Cal Grad Michael Kim Faces Uphill Climb at Scottish Open

Cal grad Michael Kim shot an even-par 70 on Saturday and barely made a move on the leaderboard at the Genesis Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club at North Berwick.

Kim is part of a seven-way tie for 28th place — one spot lower than he was through two rounds— at 4 under par through 54 holes. He is 7 strokes off the lead heading into Sunday's final round.

Things went much worse for one-time Cal player Byeong Hun An, who fell into last place, by three strokes, after a 6-over 76 left him at plus-5.

Second-round leader Chris Gotterup now has some company after World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who won the Masters this spring, shot a 66 and moved into a tie for the lead at 11 under par. 

"I think I'm pretty close to being back to the level I was at going into the Masters," said McIlroy, who made four birdies over the final 11 holes. "I think I've had a little bit of a lull, which I feel is understandable. So I'm just getting back to the level that I know that I can play at."

Gotterup, who is ranked 158th, carded a 70 on Saturday two days after he tied the course record with a 61.

Four players are two strokes back at minus-9.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is tied for 15th place at minus-6 after a 69. No. 3 Xander Schauffele shot a 71 and is tied for 20th.

Kim, 31, was tied for 24th place after 12 holes on Saturday, thanks to birdies on Nos. 3, 9 and 10. Bogeys on the 12th, 14th and 15th holes pushed him to 1 over for the day but he closed out his round with a birdie on No. 16.

An, who shot a 67 on Thursday, is 8 over the past two days. He had five bogeys and a double bogey against just one birdie on Saturday.

Kim and An already have spots secure for The Open Championship next week at Northern Ireland. World No. 5 Collin Morikawa, who missed the cut on Friday, also will be part of the event he won three years ago, as will fellow Cal alum Sampson Zheng, who gained a berth through a qualifying event at Liverpool, England, earlier this month.