The one who survived the thunderbolt and the one who returned from prison are tied for the lead. It was in the third round of the Champions Tour Senior PGA Championship, which took place at the Congregational Golf Course near Washington, D.C. on Saturday (Korea time).
Retif Gusen, who passed out after being struck by lightning as a teenager and miraculously survived, and Angel Cabrera, who was released from prison two years ago after serving 30 months for assaulting his girlfriend, are the interim five-under-par leaders.
Two unknown warriors also joined the leading group. Jason Carron, who played in the second-division PGA tour and was a club pro for 10 years, and Philip Archer, who has no first-division championship if he plays in the European tour, also tied for first-division champion.
The Congregational Golf Club where the championships took place is a prestigious club that has hosted major championships several times. The course was renovated to host major championships and the Ryder Cup. The rough is long and the green is very difficult. Even the wind was blowing, players trembled with short putts.
The score was similar to that of the U.S. Open. The cut line was five over par, and only 18 players were under par until the third round. The joint lead in the second round was six under par, but the score went down to five under par in the third round.
The winner of the 2004 U.S. Open was Retief Goosen. At that time, the weather was very hot and the green was hard, so everyone collapsed. There was only two under par. Goosen at 4 under par beat Phil Mickelson at 2 under par. The players said, "After Goosen was hit by a thunderbolt, his patience improved, and he survived the heat and irritation to win the championship." 스포츠토토
Cabrera served 30 months in prison for domestic violence including girlfriend injury and sexual violence threats, and was released from prison in August 2023. He joined this year's Champions Tour after hardships and already has two wins. If he wins this year's championship, he will have three wins this season. Players say that it is surprising that he has not lost his skills even after serving 30 months.
Stuart Sink and Lee Westwood were tied for fifth place at 4-under.
Yang Yong-eun, who was tied for the lead in the second round, lost three strokes on the day, and is tied for seventh with Padraig Harrington and Vijay Singh by two strokes.
Yang said, "I was late to adjust to today's green speed. It's too bad that I would have slowed down the speed of the green because I was afraid that the ball would roll on the green due to strong winds. I think my winning score will be around eight under par, and I have to keep up with it diligently."