Lee Kyung-hoon's Strong Finish "Tied 31st → Tied 18th"... Niemann Leads for Three Days

Genesis Invitational Day 3: Young 3 Shots Behind in 2nd, Hoblan 3rd, Thomas 4th 'Chasing Battle'

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is the strong finish of Lee Kyung-hoon (31, CJ Logistics, photo).

On the 20th (Korean time), at the Pacific Palisades Riviera Golf Club in California, USA (par 71, 7,322 yards), during the third day of the PGA Tour Genesis Invitational (total prize money $12 million), he posted a 4-under-par round to climb to a tie for 18th place (7-under-par 206). Joaquin Niemann (Chile) continued to lead for the third consecutive day (19-under-par 194), with Cameron Young (USA) chasing in second place, 3 strokes behind (16-under-par 197).

Starting from a tie for 31st place, 13 strokes behind, Lee Kyung-hoon showed flawless play with 4 birdies and no bogeys. He started off well with a birdie on the 1st hole (par 5) and reduced another stroke on the 7th hole (par 4). In the back nine, he gained momentum with consecutive birdies on the 10th and 11th holes. However, it was regrettable that he could not add any more birdies on the remaining 7 holes. His power lies in his long drives averaging 311.4 yards and a greens in regulation rate of 77.78%, showcasing his precise iron shots. He is 2 strokes behind the group tied for 10th place.

Joaquin Niemann is teeing off on the 4th hole on the third day of the Genesis Invitational. Pacific Palisades, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

Niemann reduced 3 strokes with 1 eagle, 4 birdies, and 3 bogeys. Ranked 32nd in the world, he is aiming for his second career win after 2 years and 5 months since his first victory at Greenbrier in September 2019. ‘Number 3’ Viktor Hovland (Norway) surged with a 6-under-par round to jump to 3rd place (13-under-par 200). Justin Thomas is in 4th place (12-under-par 201), and ‘Number 2’ Collin Morikawa (both USA) is in 5th place (11-under-par 202).

Defending champion Max Homa and ‘Phoenix Open champion’ Scottie Scheffler are tied for 6th place (10-under-par 203), ‘Tokyo Olympic gold medalist’ Xander Schauffele is tied for 12th place (8-under-par 205), and Jordan Spieth (all USA) is tied for 18th, all eyeing a top position. From Korea, ‘Shriners Champion’ Im Sung-jae (24) struggled with 4-over-par and dropped to a tie for 60th place (1-under-par 212) along with Kim Si-woo (27, both CJ Logistics). ‘Number 1’ Jon Rahm (Spain) is also in this group.

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