TORONTO, ONTARIO – JUNE 10: C.T. Pan of Chinese Taipei greets fans on the 15th hole during the third round of the RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf & Country Club on June 10, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Toronto, Canada, June 11: Chasing a second PGA TOUR win, C.T. Pan of the Chinese Taipei produced a superb birdie-birdie finish to open up a two-shot lead following the third round at the RBC Canadian Open on Saturday. Pan, who has one win on the PGA TOUR to his name, is seeking to end a four-year title drought.
Pan shot a second successive 6-under 66 at Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto and that propelled the 31-year-old Pan to 14-under 202 in the US$9 million PGA TOUR tournament. Pan is sitting at 14-under and with a two-shot lead.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy (66) seeking a three-peat at the event he has won twice, was leading a star-studded chasing pack. McIlroy is 12-under.
McIlroy, who opened with a 71 on Thursday, got his bid back on track with a bogey-free card comprising of six birdies. The reigning FedExCup champion is aiming to become the first player since Steve Stricker (John Deere Classic 2009-2011) to accomplish the rare feat.
Chasing a second victory since his breakthrough in 2019 RBC Heritage, Pan earned his first 54-hole lead on TOUR to give himself a chance of winning weeks after returning from a lengthy wrist injury which sidelined him for five months.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games bronze medallist, Pan rolled in seven birdies including two 18-footers on the first and 10th holes, before finishing in style with a 10-foot conversion on the 17th hole and getting up-and-down at the par-5 18th to give himself some breathing room at the top of the leaderboard. Pan’s lone blemish was on the 8th hole when he missed the green.
It has been a happy homecoming of sorts for Pan this week, who won twice on PGA TOUR Canada in his rookie professional year in 2015 which provided his career launch pad. He also represented the International Team in the 2019 Presidents Cup before landing an Olympic medal for Chinese Taipei.
Overnight leader Carl Yuan of China fell off the pace after a 74 to drop back to T16 on 209 as Korean trio S. H. Kim, Sung Kang and S.Y. Noh posted 72, 71 and 74 to sit T20, T33 and T42 respectively.
Four-time major champion McIlroy fired six birdies to give himself a fighting chance of defending the title and joining the record books. The Northern Irishman is bidding to become the only 10th different player to three-peat at an event since World War II.
Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood (64) and Justin Rose (66), McIlroy’s European Ryder Cup teammates, also were two strokes back at 12-under along with Mark Hubbard (66), Harry Higgs (67) and Andrew Novak (67).
Aaron Rai, first-round co-leader, also was 11 under after a 69.
Former top-ranked amateur Ludvig Aberg, the Swede who starred at Texas Tech, was tied for 33rd at 4 under after a 71 in his pro debut.
