Si Woo Kim leads interesting mix of players at Wyndham Championship
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Si Woo Kim nearly makes two aces in Round 3 at Wyndham
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Si Woo Kim expected to be nervous. After all, it had been a while since he’d been in contention, and here he was playing in the final group on Saturday at the Wyndham Championship.
All that changed on the third hole at Sedgefield Country Club, though, when his 8-iron found the bottom of the cup at the 161-yard par 3. Kim nearly made another hole-in-one on the back nine, too, but this time the ball lipped out, leaving him a 14-inch birdie putt.
When it rains, it pours. Only it didn’t on Saturday until several hours after play was completed around 2 p.m. and Kim was safely in the clubhouse with a very solid 62 and a two-stroke lead.
The ace produced one of the funnier moments on yet another day with virtually no fans in this COVID-19 era on the PGA TOUR. Kim heard a scream by the green and knew he’d hit a good shot, but the 2017 PLAYERS champion didn’t see the ball go in -- instead looking quizzically for some sort of sign.
“I only knew it was an ace because there was someone with a radio by the tee box that told me. After hearing that, I was really happy because I wasn’t expecting it,” said Kim, who did see the lipout at No. 12 later, tossing his club to the ground and raising his arms into the air.
Chasing the winner of the 2016 Wyndham Championship on Sunday will be an interesting mix of players searching for their first PGA TOUR victories like Rob Oppenheim, Doc Redman and Mark Hubbard and the requisite North Carolinians in Redman, double-dipping here, Webb Simpson and Harold Varner.
Simpson, who like Kim is a former winner of the Wyndham Championship, has finished third-second-second in his last three starts here. He may be five strokes back after bogeying the final hole on the way to a 65, but there’s no one more comfortable on this Donald Ross gem than he is.
“I played great,” he said, shrugging off that bogey. “It's probably the best I've played in a long time, I just didn't capitalize when I needed to. Today could have been a really low one and just dropped a couple shots. So definitely a little frustrating, you know, to end like that, but still a good day.”
All but 25 of the 77 players who made the cut broke par on Saturday when Sedgefield played to an average of 67.8. And with overnight rains in the forecast you can expect more scores like the 61s relinquished to Herman and Zach Johnson in the third round.
“I mean, ball in hand, greens are pretty soft,” Simpson reported. “Pins weren't easy, but there were some good pins, and this is the type of golf course, if you drive it in the fairway, you're going to have plenty of opportunities all day.
“I'd like to have got a couple more, but still got a chance tomorrow and that's all you can ask for.”
The late-blooming, 40-year-old Oppenheim, who is bidding to move into the top 125 and make the FedExCup Playoffs next week for the first time in his third year on TOUR, was the beneficiary of a career-low 62. Adding to his motivation? He’s from Salem, Massachusetts, which is 80 minutes from TPC Boston where THE NORTHERN TRUST will be played next week.
It wouldn’t be the first time Oppenheim played the course in competition, though. He made his PGA TOUR debut there back in 2006, the year before the Playoffs began, missing the cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Oppenheim, who likely needs to finish fifth or higher to make it to Boston, is tied for second with Redman, the Chapel Hill native and former Clemson star who won the 2017 U.S. Amateur after getting a pep talk the night before from the Tiger’s head football coach Dabo Swinney. But it’s Oppenheim who landed in Sunday’s final group with Kim and he’s excited to see how he’ll handle the challenge.
“It’s what we play for, to kind of put ourselves in these situations and see how you handle it,” Oppenheim said. “I haven't been in this situation, I've never been in one of the last two or three groups on Sunday, but I've been in plenty of situations where I've been fighting to keep my job or trying to get out here.
“(You) don't get much more pressure than that, I don't think. Maybe to win a major, this, that. We'll see tomorrow what I'm feeling, but I'm excited. I like the golf course, very comfortable here, so I'm looking forward to it.”
Redman’s 63 on Saturday equaled his career low round in 34 starts on TOUR. He said he benefitted from a relaxed round playing with Varner, the popular East Carolina grad who turned 30 on Saturday, and Andrew Landry. Sunday’s date with Billy Horschel in the penultimate pairing could be a different story as Redman tries to win for the first time.
Redman, whose career-best finish is second at the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic, plans to try to stay out of his own way in the final round. Should he win, he’d be the third North Carolinian to hoist the Sam Snead Trophy in the last six years.
“I think just allowing myself to play great, not letting myself get ahead of myself or just worry about speed on the greens; they're really quick,” he said. “Just kind of trust myself and see what happens.”
Who knows, maybe Swinney will be calling to offer congratulations come Sunday night.