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Moving day at the 2023 Shriners Open certainly lived up to its billing with huge changes taking place at the top of the leaderboard. Defending champion, Tom Kim, soared through the middle of the pack with an outstanding round of 62 on day three and he takes a share of the lead into the final round on Sunday.
Joining him at the top of the leaderboard are Lanton Griffin, who had a share of the lead after day two, and Adam Hadwin, who was well-fancied at the start of the week. There are still several players in contention for the tournament which sets us up for a potentially thrilling final day of action around TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.
Shriners Open 2023 leaderboard
Contents
Position/Player | Score | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
T1 | L.Griffin (USA) | -15 | 64 | 66 | 68 | |
T1 | A.Hadwin (CAN) | -15 | 67 | 68 | 63 | |
T1 | T.Kim (KOR) | -15 | 68 | 68 | 62 | |
T4 | T.Pendrith (CAN) | -14 | 69 | 65 | 65 | |
T4 | V.Whaley (USA) | -14 | 68 | 66 | 65 | |
T4 | K.H.Lee (KOR) | -14 | 69 | 64 | 66 | |
T7 | C.Tarren (ENG) | -13 | 70 | 68 | 62 | |
T7 | A.Svensson (CAN) | -13 | 70 | 65 | 65 | |
T7 | I.Salinda (USA) | -13 | 69 | 68 | 63 | |
T7 | J.T.Poston (USA) | -13 | 63 | 69 | 68 |
Highlights from round two
Kim takes pole position
Tom Kim was the favourite this week before a ball had been struck and after a mediocre opening two days, the young Korean showed why he was deserving of that tag. Kim is the defending champion here and last year shot -24 over four rounds to win by three strokes. It’s unlikely he will get to that number again but his 62 on Saturday has at least given him a great chance of defending his crown.
Kim started the day four shots adrift of the leaders but didn’t waste any time in cutting that gap, birdieing four of the opening six holes. After giving one back on eight, he nailed an eagle on the 9th hole to make the turn at five-under par. On the back nine, he combined five birdies with a bogey to round off an excellent day’s work.
TOM KIM FOR THE 62 pic.twitter.com/ArIcJlgDW2
— Fore Play (@ForePlayPod) October 14, 2023
Plenty of Canadian interest
It’s been a good year for Canadians on the PGA Tour. They have had four winners on the tour and Nick Taylor ended the 69-year wait for a Canadian winner of the Canadian Open back in June. After Saturday at the Shriners Open, there is a chance that four could become five with several Canadians now in contention.
Adam Hadwin, who hasn’t won on the tour since 2017, has the co-lead thanks to an impressive round of 63 while Taylor Pendrith and Adam Svensson are just one and two shots back respectively. Nick Taylor isn’t out of the running yet, either, with the Canadian Open champion sitting on -12 with 18 holes to play.
Tarren and Salinda feed off each other
The hottest group on Saturday was undoubtedly that of Callum Tarren and Isaiah Salinda. Salinda isn’t a familiar name on the PGA Tour and only qualified for the event on Monday but is more than making the most of this opportunity. On Saturday, they combined for a best-ball score of 55 at TPC Summerlin and both men had a chance of carding sub-60 rounds on a par 71 with two holes to play.
Tarren found himself ten-under-par after a birdie on 16 but his tee shot on the par-three 17th found the water that surrounds the green. The Englishman ended up shooting a double bogey but pulled things back nicely with a birdie on 18. Salinda, meanwhile, was nine-under-par after 16 holes but finished with a par and a bogey and had to settle for a 63. Both men are two shots adrift of the leaders and will fancy their chances on Sunday.
Confident and in control.
Callum Tarren’s performance today says it all. 🏌️♂️ #ShrinersOpen | #PGATOUR pic.twitter.com/268cQg1UDg
— Shriners Children’s Open (@ShrinersOpen) October 14, 2023
A day to forget for Cameron Champ
Cameron Champ was in a positive frame of mind after the second round of the tournament, saying that he was enjoying the game of golf again. That outlook may well have changed after his performance on Saturday as he fell from the top of the leaderboard to a tie for 24th following a disappointing round of 74.
Only four players out of the 68 still left in the field carded a worse round than Champ on Saturday and he is now six shots off the pace with 18 holes to play. A triple bogey on the par-four third hole sent him into a downward spiral that he never recovered from with the American carding a further six bogeys on the remaining 15 holes.
Shriners Championship updated odds
- Tom Kim – 5/2
- Adam Hadwin – 4/1
- Lanto Griffin – 8/1
- Kyoung-Hoon Lee – 11/1
- J.T. Poston – 14/1
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