05/16/26 10:23:00
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05/16 10:21 CDT Michael Kim uses a fast start to charge up the leaderboard in
3rd round of PGA Championship
Michael Kim uses a fast start to charge up the leaderboard in 3rd round of PGA
Championship
By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) --- Michael Kim made the most of his new life at the
PGA Championship and shot a 5-under 30 on the front nine Saturday, using the
strength of six birdies to get off to a terrific start to the third round at
Aronimink Golf Club.
Kim, who has never finished better than 17th in any major, was outside the
cutline in Round 2 until he chipped in for eagle on his final shot to extend
his weekend.
He took advantage of his early start on moving day and cracked the top 10, well
before leaders Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy were set to tee off in the
afternoon. Kim made more birdies on the front nine Saturday than he did in the
first two rounds combined. He opened with three straight birdies before a bogey
on four.
Kim nearly holed out from the rough on the seventh and finished with his sixth
birdie in the first seven holes. He put the move in moving day, jumping from
93rd after one round to 53rd after the second to ninth through the first nine
holes at Aronimink.
Two long days at Aronimink produced the highest 36-hole score to par to lead
the PGA Championship in 14 years. The 15 players separated by two shots made it
the biggest logjam going into a weekend at a major since 2002.
The difference between first and worst among 82 players who made the cut was
only eight shots, unusually tight for any tournament, much less a major.
Kim's blistering start was an early sign that low scores might allow more
golfers to zip into contention in an already crowded leaderboard.
There was some serious cash at stake, as well as the prestige of winning a
major.
The PGA Championship raised its total prize fund this year to $20.5 million, a
$1.5 million increase from last year but still third among the three American
majors.
The winner's share will be $3,690,000.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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