Pat Perez is a whopping 21-under par after three days at the CIMB — wow!
He’s only five shots from the tournament record 26-under par shot by Justin Thomas when he won two years ago at the TPC Kuala Lumpur.
Perez has just about eliminated most of the field, eliminated any hope they might have of winning.
He’ll start the final round four shots clear of his nearest rival — PGA Tour Rookie Of The Year Xander Schauffele. Perez basically put everyone to bed early Saturday in Malaysia with an eight-under par 64. He capped it off with an unlikely birdie on his final hole, sinking a 25-foot putt. He had an amazing run of four birdies over his last five holes, bouncing back from the day’s only bogey at 13.
Perez, who had his best season ever last year, stayed a bit cautious, however.
“These guys are so good and you can make so many birdies out there so fast and I know that,” said Perez after his round. “So if I can get another six (birdies) tomorrow, I might be tough to catch.”
After Schauffele, Sung Kang is five shots back, Hideki Matsuyama and Keegan Bradley six behind. Matsuyama put together the day’s best round, a nine-under par 63.
Shot of the day went to Wee Kim. He aced the par three 15th and won one of those big-ticket BMW 7-series luxury sedans. Of course, the kid went nuts.
