Lim Seong-jae (25) jumped to the top with a bunker shot eagle in the 3rd round of the PGA Tour Farmers Insurance Open (total prize money of 8.7 million dollars).
In the third round of the tournament held on the 28th (Korean time) at Torrey Pines Book Course (par 72) in San Diego, California, USA, Lim Seong-jae scored 5 under par 67 with 1 eagle, 4 birdies and 1 bogey.
Lim Seong-jae, who recorded a total of 7 under par 209 strokes through the third round, tied for fourth place by 5 strokes with sole leader Sam Rider (USA).
Im Seong-jae got off to a good start by catching a 10m birdie on the 1st hole (par 4), followed by a series of birdies on the 2nd hole (par 4) and then added a birdie on the 6th hole (par 5) and continued cruising.
In the 12th hole (par 4), his tee shot fell into the fairway bunker, so he wrote down a bogey, but Im Seong-jae, who made up for it with a birdie in the 13th hole (par 5), caught an eagle in the last hole 18 (par 5) and leaped into the lead at once. He shot a shot from the bunker on the right side of the green and put it into the hole, receiving applause from the gallery. 메이저놀이터
Im Seong-jae said, “Since my tee shot went to the fairway a lot, I was able to easily put my iron shot in a good place. He had a few holes where the pin position was difficult, so he was able to hit 5 under par with a strategy that he played safely.”
Regarding the bunker shot on the 18th hole, he explained that he had a good lie and thought that if he made good contact with the ball, he would get good spin.
Im Seong-jae, who has recorded one top 10 in six tournaments this season, is challenging for the second top 10 of the season after finishing 7th alone at the Shriners Children’s Open last year.
Lim Seong-jae and his close friend, rookie Kim Seong-hyun (25), also reduced 3 strokes with an eagle on the last hole to rank in 8th place alone (6 under par 210 strokes). Seong-Hyun Kim, following a birdie on the 17th hole (par 4) at the last minute, caught an eagle by putting a second shot with a 3-wood on the 18th hole (par 5) at a distance of 1.2m from the pin.
Kim Seong-hyun said, “The second shot on the 18th hole was difficult, but I hit a light cut shot with the 3-wood. He finished well with an eagle on the last hole, and I look forward to the final round tomorrow.”
Ahn Byeong-hoon (32) also reduced one stroke to record a tie for ninth place (5 under par, 211 strokes) and revealed the possibility of entering the top 10.
Kim Si-woo (28) was tied for 32nd (2 under par, 214 strokes), and Roh Seung-yeol (32) was tied for 60th (1 over par, 217 strokes).
While a rider who has yet to win the PGA Tour took the sole lead with a total of 12-under-par 204 strokes, John Rahm (Spain), who is aiming for a third consecutive PGA Tour win, tied 1 eagle, 5 birdies, and 1 bogey to drive 6-under par and 2 strokes. The car is chasing fiercely with a solo second place (10 under par, 206 strokes). Ram, who is ranked 3rd in the world, could regain the 1st place in the world ranking depending on his performance in this tournament.
Ram, who won his first PGA Tour victory in 2017 and his first major championship (US Open) in 2021 here at Torrey Pines Golf Course, hit 1 over par in the first round of this tournament and tied for 116th. However, he drove 11 under par in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, raising his ranking to a tie for 14th and solo 2nd.
He reached the top in the Sentry Tournament of Champions three weeks ago and the American Express last week, and is trying to win the three tournaments he participated in this tournament in a row. If he wins this tournament, he will achieve 10 victories on the PGA Tour.
Tony Finau (USA) shot 8 under par 64 to jump to 3rd place alone (8 under par 208 strokes), and Colin Morikawa, Max Homa, and Sahis Sigala (USA) tied for 4th place with Lim Seong-jae (7 under par). 209 strokes under par).
Meanwhile, the tournament will be held from Wednesday to Saturday local time to avoid the final round of the National Football League (NFL) Conference Championship. Therefore, the final round will be held on the 29th, Korean time.