Korea’s Kim Si-woo ready for final push at The American Express

Korea's Kim Si-woo hits from the 11th tee on the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West during the third round of The American Express golf tournament on Jan. 20 in La Quinta, California. [AP/YONHAP]

Korea's Kim Si-woo fired a third round 6-under-par, 66, at the PGA West Stadium Course on Saturday, keeping alive an outside chance of winning The American Express for the second time.

Kim, the first Asian winner in 2021, heads into the final round in tied fifth position, but trails surprise amateur leader Nick Dunlap by seven strokes behind. Dunlap, the 20-year-old reigning U.S. Amateur winner, seized the 54-hole lead with a scintillating 12-under-par, 60, at La Quinta Country Club, and holds a three-shot lead over second round leader Sam Burns.

Dunlap's 27-under-par, 189, puts him in pole position to become the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour in three decades, and also become second-youngest winner in the past 90 years.

It was a challenging day for two-time PGA Tour winner Lee Kyoung-hoon, who started the third round in joint third but he slid down the leaderboard after a 74 at the Stadium Course. Im Sung-jae of Korea and Kevin Yu of Chinese Taipei impressed at La Quinta, posting a 66 and 65 respectively for T12 at 18-under.

Japanese rookie Ryo Hisatsune finished a further two strokes back at T23 after a 68 at the Stadium Course. China's Lin Yuxin sits at T39 with a 68, bringing his tally to 14-under, 202.

Kim's ball-striking accuracy continued to pay off as he has now gone bogey-free for the second straight day. Aside from missing only one fairway out of 28, he hit 32 out of 36 greens in regulation.

Starting from the 10th tee on Saturday, Kim, winner of The American Express in 2021, also relied on a hot putter on several occasions, rolling in a 33-footer for eagle on the 16th hole. Moments earlier, he sank a birdie from 24 feet on the 15th. Additional shots gained by Kim were from Hole Nos. 18, 4, and 8.

Despite his solid performance, he believes there were missed opportunities. “I played another solid round. I didn't make any bogeys, but had some disappointing holes," said Kim, who previously won the 2017 Players Championship amongst his four career Tour titles to date.

"If only I could convert all those positive chances into birdies, I would have a good result tomorrow. I hope to prepare well and seize that chance tomorrow."

Playing on a sponsor exemption, Dunlap, a sophomore at the University of Alabama, found himself with a genuine chance of becoming the first amateur winner on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991.

After impressive rounds of 64 and 65, it became apparent that Dunlap's best performance was yet to come. He delivered a career-low round that included an eagle, 10 birdies, and no bogeys en route to matching Patrick Cantlay's record from the 2011 Travelers Championship.

“I’ve played four, I guess, PGA Tour-sanctioned events, counting the two U.S. Opens, I think those are different, they’re kind of their own animal. But, no, I’m still trying to learn as much as I can and how some of these golf courses are different from college, but they're still similar," said Dunlap.

"Playing in front of the crowds, and, no, I've enjoyed it. I'm going to stick to what I've been doing, and that's just give myself as many birdie chances as possible."

At 20 years and 29 days, Dunlap could potentially become the youngest amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Chick Evans, at the 1910 Western Open at 20 years, 1 month, 15 days, if he secures the title on Sunday

BY CHUAH CHOO CHIANG [kjdsports@joongang.co.kr]