Im Sung-jae slips to 7th, FedEx Cup finale berth in jeopardy

Im Sung-jae failed to improve his score in the third round of the BMW Championship — the second event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, with a $20 million purse — and slipped to sole seventh place.

Playing Sunday at Bellerive Country Club (par 70) in St. Louis, Missouri, Im traded two birdies and two bogeys to finish the round at even par, leaving him at 9-under 201 for the tournament in sole seventh place.

Im exchanged a bogey and a birdie on the first two holes, then ground through a stretch of pars before sinking a 5.7-meter birdie putt on the par-3 16th. He gave the stroke back on the par-4 18th, where a tee shot into the fairway bunker led to a three-on, two-putt bogey.

Im had surged into a tie for fourth with a 6-under round on Saturday, but Sunday's slide to sole seventh dropped his projected FedEx Cup ranking two spots, from 28th to 30th. To qualify for the Tour Championship — the FedEx Cup finale — for an eighth consecutive year, Im will need to finish tied for sixth or better, or sole seventh, in the final round.

Kim Ju-hyung carded a 2-under 68 in the third round to reach 1-under 209 for the tournament, joining Kim Si-woo — who managed only even par on the day — in a tie for 35th. Kim Ju-hyung's projected FedEx Cup ranking stands at 28th, meaning he will need a strong final round to secure a spot in the season finale.

Wyndham Clark of the United States fired a 5-under 65 to reach 17-under 193, moving one stroke ahead of co-second-place Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) and Patrick Cantlay (United States). Clark opened with a double bogey after finding the fairway bunker off the first tee, but recovered with a birdie on the fourth and back-to-back birdie and eagle on the seventh and eighth. He picked up three more strokes on the back nine to post a sub-70 score for the third consecutive day and take the outright lead.

McIlroy, ranked 13th in the FedEx Cup standings, birdied three consecutive holes from the 15th to finish 5-under for the day, reaching 12-under 194 to share second place with Cantlay, who posted a 4-under round.

Gary Woodland and Chris Gotterup, both of the United States, sit tied for fourth at 11-under 199.

FedEx Cup points leader Scottie Scheffler of the United States shot a 2-under 68 to stand at 5-under 205, tied for 15th alongside Cameron Young (United States) and Ludvig Aberg (Sweden), among others.