Michael Kim bumped his lead from three to five on Saturday in Round 3 of the 2018 John Deere Classic, and he's now the man to beat going into Sunday. The former Cal Bears star shot his second straight 64 on Saturday (following a 63 on Thursday) and sits at 22 under after 54 holes, five clear of Bronson Burgoon. He'll challenge the all-time scoring record of 26 under at TPC Deere Run in the final round.
The 24-year-old Kim birdied his final four holes on a weather-delayed day at the John Deere, and he has just three bogeys on the week (one on each day). He leads the field in birdies and is in the top five in the field in strokes gained putting and strokes gained on approach shots. Deere Run is easy, but Kim has been flawless.
He'll need to be equally flawless as he goes for win No. 1 on Sunday and a slot in the 2018 Open Championship. This week's event is the 84th of Kim's career, and he has just one top 10 -- a T3 at the 2016 Safeway Open -- although he has made nearly $2 million in the last three seasons.
One more 64, and he'll earn about half that en route to Carnoustie on Sunday.
Here are three things to watch for in Round 4 of the John Deere Classic.
1. First-time winner? Joining Kim on the leaderboard among those going for win No. 1 in their careers are Burgoon (-17), Harold Varner III (-15), Sam Ryder (-14), Joel Dahmen (-13) and Denny McCarthy (-13). They'll all need monstrous performances over the final 18 holes, but they'll all be playing for their first spot in the winner's circle, too. If Kim fades (more on that below), it would be pretty awesome to see one of these guys take his spot atop the board.
2. Open entrant? This connects No. 1 to No. 3, but most of the players on this leaderboard are not yet in the Open Championship. There's only one spot up for grabs this week -- more are available across the pond at the Scottish Open -- so Kim should secure it. It will likely be an added bonus for this week's winner rather than a consolation prize for a runner up or third-place finisher.
3. Big blown lead: It does happen, and while five strokes sounds like a lot, if Kim shoots something around par on Sunday, he could be caught. We've seen much more talented players than Kim blow bigger leads. Recent history says there's a strong to very strong shot of him taking home a trophy, but you can be sure it will be dramatic if he doesn't.
Win percentage by outright 54-hole leaders on PGA Tour since 2013:
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) June 24, 2018
1 shot: 24.7%
2 shots: 38.1%
3 shots: 40.7%
4 shots: 82.4%
5+ shots: 82.4%