Defending Champ Johnson "Chasing Joint 5th Place, 5 Strokes Behind"... Kim Juhyung Falls to Joint 53rd

'Asian Tour Special Match' Saudi International Day 3: Varner III Leads, Arnaus 2nd, Fleetwood 3rd

Dustin Johnson is teeing off on the 2nd hole on the third day of the Saudi International. King Abdullah Economic City (Saudi) = Getty Images / Photo by Multivitz

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] This is the strength of Dustin Johnson (USA), world No. 5 and defending champion.

On the 5th (KST), at the Royal Greens Golf Club (par 70, 7,048 yards) in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia, the third day of the Asian Tour 2022/2023 season opener PIF Saudi International (total prize money $5 million) ended with Johnson shooting 3-under par to jump to a tie for 5th place (7-under par 203). Harold Varner III (USA) leads at 12-under par 198, with Adri Arnaus (Spain) in 2nd place at 11-under par 199, and Tommy Fleetwood (England) in 3rd at 10-under par 200.

This is a 'special match' where top players gathered, invited with appearance fees poured by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF). Johnson started tied for 14th, 6 shots behind, and made 4 birdies (1 bogey). After a birdie on the 1st hole was canceled out by a bogey on the 5th hole (both par 4), he changed the momentum with a birdie on the 8th hole (par 3), and added two more birdies on the back nine at the 12th hole (par 4) and 18th hole (par 5). He is 5 shots behind the leader and is still in a position to aim for his third win following 2019 and last year.

Harold Varner III is teeing off at the 14th hole on the third day of the Saudi International. King Abdullah Economic City (Saudi) = Getty Images / Photo by Multibits

Varner III added 2-under par to maintain his position at the top of the leaderboard for two consecutive days. Fleetwood reduced his score by 3 strokes to join the race for the championship, and Cameron Smith (Australia) is also positioned 4th at 8-under par 202, 4 shots behind. Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele and Bubba Watson are tied for 8th at 6-under par 204, Matthew Wolff (both USA) tied for 12th at 5-under par 205, Paul Casey (England) tied for 14th at 4-under par 206, and 'oldest major champion' Phil Mickelson (USA) is tied for 16th at 3-under par 207.

Among Koreans, Kim Bi-o (32, Hoban Construction) is performing best, tied for 28th at 1-under par 209. Asian Tour money leader Kim Joo-hyung (20, CJ Logistics) collapsed with 1 birdie, 5 bogeys, and 1 double bogey, dropping from tied 21st the previous day to tied 53rd at 4-over par 214. Kim Hong-taek (29, Volvik) is tied for 59th at 5-over par 215, Seo Yo-seop (26, DB Insurance) tied for 66th at 7-over par 217, and Jang Yi-geun (29, Shinhan Financial Group) tied for 72nd at 9-over par 219.

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