Kim Si-woo sits 2 shots back after third round of The Open, chasing first Korean title

"I feel quite comfortable. I've been in contention a lot this year. Being two shots back, there's no pressure."

Kim Si-woo will enter the final round of The Open Championship — the year's last major — in a fierce battle for the title.

Kim carded a 3-under-par 67 in Saturday's third round at Royal Birkdale Golf Club (par 70) in Southport, England, posting four birdies and one bogey despite playing through Achilles tendon pain and taking painkillers.

His three-round total of 8-under-par 202 placed him in a tie for second, two strokes behind solo leader Sam Burns of the United States at 10-under-par 200. Joining Kim in the tie for second is Ryan Fox of New Zealand, who fired a 62 — matching the all-time lowest single-round score in major championship history.

Kim opened his scoring with a birdie at the par-4 second hole, then drained a 1.7-meter birdie putt at the par-3 seventh to push into the upper tier of the leaderboard. At the par-4 10th, his tee shot missed the fairway, but he found the green with his second shot and sank a birdie putt from beyond 6 meters.

Kim dropped a shot at the par-4 11th after missing a 3.3-meter par putt, but bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 17th thanks to a precise approach shot.

In his post-round interview, Kim said the tee shots were difficult and the greens were tricky, but sinking several challenging putts had been a big help in posting a strong score heading into Sunday's final round.

Kim, who was visibly limping during the round, said he had pain in his Achilles tendon — the right one over the previous two days and the left one on Saturday. He said he took painkillers before the round but they were slow to take effect.

Fellow South Korean Im Sung-jae, playing alongside Kim, managed only a 1-under round, trading five birdies for four bogeys. Im sits at 3-under-par 207 for the tournament, tied for 20th alongside Cameron Young of the United States and others.

This year marks Kim's eighth appearance at The Open. His best previous finish was a tie for 15th at the 2022 St Andrews edition.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler of the United States failed to gain ground, recording one birdie and one bogey to slip into a tie for 11th at 4-under-par 206. Bryson DeChambeau of the United States, who received a two-stroke penalty in the second round for improving his lie, moved into a tie for sixth at 6-under-par 204, keeping his chances of a comeback alive.