At Hole 3 (par 3) with 161 yards to the hole. Kim Si-woo picked an eight iron and confidently hit the tee shot. The ball fell right before the flag, before toppling into the cup. Kim momentarily looked confused and watched others’ reactions before smiling. The 25-year-old had his third career hole-in-one to take the lone lead in the tournament.
Due to this fantastic hole-in-one, Kim is close to winning his third career title in the PGA tour. Kim took the lone lead in the third round of the Wyndham Championship, which was held at Sedgefield Country Club (par 70) in Greensboro, North Carolina on Saturday local time. Kim reduced eight strokes by securing a hole-in-one, seven birdies, and one bogey on the day to post an interim score of 18-under 192. The South Korean golfer enjoyed two-stroke lead over the runner-ups, Rob Oppenheim and Doc Redman.
If Kim manages to maintain his lead in the fourth round, he will clinch his third career PGA win as well as 1.152 million U.S. dollars in prize money. Kim has had several great memories from the Wyndham Championship, where he won his first ever career PGA win at the same course in August 2016. Kim ranked fifth in last year’s event as well, repeatedly displaying stellar performance in the tournament.
Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com