Séamus Power is safely through to the final round of the American Express Championship after a four-under 68 while Si Woo Kim leapfrogged Scottie Scheffler and 18-year-old Blades Brown to hit the front.
Power, playing the Nicklaus Tournament Course, birdied three of his opening nine holes to remain on course to make his second consecutive cut after a T31 finish at the season-opening Sony Open in Hawaii.
Having had little to no wind during the opening two rounds, a steady breeze on moving day meant that the extreme low scoring of days one and two wasn’t replicated, and two further birdies on the back with just the one dropped shot got him into the clubhouse at 13-under-par, tied for 37th, with two shots to spare.
World number one Scottie Scheffler was bogey-free through 36 holes and held a share of the lead with teenager Blades Brown who was playing his seventh straight round after competing in the Korn Ferry Tour event in the Bahamas and flying directly to Palm Springs on the eve of the tournament.
Scheffler’s bogey-free streak came to an end on the third hole in round three, but three birdies in a four-hole stretch from the fifth put him right back in touch with the leaders, and he birdied three more on the back, dropping another shot on 13 to end the day at 21-under.
Brown, who like Scheffler was playing the Pete Dye Stadium Course on which the final round will be played, made the turn at -1 after two birdies and a bogey. Six pars got him to the 16th at -18, and he was left needing to birdie the final three holes if he was to have a chance of playing in the final round on Sunday.
He did exactly that, moving to 21-under alongside Scheffler, and they’ll form the final trio along with Si Woo Kim, winner of this event in 2021, who shot a six-under 66 at La Quinta Country Club to take pole position.
The Korean – a four-time PGA Tour winner – has made his home in Dallas and is a regular practice partner of Scheffler’s, with the world number one admitting that the last time they’d played together, it was Kim who took the money, though he hinted that the overall record still lies in Scheffler’s favour.
“Yes, I gave him back a little of his money,” he said with a smile, adding that Kim was quite the character.
“Have you ever spent any time with him? He’s hilarious!”
Brown, who is playing on a sponsor’s exemption, is having the time of his life.
“I’m 18 years old playing on the PGA TOUR. How awesome is that?” Brown said. “(I) finished high school about two weeks ago, so it’s nice to have that burden off my back, but I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.
“I feel great. I got another opportunity to see what we can make happen tomorrow. Got another 18 holes and, yeah, should be fun.”
Eric Cole, who set the clubhouse target, getting the best of the conditions, and 2022 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark are tied for fourth at -20, with Tom Hoge, Andrew Putnam and Matt McCarty sharing sixth one shot further back.
Ludvig Aberg withdrew from illness prior to the third round, while Justin Rose and Tony Finau were among the big names to miss the cut.
Leave a comment