Sungjae Im "Chasing Tied 6th at 4 Shots Behind"... Scheffler 'Leads'

‘Special Class Tournament’ WM Phoenix Open Round 3

‘Newlywed’ Im Sung-jae is in the race for the championship.

On the 11th (local time), Im Sung-jae posted a 4-under-par in the third round of the PGA Tour WM Phoenix Open (total prize money $20 million) held at TPC Scottsdale (par 71, 7,261 yards) in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, moving into a tie for 6th place (9-under-par 204 strokes). World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler leads (13-under-par 200 strokes), while World No. 3 Jon Rahm (Spain) and Nick Taylor (Canada) are tied for 2nd place (11-under-par 202 strokes).

Im Sung-jae

Known as the ‘liberation zone of golf,’ the WM Phoenix Open is the only stage in the global golf world where drinking and loud cheering are allowed. To counter LIV Golf, which is backed by Saudi Arabian capital, the PGA Tour significantly increased the prize money for nine regular tournaments this year, and the WM Phoenix Open was also promoted to a ‘special match.’

Im Sung-jae collected five birdies (one bogey). He gained momentum with consecutive birdies on holes 3 and 4, and although his birdie on the 13th hole (par 5) was offset by a bogey on the 14th hole (par 4), he showed strong finishing power by making ‘stepping stone birdies’ on the 15th and 17th holes. Im demonstrated his long-hitting ability by making birdies on all three par-5 holes. He is four strokes behind the leader and has a chance to claim his third career win for the first time in 1 year and 4 months since winning the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open.

Defending champion Scheffler shot 3-under-par to maintain his position at the top of the leaderboard. He is poised to achieve his fifth career win with this title defense. Jordan Spieth is tied for 4th place (10-under-par 203 strokes), and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele (both from the USA) are tied for 6th place. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) is tied for 28th place (3-under-par 210 strokes).

From Korea, Kim Si-woo improved by 4 strokes to jump to a tie for 20th place (5-under-par 208 strokes). ‘PGA crowd-puller’ Kim Joo-hyung lost 2 strokes with one birdie, one bogey, and one double bogey, slipping to a tie for 28th place. 2021 runner-up Lee Kyung-hoon finished even par, tied for 48th place (1-under-par 212 strokes).

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