San Diego, United States: Korean Im Sung-jae hauled himself into US Open contention with a third-round two-under-par 69 over the South Course at Torrey Pines.
With a three-day aggregate of even-par 213, Im heads into the final round in a share of 14th place, five shots off the pace being jointly set by Canadian Mackenzie Hughes, South African Louis Oosthuizen and American Russell Henley.
Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy and defending champion Bryson DeChambeau are tied for fifth spot on 210.
Hughes, a 30-year-old Canadian who missed the cut in his three previous US Open starts, converted a 63-foot eagle putt on the par-five 13th and closed with an up-and-down birdie from a greenside bunker on the par-five 18th for a 68.
Henley, the 32-year-old Georgia native who barely broke 80 in his only tour around the South Course prior to this week, holed a 65-foot bunker shot on 11, statistically the hardest hole on the course, for a birdie en route to an even-par 71.
Oosthuizen, the 2010 winner of The Open Championship at St Andrews, rolled in a 51-foot eagle putt on the closing hole for a 70 and a spot in Sunday’s final pairing alongside Hughes.
The 38-year-old South African has been a runner-up in all four Majors: the 2015 US Open, 2012 Masters the 2015 Open Championship at St Andrews (in a play-off) and the 2017 and 2021 PGA Championships.
Three shots off the lead are Jon Rahm, whose first PGA Tour win in 2017 came at Torrey Pines, 22-year-old Matthew Wolff, runner-up last September at Winged Foot, and Scottie Scheffler, the 2013 US Junior Amateur champion who is still seeking his first win on the PGA Tour.
The 2016 US Open champion Dustin Johnson, 2020 PGA champion Collin Morikawa and local favourite Xander Schauffele are all four behind.
Of the Asians who made the half-way cut, Korean Kim Si-woo and Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino are among those in joint 31st place on 216.
Hideki Matsuyama, who became Japan’s first male Major champion when he triumphed in April’s Masters Tournament, is a further three strokes back in equal 54th.
