Reporter Gyu-Bin Hong = World No. 2 Scotty Scheffler (USA) is one step closer to regaining the No. 1 spot.
Schaeffler shot a 4 under par 68 in the 3rd round of the PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational (total prize money of $20 million) held at Bayhill Club & Lodge (par 72) in Orlando, Florida on the 5th (Korean time).
With an interim total of 8 under par 208, Schaeffler tied for second place with Viktor Hovlan (Norway). He is one stroke behind the sole leader, Kurt Kitayama (USA).
As world No. 1 Yon Ram (Spain) sluggish with a 1-over-par 217 strokes (tied for 44th place), Schaeffler raised hopes of recapturing the top in two weeks.
According to the ‘Golf Channel’, an American golf media outlet, the rankings of the two will change if Schaeffler records a tie for second place or higher without Ram falling into the final top 25.
Previously, Schaeffler pushed Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) to the top of the world rankings by winning the WM Phoenix Open on the 13th of last month, but had to give up his seat to Ram, who won the Genesis Invitational a week later on the 20th.
Schaeffler, who is also the defending champion, is also aiming for a different record of success in two consecutive title defenses in the season following the WM Phoenix Open along with two consecutive victories in the tournament.
Scheffler did not start so well, exchanging birdies and bogeys two each in the first half of the day, and then writing the first bogey in the second half in hole 11 (par 4).
However, he managed to rebound by driving 5 birdies on holes 12-18.
In particular, on hole 17 (par 3), he almost made a hole-in-one, landing a tee shot right next to the hole and catching a birdie.
World No. 3 McIlroy drove 4 birdies without a bogey on the day, recording 6 under par 210 strokes and tied for 5th place.
It was sluggish with a 1-over par on the first day, but continued its upward trend by leaping to a tie for 20th place (2 under par 142 strokes) in the second round.
If McIlroy wins the trophy in this competition, he can regain the world’s No. 1 ranking.
On the other hand, Ram poured out 4 birdies and 8 bogeys that day, and slipped to 44th place with a 1-over-par 217 in the middle. 메이저사이트
In the first round, he hit 7 under par to start as the sole leader, but in the second round, he lost four strokes and fell to 13th place.
Among Korean players, Lim Seong-jae (25) tied for 19th with a 2 under par 214 strokes.
Lim Seong-jae has been ranked third in this competition for two consecutive years in 2019 and 2020.
Kim Joo-hyung (21), who hit a 2-over-par 218, is tied for 52nd, and Kim Seong-hyun (25), Lee Gyeong-hoon (32), and Kim Si-woo (28) are tied for 59th with a 3-over-par, 219 strokes.