 yards) in McKinney, Texas, USA, Scheffler shot a 5-under-par 66 in the third round of the PGA Tour CJ Cup Byron Nelson (total prize money: $9.9 million), maintaining his lead at the top of the leaderboard for the third consecutive day with a total of 23-under-par 190. Scheffler, who surged ahead with an 8-stroke lead, is aiming for his 14th career victory, eight months after his win at the Tour Championship in September 2024.
Scottie Scheffler is crossing a bridge at the 4th hole of the third round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. McKinney, USA - Photo by AFP Yonhap News
Scheffler started the day with a 6-stroke lead and carded seven birdies and two bogeys. He got off to a strong start with back-to-back birdies on holes 2 and 3. Although he made a bogey on the par-3 4th, he immediately recovered with a birdie on the par-5 5th. He offset a birdie on the par-5 9th with a bogey on the par-4 11th, but then added three more birdies on holes 14, 15, and 18. Scheffler set a new tournament record for the lowest 36-hole score (124 strokes), and also broke the 54-hole record on this day. If he shoots at least one stroke under par in the final round, he will also break the tournament's 72-hole record of 261 strokes, set by Jason Day (Australia) in 2023.
Adam Schenk (USA), Erik van Rooyen (South Africa), and others are mounting a tough chase in a tie for second place at 15-under-par 198. Among Korean players, Sungjae Im stood out the most. He shot a 4-under-par 67 to climb to a tie for 13th at 11-under-par 202. Im said, "The start wasn't great, but I made a long birdie putt and succeeded with birdies when I needed them, so I was able to build some momentum. I hope I can make a lot of birdies and avoid bogeys tomorrow as well."
Sungjae Im is teeing off at the 6th hole of the third round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. McKinney, USA - Photo by AFP Yonhap News
Siwoo Kim also shot 4-under to join Jordan Spieth (USA) in a tie for 23rd at 10-under-par 203. Kim said, "There was quite a bit of wind on the front nine, so it was a tough start. Still, I was able to find my rhythm, and although I have some regrets, I finished well. My putting over the past two days wasn't as good as I expected. Even though not many putts dropped today, I felt good about my stroke, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow." Byeonghun An dropped three shots and fell to 68th place at 2-under-par 211. Tom Kim, Sung Kang, Seungbin Choi, and Chris Kim (England) unfortunately missed the cut.
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