"Fantastic Chemistry" Cantlay and Schauffele "This Time 12 Under Par 60"... Im Sungjae and An Byeonghun Tied for 14th Place

Published 24 Apr.2022 09:14(KST)

'2-Person Team Battle' Zurich Classic Day 3: Leading by 5 Strokes, Grace and Garrick Higo 'South African Duo' in 2nd Place

Patrick Cantlay (left) and Xander Schauffele are enjoying themselves right after the third round of the '2-man team battle' Zurich Classic. Avondale, USA = Getty Images / Multivitz Photo by Multivitz

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "This time, 12-under 60 strokes."

It's the "fantastic chemistry" of 'Playoff (PO) Champ' Patrick Cantlay and 'Tokyo Olympics Gold' Xander Schauffele. On the 24th (Korean time) at the Avondale Louisiana Golf Club (Par 72, 7,425 yards) in Louisiana, USA, during the third day of the PGA Tour's '2-man team battle' Zurich Classic (total prize money $8.3 million), they surged with a 12-under par to take a 5-stroke lead (29-under 187 strokes). They have been particularly strong in Four-ball (each player plays their own ball and the better score counts), showing a monstrous 13-under 59 strokes in the first round. The 2nd and 4th rounds are Foursomes (two players alternate shots with one ball).

They made one eagle and ten birdies, with Cantlay playing a key role with an eagle on the 7th hole (par 5) and six birdies. Especially in the back nine, they swept birdies on 8 out of 9 holes between the 10th-13th and 15th-18th holes. The South African duo Brandon Grace and Garrick Higgo are in second place (24-under 192 strokes), struggling to catch up. Sam Burns and Billy Horschel (both USA), Jason Day and Jason Scrivener (both Australia) are tied for third place (23-under 193 strokes).

The 'K Brothers,' Im Sung-jae (24) and An Byeong-hun (31, both CJ Logistics), combined for 8-under par to stand tied for 14th place (18-under 198 strokes). They are 11 strokes behind the leader, making a win difficult, but they are well positioned to enter the 'Top 10.' An Byeong-hun, after a slump last year that saw him drop to the Korn Ferry Tour (second-tier), secured a win at the February RSM Classic and was runner-up at the Veritex Bank Championship on the 17th, ensuring his return to the PGA Tour next year.

Defending champions Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman (both Australia) remained tied for 19th place (17-under 199 strokes). World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Ryan Palmer are also in this group. No. 2 Colin Morikawa (USA) and Viktor Hovland (Norway) are tied for 28th place (16-under 200 strokes). Jay Haas, along with his son Bill Haas (both USA), are tied for 38th place (12-under 204 strokes), satisfied with setting the PGA Tour's oldest cut-making record (68 years, 4 months, 20 days) the previous day.