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PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — After a slow start in his return from a wrist injury, Im Sung-jae was in position to claim a wire-to-wire victory at the Valspar Championship in Innisbrook.<\/p>\n
Brandt Snedeker was right next to him in the final combination and had the latest hot putter in his bag.<\/p>\n
Lim made a nice 13-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th hole on Saturday, posting a 2-under 69 and a two-stroke lead over Snedeker, the 45-year-old U.S. Presidents Cup captain who is playing on a sponsor exemption, and David Lipsky.<\/p>\n
Snedeker birdied three of the first four holes with a 67, and Lipsky shot a 70, his highest score in the low 70s on a sunny afternoon in 15 mph winds.<\/p>\n
After missing the cut in two consecutive matches in his return, Im led by one stroke in each of the first two rounds, scoring 64-69 in the firm, fast conditions of the Copperhead course.<\/p>\n
Lim said, “I couldn’t practice for two months.” “So I think I’m able to make a lot of the shots that I didn’t like last year. Once I started practicing, I was able to fix them and I’m steadily getting better.”<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Ren had birdies on Nos. 1, 7 and 8 to play the front nine at 3 under. He bogeyed the 12th par-4 and 13th par-3, and sunk a left-to-right putt on the 18th for 11 under par, 202.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really happy because I played well in the last section from No. 16 to No. 18,\u201d Im said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m really excited to make a birdie on the last hole and go into tomorrow with a two-shot lead.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old Korean player has two wins on the PGA Tour, the 2020 Honda Classic and the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open.<\/p>\n
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been at the front like this,” Im said. “I’m sure I’ll be nervous, but I’ll do my best to play my best.”<\/p>\n
Snedeker won the last of his nine PGA Tour titles in 2018, but had just two top 10s last year. He switched to a mallet putter a few weeks ago, but this week he hasn’t been playing well on and around the greens.<\/p>\n
\u201cI finished strong and had a good swing on the way down,\u201d Snedeker said. \u201cWe rolled the ball really well and chipped the ball really well, so if we can control the long game a little bit, we\u2019ll have a good chance tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lipsky had five birdies and four bogeys. He is undefeated on the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n
“We’ve had our ups and downs,” Lipsky said. “I wasn’t hitting the fairways and greens as well as I wanted, but overall my short game and putter really saved me and kept me going.”<\/p>\n
Matt Fitzpatrick, who placed second at The Players Championship last week, was tied with Marco Penge at 8 under. They each fired 68 shots.<\/p>\n
Brooks Koepka shot a 71 to tie for 16th place at 3 under.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n