Si Woo Kim moved into a one-shot lead at the American Express in California on Saturday, carding a third-round 66 to edge ahead of Scottie Scheffler and teenager Blades Brown with 18 holes remaining.
The South Korean, bidding to win the tournament for a second time, sits top of the leaderboard on 22 under par after a round featuring seven birdies and a lone bogey. Kim played his third round at La Quinta Country Club, one of the three courses used across the opening days of the event.
“Just not thinking about trying to win or trying to finish, just enjoy the round,” Kim said. “That’s my goal.”
World number one Scheffler and 18-year-old American Brown are tied for second on 21 under after both signed for rounds of 68 on the Pete Dye Stadium Course. Scheffler, making his first PGA Tour appearance of the season, mixed six birdies with two bogeys in blustery conditions.
“I think I did pretty good,” Scheffler said. “There’s definitely challenging aspects to playing in the wind out here. I’ve just got to be a little sharper tomorrow.”
Brown continues to impress in just his third PGA Tour start and would become the second youngest winner in Tour history with victory. He picked up five birdies and one bogey, with three of those birdies coming on the closing stretch, including a 44-foot putt on the 18th.
“That to me is a lot of fun,” Brown said. “I love environments like that, especially 17. There’s so many people around it, it gets your adrenaline up. And that’s what you play and practise for, right?”
He added: “Another 18 holes and we’re going to see what we can do.”
Behind the leading trio, Wyndham Clark and Eric Cole sit at 20 under, while Tom Hoge, Matt McCarty and Andrew Putnam are a further shot back. England’s Matt Fitzpatrick is tied on 15 under, alongside Rickie Fowler, with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and Australia’s Adam Scott at 14 under.
Round three leaderboard
-22 Si Woo Kim (Kor)
-21 Blades Brown (US), Scottie Scheffler (US)
-20 Wyndham Clark (US), Eric Cole (US)
-19 Tom Hoge (US), Matt McCarty (US), Andrew Putnam (US)
