Siwoo Kim "Tied 24th, 7 Shots Behind"... Hodges and Barjon 'Surprise Co-Leaders'

American Express Day 3: Hojie 3rd, Cantlay Tied 11th, 'Number 1' Rahm Tied 15th

Kim Si-woo is making a powerful shot on the 2nd hole of the third day at the American Express. La Quinta, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Defending champion Kim Si-woo (27, CJ Logistics) is performing well.

On the 23rd (Korean time), at the PGA West Stadium Course (par 72, 7,113 yards) in La Quinta, California, USA, during the third day of the PGA Tour American Express (total prize money $7.6 million), he shot 3-under par to rise to a tie for 24th place (11-under par 205). The tournament is held over three rounds on three different courses: La Quinta (par 72, 7,060 yards), Nicklaus Tournament (par 72, 7,159 yards), and PGA West Stadium, with the final day’s champion decided again at the PGA West Stadium.

Starting from a tie for 32nd place, six strokes behind, Kim Si-woo recorded six birdies and three bogeys. On 15 holes, he exchanged three birdies for three bogeys, struggling to reduce his score. However, he showed a strong finish with three consecutive birdies on holes 16 to 18, improving his ranking. He relied on powerful drives averaging 300.6 yards and a ‘pinpoint iron shot’ accuracy with a green hit rate of 72.22%. However, he is still seven strokes behind the joint leaders, making a win difficult.

Lee Hodges is making an iron shot on the 17th hole on the third day of the American Express. La Quinta, USA = Getty Images / Multivitz

Lee Hodges (USA) and Paul Barjon (France) are surprisingly tied for the lead (18-under par 198). Tom Hoge (USA) is in third place, one stroke behind (17-under par 199). Patrick Cantlay (USA), the ‘playoff (PO) champion’ who led for two consecutive days, recorded an even par with four birdies and four bogeys, dropping to a tie for 11th place (14-under par 202). World No. 1 Jon Rahm (Spain) is tied for 15th place (13-under par 203), eyeing a move up the leaderboard.

From Korea, Im Sung-jae (24, CJ Logistics) shot 2-under par to tie for 31st place (10-under par 206). Lee Kyung-hoon (31, CJ Logistics) is in the same group. Noh Seung-yul (31, Givent) added 2-under par to secure a spot in the fourth round at a tie for 59th place (7-under par 209). On the other hand, Kang Sung-hoon (35, CJ Logistics) lost four strokes and was cut off at a tie for 140th place (3-over par 219). ‘Oldest major champion’ Phil Mickelson (USA) also struggled, tied for 150th place (7-over par 223).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.