'4-beon Seed' Ram "5-Under Par Spurt"... 1-beon Cantlay and '2-Stroke Difference'

'PO Final Round 3' Tour Championship Day 1: Cantlay Leads, Im Sung-jae Rises to Tied 2nd, Stalls at Tied 23rd

Yon Rahm is teeing off on the 2nd hole during the first day of the 'PO Final 3rd Match' Tour Championship. Atlanta, USA=Getty Images/Multivitz

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] It is a dazzling chase by 4th seed Jon Rahm (Spain).

On the 3rd (Korean time) at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, USA (par 70, 7,259 yards), the first day of the PGA Tour Playoffs (PO) final third round Tour Championship saw Rahm post a daily best 5-under-par, placing him in 2nd place (11-under-par). Top seed Patrick Cantlay shot 3-under-par and added a 10-under-par advantage to lead at 13-under-par, narrowing the gap to 2 strokes. "The Hulk" Bryson DeChambeau and Harris English (both USA) are tied for 3rd place (8-under-par), continuing the chase.

Rahm combined 7 birdies and 2 bogeys. He started strong with a birdie on the 1st hole (par 4), and made "stepping stone birdies" on the 4th and 6th holes, gaining momentum. Consecutive bogeys on the 7th and 8th holes were recovered with back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th holes, and he added another pair of consecutive birdies on the 17th and 18th holes. With a maximum drive of 348 yards and a green hit rate of 66.67%, his standout feature was an average of 1.58 "stingy putts." Notably, he overcame a 4-stroke disadvantage compared to Cantlay.

Patrick Cantlay is putting on the 1st hole of the 'PO Final Game 3' Tour Championship first day. Atlanta, USA=Getty Images/Multivitz

In the PO, after the second round, stroke bonuses are applied differentially: 1st place 10-under-par, 2nd 8-under-par, 3rd 7-under-par, 4th 6-under-par, 5th 5-under-par, 6th to 10th 4-under-par, 11th to 15th 3-under-par, 16th to 20th 2-under-par, 21st to 25th 1-under-par, and 26th to 30th even par. Dustin Johnson (USA) last year combined his actual 11-under-par over 4 rounds with a 10-under-par bonus to win by 3 strokes (21-under-par). This means Cantlay is in the most advantageous position.

With Rahm's early surge, a competitive battle different from expectations is anticipated this year. Cantlay has quickened his pace. DeChambeau managed only 1-under-par but maintained a tie for 3rd thanks to the 3rd seed's 8-under-par advantage, and 7th seed Harris English joined this group with a 4-under-par burst. The leading group includes Justin Thomas (USA), Cameron Smith (Australia), and Viktor Hovland (Norway), tied for 5th place (7-under-par).

2nd seed Tony Finau (USA) actually lost 2 strokes, tying for 8th place (6-under-par), and the 8-under-par advantage has already disappeared. Defending champion Johnson is tied for 10th (5-under-par), and Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) is tied for 17th (4-under-par). From Korea, 12th seed Im Sung-jae (23, CJ Logistics) struggled with shaky iron shots, finishing 1-over-par and settling in a tie for 23rd place (2-under-par). Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) self-destructed with 7-over-par, ranking last at 30th place (6-over-par).

Im Sung-jae is making a bunker shot on the 8th hole during the first day of the Tour Championship 'PO Final Round 3'. Atlanta, USA - Photo by Getty Images/Multibits

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