China’s Carl Yuan enjoyed a strong finish for a 6-under 66 in the third round of Korn Ferry Tour Championship to stay in the fight of finishing as No. 1 in the season-long points race.
The 25-year-old Yuan, who has already secured his PGA TOUR card for the new season, hit eight birdies on the card including three over his closing four holes at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana to move up to joint sixth and three back of new tournament leader Justin Suh of the U.S.
Suh, a former world amateur No. 1, hit a superb 64 to hold a one-shot lead on 17-under over Tano Goya of Argentina and is projected to become the new Korn Ferry Tour No. 1 if Yuan cannot finish in a three-way tie for second or better, and current points leader Paul Haley II is unable to finish in solo third or higher. Haley II carded a 71 for T58.
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Finishing as No. 1 secures fully exempt status on the PGA TOUR in the new season and also entry into THE PLAYERS Championship and U.S. Open.
Korea’s Seonghyeon Kim returned a 65 to share sixth place on 14-under while Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who started the day in tied second place, endured a nightmarish 81 to fall all the way down to tied 65th place.
With just 18 holes remaining in the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season, the 25-year-old Suh took his first career lead and stood alone atop the leaderboard a bogey-free 8-under, the second-lowest score at Victoria National.
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Suh birdied four of his first five holes (Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 5), followed by four more at Nos. 9, 12, 15, and 16. The San Jose, California native’s 17-under 199 marks the lowest 54-hole score in a Korn Ferry Tour event at Victoria National, breaking the previous record of 16-under 200 established by Tom Lewis and Greyson Sigg in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
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“It was a hot start,” said Suh, who has already locked his PGA TOUR card and entered the week ranked No. 8. “I wasn’t making very long putts. It was just kind of 8-footers, 10-footers. We were hitting our numbers. It was, like I said, it was a very simple round, nothing got out of hand; we were always in position. I know I need a win to lock it up.”
