The American Express Round 3: Si Woo Kim Grabs the Lead as Scheffler and Blades Brown Sit One Back

The wind finally showed up at The American Express, and it changed who got to enjoy Saturday. Si Woo Kim caught La Quinta Country Club before it turned nasty. Scottie Scheffler and Blades Brown caught the Stadium Course when it did.

Kim shot 6-under 66 at La Quinta to reach 22-under 194 and take a one-shot lead into Sunday. Scheffler and Brown each shot 68 on the Pete Dye Stadium Course and sit tied for second at 21 under. Wyndham Clark and Eric Cole, both with 66 at La Quinta, are two back, and nine players are within four shots of the top.

Kim Takes the Calm Route to the Top

Kim's card had seven birdies and one bogey, and the back nine is where the lead was built, with three straight birdie putts dropping. The timing mattered as much as the putting. Kim played La Quinta as the conditions turned, while the two players who started the day tied for the lead were elsewhere dealing with the hardest course in the rotation in its toughest form.

The résumé fits a Sunday final group. Kim made it through PGA TOUR Q-School at 17, joined the TOUR at 18 and won THE PLAYERS Championship at 21, one of four TOUR titles. One of those came right here in 2021. Kim would become the 11th multiple winner of this event, per Golf Channel.

Scheffler, who will play alongside Kim on Sunday, had a scouting report that had nothing to do with golf. "Have you ever spent any time with him? He's hilarious," Scheffler said.

Scheffler Finally Drops Shots, Then Saves One

Scheffler came into the weekend without a bogey on the card through 36 holes. The Stadium Course in the wind took care of that, with two bogeys on a day when par was a fight.

What Scheffler did in between kept the round together. On the 16th, a 237-yard approach finished 17 feet from the hole and set up a birdie. On the 18th, Scheffler's second shot found the greenside rough, and the world No. 1 answered by rolling in a 25-foot par putt to post 68 and stay one shot back.

Instead of sliding two back heading into Sunday, Scheffler sits one back and gets a spot in the final group.

Blades Brown Refuses to Fade

Friday's 60 made Brown the story of the tournament. Saturday's finish made it clear the 18-year-old from Nashville is not going away. Brown birdied the last three holes on the Stadium Course, including a 25-footer on the par-3 17th and a long one from more than 40 feet on the 18th.

It was Brown's seventh straight competitive round after a Korn Ferry Tour start in the Bahamas, and Brown says the high school diploma came about two weeks ago. Brown is here on a sponsor exemption for the second straight year and sounded completely at ease.

"I feel great," Brown said. "I got another opportunity to see what we can make happen tomorrow."

And on the bigger picture: "I'm 18 years old playing on the PGA TOUR. How awesome is that?"

A Brown victory would make for the youngest TOUR winner in nearly a century, per the AP.

The Chasers Lurk

Cole briefly held the lead after a chip-in before settling for 66. Clark matched that number at La Quinta, following up Friday's 64 at the Stadium Course. Tom Hoge (65), Matt McCarty (68) and Andrew Putnam (65) are three back at 19 under, with Putnam backing up Friday's 60 with another strong round.

A Brutal Cut Day

The cut fell at 11 under, and it produced some carnage. Justin Rose was one shot outside the number through 16 holes, then found the water on the par-3 17th and three-putted for a double bogey. Rose shot 73 and finished at 8 under. Tony Finau missed after bogeys on 13 and 14 and a missed 3-footer on 17. Andrew Novak opened 64-68, then shot 74 and missed by one after three missed putts inside 4 feet late. Nico Echavarria started the day at 14 under and made a double bogey on 16 and a sextuple bogey on 17 to shoot 81.

Defending champion Sepp Straka also missed, as did Camilo Villegas, who went home at 10 under despite three rounds in the 60s. Will Zalatoris made it right on the number with a birdie-birdie finish for 70.

Sunday on the Stadium

Everyone left in the field now plays the Stadium Course for the final round. The final group is Kim, Scheffler and Brown: a past champion and former PLAYERS winner, the world No. 1 and a teenager playing the best golf of a young career. One shot separates the three of them, and a crowd of contenders sits within four.

The Stadium Course already showed on Saturday that it can bite back. Whoever handles it best on Sunday takes the trophy.

Catch up on the week with our Round 1 recap and Round 2 recap. For more detail, see the PGA TOUR's Round 3 recap (opens in a new tab) and its 54-hole cut report (opens in a new tab).

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 3 recap and cut report), AP, Golf Channel, Field Level Media. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.