From pgatour.com
China’s Haotong Li endured a disappointing back nine at TPC Harding Park as his chase for major glory at the PGA Championship came unstuck on Saturday.
With an overnight two-shot lead, the young Chinese held his own for much of the third round before running into trouble by dropping four shots over a four-hole stretch from the 13th hole.
He signed for a 3-over 73 to drop into a share of 13th place and will enter the final day four strokes behind Dustin Johnson who leads on 9-under 201.
Johnson, a 21-time winner on the PGA Tour, produced eight birdies for his 65 and leads by one from Scottie Scheffler (65) and Cameron Champ (67).
Lurking dangerously
Defending champion and two-time winner of the Wanamaker Trophy, Brooks Koepka has had rounds of 68-68-69 and is on 7-under, two back of DJ.
Johnson was one of eight who led or shared the lead at some point on Moving Day, a third round that saw low scores, long putts and endless possibilities.
“I’m going to have to play good golf if I want to win. It’s simple,” Johnson said later.
“I’ve got to hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. If I can do that tomorrow, I’m going to have a good chance coming down the stretch.
“I’m just going to have to do what I did today. Just get it done.”
In the running
Korea’s Si Woo Kim fired a 68 to put himself on the fringe of contention alongside Li on 205. Kim made five birdies on the day, including two in his last three holes from 17 feet and eight feet.
A day after becoming the first Chinese golfer to lead at a major, the 25-year-old Li kept himself on top of the leader-board through 12 holes with birdies on holes 7 and 12 against an early bogey on the fifth.
His troubles however began on the 13th hole when he lost his ball in the trees on a wayward drive which led to a double bogey six. He went on to drop further shots on hole nos. 14 and 16.
A member of the Internationals at the Presidents Cup last year, Li arrived in San Francisco in search of form.
He missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament and finishing in a tie for 75th place at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational last week.
Li’s best finish in a major was third place in the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale where he closed with a 63.
He will be hoping to replicate the herculean effort for a crack at major glory on Sunday.
Kim has not made a cut in four previous appearances at the PGA Championship but has produced rounds of 69, 68 and 68 this week.
A strong finish will also enhance his bid to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs as he currently sits 139th on the points list. The top 125, after next week’s Wyndham Championship, qualify for the Playoffs.
Asia’s lone major victory to date was delivered by Korea’s Y.E. Yang when he won the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine.
Also read: Li brings his own flavour of China to San Francisco
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