Rory McIlroy of Nothern Ireland (right) throwing his golf ball during the third round of the Kolon Korea Open at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club near Cheonan. The $1m tournament is part of the OneAsia Circuit.
Simpson grabs Las Vegas lead
LAS VEGAS: Webb Simpson, seeking his first US PGA Tour win since his 2012 US Open triumph, fired an eight-under 63 yesterday to take a four-shot halfway lead in the Shriners’ Hospitals Open.
Webb had nine birdies and one bogey at TPC Summerlin, where his 15-under total of 127 put him four shots in front of a group of five players.
American JJ Henry, who held the first-round lead with a sparkling 60, carded an even-par 71 to join the bunch on 131, which also included Australian John Senden (66) and Americans Jeff Overton (68), Chesson Hadley (66) and Jason Bohn (64).
The defending champion in the $6m event, Ryan Moore, matched Simpson for the low round of the day with a 63 that put him tied for seventh on 132 with Scotland’s Russell Knox, who posted a 65.
“I hit a couple of loose shots today, but just really managed to make putts and take advantage of the holes that you have to make birdie on,” Simpson said.
He has hit 32 of 36 greens in regulation over the first two rounds, and averaged just 1.53 putts per green. AFP
SEOUL: Former world number one Rory McIlroy shot himself out of contention in the third round yesterday at the Kolon Korea Open.
The two-time major champion struck a four-over 75 at the par-71 Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, south of Seoul.
The Northern Irish star, the marquee attraction at the $1m OneAsia event, had three bogeys and one double bogey along with a lone birdie, falling to one-over 214 for the tournament.
He began the day tied for fifth, but ended it tied for 13th, 10 strokes behind the leader Kim Hyung-Tae of South Korea.
Kim poured in five birdies against no bogey for his second straight round of five-under 66.
“I had a good feeling about this week,” Kim said. “I am playing with confidence.”
At 204, he holds a four-stroke lead over compatriot Hong Soon-Sang, the second-round leader who shot an even 71 on Saturday.
South Korean Mo Joong-kyung is another shot behind at four-under 209.
Defending champion Kim Dae-Sub reached three-under thanks to a bogey-free 68 yesterday.
Five other South Koreans were tied at two-under on a leader board dominated by the locals.
McIlroy, who had a month-long break before kicking off his Asian swing here, had been hoping to pick up his first win of 2013 at the South Korean national championship.
He went out in an even 36 after trading in a birdie with a bogey and then the bottom fell out on the back nine.
He had a double bogey on the par-4 10th, and a bogey on the par-4 11th. Another bogey on the par-4 15th was his final undoing.
“I wanted to come here and play. It’s nothing about trying to build confidence or anything like that,” McIlroy said. “I guess more than anything else I wanted to shake the rust off this week and try and get into contention -- and obviously try to win.” AFP
