Michael Kim’s – Michael Kim fired a 5-under 30 on the front nine in the third round Saturday at Aronimink Golf Club, using six birdies to surge into the top 10 early—after he was previously outside the cutline in Round 2 and chipped in for eagle to extend his weekend.
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Michael Kim came out swinging in his third-round start at the PGA Championship, rolling to a 5-under 30 on the front nine Saturday at Aronimink Golf Club.
Kim leaned on six birdies in the early going to spark a move up the standings before many of the afternoon leaders even teed off. He opened with three straight birdies, then ran into a snag with a bogey on four.
He nearly holed out from the rough on the seventh and finished the stretch with his sixth birdie within the first seven holes.. The timing mattered: Kim cracked the top 10 well before Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy were set to tee off in the afternoon. and his late-morning surge signaled that the leaderboard could keep compressing as the weekend went on.
The push also reflected how close he had been to going home. Kim was outside the cutline in Round 2 until he chipped in for eagle on his final shot to extend his weekend.
His best work on Saturday came early enough that the numbers looked stark even to him.. He made more birdies on the front nine Saturday than he did in the first two rounds combined.. And he put that momentum to work on moving day. jumping from 93rd after one round to 53rd after the second. reaching ninth place through the first nine holes at Aronimink.
Aronimink’s long. grinding layout has tightened the field in a way that has the tournament feeling almost stacked from top to bottom.. Two long days produced the highest 36-hole score to par to lead the PGA Championship in 14 years.. With 15 players separated by two shots, the tournament entered the weekend with the biggest logjam going into a major since 2002.
The spread between the best and worst among the 82 players who made the cut was only eight shots. unusually tight for any tournament. much less a major.. That pressure is part of why low scoring has become more than just a possibility—early rounds suggest it can still reshuffle the picture quickly. even once you’re already in.
All of that math connects back to Kim’s Saturday start: he was outside the cutline entering Round 2 before finishing it with a chip-in eagle. and once the cut was cleared. a run of six birdies on the front nine helped him break into the top 10 before leaders even left the afternoon tee.. His surge played out inside a wider field where tight separation makes every early push matter.
With serious money and major prestige on the line, the PGA Championship has also raised its stakes this year. The tour’s total prize fund is $20.5 million, a $1.5 million increase from last year and still third among the three American majors. The winner’s share is $3,690,000.
PGA Championship Michael Kim Aronimink Golf Club third round leaderboard birdies eagle prize fund