Shane Lowry’s chances of making the FedEx Cup playoffs took a hit at the Wyndham Championship on Saturday after he started the day just one off the lead but finished nine shots behind Si Woo Kim after a level par round of 70.
South Korea’s Kim holds a two-shot lead heading into the final round after coming agonisingly close to making two holes-in-one on day three at Sedgefield Country Club.
Kim, who won this event in 2016 and the prestigious Players Championship in 2017, holed out with an eight iron on the third hole and amazingly lipped out for another ace on the 12th on his way to a third round of 62 in North Carolina.
The 25-year-old tapped in from 14 inches for birdie on the 12th and picked up three more shots on the 15th, 16th and 17th to finish 18 under par, two shots ahead of Americans Rob Oppenheim and Doc Redman.
Lowry was briefly part of a seven-way tie for the lead when he birdied the opening hole, but was frustrated by bogeys at the fourth, 11th, 12th and 18th while he made further birdies at the second, eighth and 16th.
Lowry began the week 131st in the FedEx Cup standings, with only the top 125 on Sunday advancing to the first playoff event, the Northern Trust, next week at TPC Boston.
The 33-year-old is currently projected to climb to 126th in the standings and has already made alternative plans if he does not make the playoffs.
“I’ve actually got a little trip planned with some friends in Rhode Island next week,” Lowry said. “Not that it’s a win-win, but at least I have something to look forward to if that doesn’t happen. We will play some golf, but not much.”
Meanwhile, Oppenheim, who has a best finish of eighth from his 76 career starts on the PGA Tour, also carded a 62 which included an eagle, seven birdies and a solitary bogey on the last, while Redman returned a 63.
Former FedEx Cup winner Billy Horschel is three shots off the lead following a 65, with Jim Herman and Mark Hubbard on 14 under.
Collated third round scores & total in the USPGA Tour Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield CC, Greensboro, North Carolina, United States of America (USA unless stated, par 70):
192 Si Woo Kim (Kor) 65 65 62
194 Doc Redman 67 64 63, Rob Oppenheim 66 66 62
195 Billy Horschel 66 64 65
196 Mark Hubbard 67 65 64, Jim Herman 66 69 61
197 Peter Malnati 68 65 64, Webb Simpson 66 66 65
198 Talor Gooch 65 65 68, Zach Johnson 70 67 61, Harold Varner III 62 69 67, Tyler Duncan 68 64 66, Kevin Kisner 69 64 65
199 Jason Kokrak 69 63 67, Russell Henley 68 68 63, Sungjae Im (Kor) 69 64 66, Harris English 64 67 68
200 Kristoffer Ventura (Nor) 69 68 63, Roger Sloan (Can) 62 70 68, Sam Burns 67 68 65, Dylan Frittelli (Rsa) 69 65 66, Patrick Reed 65 68 67
201 Luke List 68 67 66, Adam Schenk 67 67 67, Bud Cauley 66 68 67, Kramer Hickok 69 67 65, Jason Dufner 69 65 67, Cameron Davis (Aus) 71 65 65, Bol Hoag 66 68 67, Denny McCarthy 67 68 66, Joaquin Niemann (Chi) 70 66 65, Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) 69 64 68, Shane Lowry (Irl) 68 63 70, Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa) 67 67 67, Will Gordon 68 69 64
202 Andrew Landry 66 65 71, Christopher Baker 71 63 68, Ryan Armour 73 64 65, Paul Casey (Eng) 67 66 69, Brandt Snedeker 70 67 65, Tom Hoge 62 68 72
203 Chris Kirk 66 69 68, Vincent Whaley 71 66 66, Brinson Paolini 71 66 66, Brian Harman 65 71 67, Patrick Rodgers 70 66 67, Michael Gligic (Can) 67 69 67
204 Hank Lebioda 65 71 68, Adam Long 68 65 71, Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa) 71 64 69, Chesson Hadley 65 69 70, Seamus Power (Irl) 68 69 67, Josh Teater 67 70 67, Matthias Schwab (Aut) 67 69 68
205 Brian Stuard 70 66 69, Scott Brown 66 71 68, Wesley Bryan 65 70 70, Austin Cook 69 67 69, Ryan Brehm 64 69 72, Matt Every 68 67 70, Tom Lewis (Eng) 67 68 70
206 Peter Uihlein 71 65 70, Henrik Norlander (Swe) 67 68 71, Scott Stallings 70 66 70, Matthew NeSmith 69 67 70, Patton Kizzire 66 67 73
207 Ben Martin 71 66 70, Matt Jones (Aus) 68 67 72, Davis Love III 69 67 71, Sebastian Munoz (Col) 67 67 73, Troy Merritt 67 69 71, Jordan Spieth 70 67 70
208 Cheng-Tsung Pan (Tai) 68 64 76, Scott Piercy 68 66 74
209 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 67 70 72, Russell Knox (Sco) 73 64 72
212 Nate Lashley 66 69 77
