Seoul: Kim Si-woo of South Korea is five strokes off the lead heading into the final round of the season’s second major championship on the PGA Tour. Kim shot an even-par 71 in the third round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. This positioned him in a tie for fifth place at six-under for the tournament, putting him five shots behind the leader, Scottie Scheffler of the United States, with 18 holes remaining.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim briefly took the lead during the third round while playing in the same group with Scheffler but eventually exchanged three birdies for three bogeys, including one on the par-4, 482-yard 18th. Kim aims to join Yang Yong-eun, the 2009 PGA Championship winner, as the only South Koreans to win a major title. Despite his efforts, Kim has not achieved a top-10 finish in his 31 career appearances at the four major tournaments: the Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, and the Open Championship.
“It was a tough day and then wi
nds kind of kept switching, hurting and sometimes helping,” Kim said. “I just played well the last three rounds. So just have one more round, try to have fun and go as low as I can tomorrow.”
Kim is tasked with catching Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked player, who is regarded as the best ball striker since the peak of Tiger Woods. Scheffler is pursuing his third career major win and his first PGA Championship title after shooting 65, the lowest round of the day. This marked the first occasion in Scheffler’s major championship career where he shot the outright best round of the day.
Scheffler finished the round with eagle-birdie-par-birdie-birdie over the final five holes. He has previously been the 54-hole leader at a major on two occasions, the 2022 and 2024 Masters, winning both tournaments.
Meanwhile, two other South Korean players made the cut but remain far from contention. Tom Kim shot 75 in the third round, placing him at five-over for the tournament and tied for 63rd. An Byeong-hun posted 79, stan
ding at eight-over after three days, tied for 72nd.