After carding a 5-under 65 in Round 3, the 22-year-old is at 18 under and one step ahead of Scottie Scheffler and Akshay Bhatia heading into Sunday’s decider. A win at TPC River Highlands would be the fourth – and certainly the biggest – of Kim’s young career, but it would have to be earned with a number of hidden stars.
After experiencing a somewhat rough start with a few bogeys in the early part of his innings, Scheffler rallied late with five birdies over his final six holes to put his name back into contention at 17 under. . Having shared birthdays, practice rounds and time off the golf course with Kim, the two will now share final round tee times together as they wrestle for the title, the season’s last signature event.
Scheffler kept pace with her partner, Bhatia, who kept the pace and would complete that final threesome on Sunday thanks to back-to-back birdies at Nos. 17-18. Meanwhile, Sungjae Im is looking for his first win on the PGA Tour in two years, after twice falling behind at 16 under, he is tied with 2022 champion Xander Schauffele thanks to a 40-foot birdie attempt.
Overall, there are 10 players within five strokes of Kim’s lead after 54 holes, including heavy hitters like Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Shane Lowry, Patrick Cantlay and Mr. 59 himself, Cameron Young, the biggest Are competing for one of the. Trophies on the PGA Tour sports calendar.
Leader
1. Tom Kim (-18)
It took him 40 holes, but Kim dropped his first (and only) shot of the tournament when he three-putted from 11 feet on the par-4 4th. Things could have started to move quickly for the young gun as names like Scheffler, Schauffele and Morikawa made their moves and knocked Kim out of the lead for the first time since Thursday. However, he played hard and played his last 14 holes at 6 under and gained a one stroke lead with one round to play.
“I’ll go out tomorrow with the same game plan and try to do the same things I’ve been doing and if it’s good enough, that’s great, but if someone is better than that, I’m nothing about it.” So just go in with the expectation that it’s a stacked leaderboard, a 5-, 6-shot lead is not safe at all, so I’ll have to go out and have the same game plan tomorrow. ”
other contenders
T2. Scottie Scheffler, Akshay Bhatia (-17)
T4. Xander Schauffele, Sungjae Im (-16)
6. Collin Morikawa (-15)
T7. Tony Finau, Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas (-14)
T10. Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay (-13)
For a portion of the back nine, Scheffler looked a little rough as he missed a shot on the short par 3 and missed a tee shot wide which sent the second shot wide. Leading by as much as three at one point, this season’s five-time winner put on his hard hat and got to work. Five birdies over the course of his final six holes, including a laser at the tricky par-4 17th and another tap-in distance on his finisher, positioned the Texan beautifully for another sprint to the winner’s circle.
“Sometimes when you’re in a pair you can feed each other the wrong or right way,” Scheffler said. “Today, especially at the end, we were telling each other what I would say the right way. That’s always a good thing.”
Cameron Young made his final card of the season
Former PGA Tour Rookie of the Year 13th player in PGA Tour history to card a sub-60 round Saturday at TPC River Highlands. After playing his first four holes in 5-under fashion, Cameron Young had a pair of birdies on his front nine and moved up to a tie for 28th. A birdie at No. 13 was followed by his second eagle of the round on the short par-4 15th. , One last round on his scorecard was put on the par-4 17th, meaning a par on the final round was good enough for Young’s 59. Coming into the week, Young had carded nine consecutive rounds at par-or-worse and coming into today, he didn’t feel particularly good about his chances either. That’s just golf.
“Woke up, would have liked to go back to sleep,” Young said. “Did exactly the same thing I do every day by coming to the golf course, got coffee, ate, saw the physio, and went out there, warmed up. Didn’t feel particularly amazing. I hit a few fewer balls on the range than I did Yesterday. Then, yes, came out and was very comfortable and things started getting closer to the hole.”
2024 Travelers Championship updated odds and selections
- Scotty Scheffler: 3/2
- Tom Kim: 7/2
- Xander Schauffele: 5-1
- Akshay Bhatia: 7-1
- Sungjae Im: 12-1
- Collin Morikawa: 12-1
Kim has been the best player in all the right areas this week. He is hitting putts with consistency, splitting fairways, and hitting his approach shots from close. He shouldn’t be phased by being paired with Scheffler as the two are good friends and he has enough horsepower to reach a winning score of 25 under.