• Greenbrier Classic, Round Three

New strategy brings Kim immediate rewards

Anthony Kim acknowledges another birdie © Getty Images

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Leaderboard

A phenomenal round of 62 moved Anthony Kim from the lower reaches of the leaderboard at the Greenbrier Classic to the very top on Saturday, as others struggled to match his low scoring.

The American, who has struggled to recapture both his best form and his swagger since injuring his thumb last year, had three birdies on the front nine and five on the back nine during a flawless round, going out in 31 and coming back in the same score to post an early clubhouse target of 10-under.

It was a target that ultimately proved too much for others to match, and the 26-year-old has a two-shot advantage going into Sunday as he looks to claim his fourth PGA Tour title, and his first since last April's Shell Houston Open.

The 2008 Ryder Cup credited a change in his course management strategy for the marked improvement in scoring, having carded two rounds of 69 over the first two days.

"I was just hitting smart golf shots," Kim said. "I was starting to think my way around the course instead of just get up to a tee and the fairways are 40 yards wide and the rough is not that penal and just try to hit it as hard as I can. That's not how you play golf. Usually it doesn't work out.

"But I started hitting some fades off the tee, which this course you need to do, and made a couple [of] putts. Hit the smart shot, even not going at a couple pins, which is hard for me to do. Hit it 15 feet right of the pin and be okay with it.

"So I got away with some poor swings because of some good lines. Hopefully I can do that tomorrow."

Kim enjoys a one-shot lead over Scott Stallings and two-shot advantage over Mark Woodland, after the two later starters crafted rounds of 66 and 67 respectively to give themselves a great shot at victory on the final day.

Jimmy Walker - who was another to take advantage of an early start to post an eight-under round - Bill Haas and Chris Couch are all within touch of the leader at seven-under, while Nick O'Hern, Cameron Tringale and John Merrick are only a shot further back.

While Kim prospered in the early stages, the second round leaders struggled during their third rounds - with Trevor Immelman (73) and Michael Letzig (71) both giving away a number of shots away to par as they saw their challenges fade.

Overnight leader Brendan de Jonge could only manage a two-over par round of 72 to fall back to five-under, but his co-leader Webb Simpson fared better - finding two birdies in his final two holes to conjure up a round of 69 that keeps him in the hunt at eight-under.

After narrowly making the cut Sergio Garcia posted a 69 to move level for the tournament, while the only Englishman in the field, Brian Davis sits just outside the top 10 after a gutsy level-par round that saw birdies at his final two holes.

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