Moeller: RBC Heritage Notebook

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 By Jeff Moeller, Florida SportDay

HILTON HEAD - Si-Woo Kim is looking for consistency.

The 29-year-old South Korean golfer topped the leaderboard at a 15-under 198 after three rounds of the RBC Heritage at Harbor Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island Saturday.

Kim has a tight one-shot lead over Justin Thomas (-14) and Andrew Novak (-14). Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is four strokes off the pace at -11 and tied for seventh.

Through the first two rounds, Thomas led the field with a -12, but he ended Saturday with a two-under 69. Thomas was assessed a one-shot penalty from a waste area on the par-5 second hole. He notified a rules official that his ball moved a fraction while he was removing loose ground near it.  

Kim sank five birdies and had one bogey -on his final hole - on a windy, sunny afternoon, finishing with a five-under 66.  

He captured the Players Championship in 2017, becoming the youngest player at 21 to win the event.

However, Kim has struggled to capture another winner’s paycheck. Kim hasn’t won since he took top honors at the Sony Open in 2023. 

This year, Kim was tied for second at Pebble Beach in late January. Since then, Kim has fallen off the pace with a 19th or lower finish. He missed the cuts in his last two tournaments. 

Last year, Kim’s best finish last season was a tie for fifth place at the BMW Championship. At the RBC last season, Kim tied for 18th. 

Despite a tight field and Scheffler – a fan favorite - lurking, Kim is confident he can claim his first victory in over two years. 

“I played great,” beamed Kim. “I only missed the last hole, so that's not a big deal. I played pretty much 35 holes really decent. I'm not going to worry about the last hole for tomorrow. I'm in a good position, and I've been playing good.”

Kim and Novak will tee off at 1:55 p.m, and Thomas will begin at 1:45. Scheffler, who finished fourth at Masters last week, will tee off at 1:25.

It is the 56th year of the tournament at Hilton Head. Arnold Palmer was the inaugural winner in 1969, and other notable winners with Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller (twice), Tom Watson, and Hale Irwin.

Jim Furyk was the two-time winner in 2010 and 2015, and Davis Love III has five tournament titles. 


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