Si Woo Kim keeps fight alive at BMW Championship

Korea’s Si Woo Kim fought to a 1-under 71 for tied seventh place in the third round of the $20 millions BMW Championship on Saturday to keep alive his hopes of advancing into the FedExCup Playoffs finale, the TOUR Championship next week.

Kim, a four-time PGA TOUR winner, traded five birdies against four bogeys at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado for a 6-under total and trails 54-hole leader Keegan Bradley, who shot a 70 to lead on 12-under. Bradley will take a one-shot advantage into the final round over overnight leader Adam Scott of Australia (74), with Swedish duo Ludvig Åberg (71) and Alex Noren (70) sharing third place on 10-under.

Another Korean Sungjae Im returned a 73 for tied ninth on 5-under while Byeong Hun An carded a 71 for a share of 18thplace, a further shot back.

Kim knows he must improve on his driving accuracy after missing six fairways which contributed to his dropped shots. The back nine at Castle Pines has also proven to be a tricky challenge for the Korean star who is 3-over on the inward stretch through 54-holes. With 18-holes remaining, he is projected to move from 44th to 33rd place on the FedExCup points list, with the top-30 on Sunday advancing into the TOUR Championship at East Lake, Atlanta.

“It was a tough day. Started well on the front nine with a few good birdies but the back nine was challenging. I missed a few fairways and you get penalized when you are in the rough here. I fought hard and was disappointed to bogey the last,” said Kim.

He is ready to give it his all on Sunday as he is also fighting for a spot in the International Team on the upcoming Presidents Cup, which the automatic top-six players will be confirmed next month after the BMW Championship. Kim is currently ranked 14thon the team list and is hopeful a strong finish will ensure he remains in captain Mike Weir’s plans for the six automatic picks who will be named after the TOUR Championship.

“I’m still in a good position and have everything to play for tomorrow to try and keep my season going and qualify for the TOUR Championship. I just need to play the back nine better,” said Kim, who has played in two Presidents Cups and was the team’s leading scorer with three points at Quail Hollow in 2022.

Im, who is presently ranked 10th on the FexExCup points list, is certain to qualify for his sixth successive TOUR Championship while An is projected to remain in 15th position to make his first appearance in the Playoffs Finale, which will crown the 2024 FedExCup champion.