Byeong-Hun An "Chance to Win in Comeback?"... '4th Place, 2 Strokes Behind'

Byeonghun An Opens Fortinet Championship 3R at 1-Under Par
Leads Lower, Defending Champ Homa and Willet Tied 2nd
Kuchar Tied 5th, 'Debut' Kim Seonghyun Tied 17th

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] An Byeong-hun (31) continued his hopes for victory in his comeback match.

Ahn Byung-hoon is making a bunker shot on the 5th hole on the third day of the Fortinet Championship. Napa (USA) = Getty Images / Multibits

On the 17th (local time), An Byeong-hun added 1 under par on the third day of the Fortinet Championship (total prize money $8 million), the opening event of the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season, held at Silverado Resort and Spa (par 72, 7,123 yards) in Napa, California, USA, and stood in 4th place (11 under par, 205 strokes). Justin Lower led (13 under par, 203 strokes), with last year's winner Max Homa (both USA) and 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett (England) tied for 2nd place (12 under par, 204 strokes).

An Byeong-hun started from a tie for 3rd place, 2 strokes behind, recording 4 birdies, 1 bogey, and 1 double bogey. He started brightly with a birdie on the 1st hole (par 4), and after a bogey on the 5th hole (par 5), he immediately recovered with a birdie on the 6th hole (par 4). He continued smoothly with birdies on the 9th hole (par 5) and 15th hole (par 3), but suffered a critical double bogey on the 16th hole (par 5) after his second shot landed in tree roots. He recorded a maximum drive of 366 yards and a green hit rate of 77.78%.

Being only 2 strokes behind the leader puts him in a position to expect his first career win on the PGA Tour stage. An Byeong-hun debuted on the PGA Tour in 2016 but was relegated to the Korn Ferry Tour (second tier) due to poor performance in the 2020-2021 season. He returned to the regular tour this year after ranking 13th in Korn Ferry Tour points last season. He has experience winning on the Korn Ferry Tour and the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour).

Kim Seong-hyun is teeing off on the first hole on the third day of the Fortinet Championship. Napa (USA) = Photo by Getty Images / Multibits

Matt Kuchar is tied for 5th place (10 under par, 206 strokes), and Rickie Fowler (both USA) is tied for 13th place (8 under par, 208 strokes). Rookie Kim Seong-hyun (24) from Korea recorded 5 birdies, 2 bogeys, and 1 double bogey, reducing 1 stroke. He was progressing at 3 under par over 10 holes but was disappointed with a bogey on the 11th hole (par 3) and a double bogey on the 13th hole (par 4). He is tied for 17th place (7 under par, 209 strokes). Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) struggled with 3 over par and dropped to tied 70th place (even par, 216 strokes).

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