Kim Si-woo moved into a tie for second place on the third day of The Open, the final men's golf major of the season, setting up a bid for his first career major title.
Playing in the third round on the 18th at Royal Birkdale Golf Club (par 70) in Southport, England, Kim shot a 3-under-par 67 with four birdies and one bogey. He trimmed three strokes despite the difficult conditions of taking painkillers for leg pain. At 8-under-par 202, Kim sits in a tie for second, two shots behind sole leader Sam Burns of the United States at 10-under. Sharing second place is Ryan Fox of New Zealand, who shot a 62 to tie the lowest round in major championship history.
Kim got off to a strong start with a birdie on the par-4 2nd hole, then added his second birdie on the par-3 7th, placing his tee shot to within 1.7 meters of the pin. On the par-4 10th, he kept his momentum going by sinking a challenging birdie putt from more than 6 meters. He missed a 3.3-meter par putt on the par-4 11th for his only bogey of the day, but added a birdie on the par-5 17th with a precise approach shot, keeping alive his hopes of a come-from-behind victory on the final day.
After the round, Kim said, "The tee shots were difficult and the greens were tricky, but making a few of those tough putts helped a lot in posting a good score." Kim, who was seen limping during the round, also explained his physical condition. "I changed my insoles last week, and maybe because of that, my right Achilles tendon hurt yesterday and my left one hurt today. After taking painkillers, it became more comfortable as the round went on," he said.
Im Sung-jae made five birdies but also committed four bogeys, finishing with a 1-under-par 69. At 3-under-par 207, Im was tied for 20th along with Cameron Young of the United States and others.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler of the United States failed to lower his score with one birdie and one bogey, staying in a tie for 11th (4-under), while world No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland trimmed one stroke to mark a tie for 29th (2-under). Bryson DeChambeau of the United States climbed to a tie for sixth (6-under), keeping alive his chances of a come-from-behind win.
