A superb eagle on the last hole may just give Korea’s Byeong Hun An the glimmer of hope that he needs to pull off a come-from-behind victory at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson after a third round 5-under 66 placed in in tied seventh place and five back of new leader, Taylor Pendrith of Canada.
The 32-year-old-An, who is seeking a maiden PGA Tour victory, converted a seven-foot putt on the par 5 18th hole at TPC Craig Ranch following a wonderful second shot from 239 yards out to emerge as the leading Asian contender through 54 holes in the US$9.5 million showpiece.
Former champion Sung Kang fired his lowest round in over three years with a 64 to lie a further shot back in tied 11th place on 13-under alongside Si Woo Kim (67) and S.H. Kim (68) to ensure a strong Korean presence on the leaderboard in the event title sponsored by Korean conglomerate, CJ Group. Pendrith leads on 19-under following a fine 63 to lead by one from overnight leader Jake Knapp, who carded a 67.
With three top-10s this season, including a playoff loss at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January, An believes there is chance for him to challenge for the title on Sunday at a golf course which has annually yielded low scoring.
“There is a gap with the leader but the course allows for more birdies and eagles. I want to say there is a chance. I think I need some luck tomorrow,” said An, who holds five career runner-up finishes on Tour.
He began his day strongly with three birdies in his opening five holes but jump onto the par train until an untimely bogey on 12 after finding some trouble with his second shot. He bounced back with a 15-foot birdie on the par 3 15th hole before his final hole heroics.
“It seems like a good start looking at the scorecard but I can’t really say if it was good or bad. I had some birdies and a bogey. I’m not very satisfied with my score but I’m okay overall. Of course I can keep thinking about the chances I missed but, overall it was a decent round,” said the Korean, who finished T14th here last seaso.
The 36-year-old Kang, who won The CJ Cup Byron Nelson in 2019, has endured a difficult past few seasons with his last top-10 finish being the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.
He made six birdies and one bogey through 13 holes before chipping in from over 30 yards for an eagle two on the 14th hole which propelled him up the leaderboard.
“Shots were fine but I struggled with my putting until yesterday. It is like a trend for me these days. I had some great shots and made some good putts today. I hope to keep it this way tomorrow,” said Kang.
With three kids now in his growing family, Kang believes he still has several good years of golf on the PGA Tour despite his limited playing status. “I think I have about seven to eight years left in my career. I tended to play for myself in the past but now my top priority is my family. I play golf for them. I wish to go back into competition and will always motivate myself to play my best. I wish to have my kids be proud of their dad when they grow up, reminiscing back to my best days. I’m going to give it my best.”
