SINGAPORE: Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana fired a bogey-free 65 to haul himself into contention and share the third-round lead at 11-under par with American Sihwan Kim at the SMBC Singapore Open on Saturday.
Overnight leader Kim, who started the day with a three-shot advantage, traded four birdies against two bogeys for a 69, letting slip his outright lead at the Sentosa Golf Club.
South Korea’s Kim Joo-hyung remains in the mix after a two-under 69, but he trails the co-leaders by three shots with the US$1.25-million event, co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour Organisation and the Asian Tour, heading into its final round on Sunday.
Trailing Sihwan Kim by four shots at the start of the day, Sadom came out charging with four birdies in his first seven holes. He made further gains on the 10th hole before closing with another birdie on 18 for a three-day total of 11-under-par 202.
“I had many birdie chances today, and I’m happy I took advantage of them,” he said. “I’m feeling nervous, and it’s not going to be easy for me to handle the pressure. But I’ll try to do my best. I’m just going to focus on every shot and enjoy my game tomorrow.”
Sihwan Kim expressed relief at having birdied his closing hole and retained his position atop the leaderboard.
“I wish I had made more putts, but it is what it is, and I’m still leading,” he said. “It is a very demanding course. I don’t know how the winds are going to be tomorrow, but I’ll just do what I did for the first three rounds.”