Defending champion Tom Kim closed with a 9-under 62 featuring an eagle and two bogeys to move into a share of the lead at 15-under at the Shriners Children’s Open.

“You know, tee to green, I was really solid. Gave myself a lot of looks. Obviously you’ve got to finish them off, and that’s exactly what I did. I putted great,” said Kim.

“Left myself in some tough spots, but I think that up-and-down on 12 really kind of got it going. Then hit a really good tee shot on 13 but made a really good putt and made birdie. Just those little things that kind of kept the momentum going. Just felt really comfortable over the ball. That was the biggest thing. I wasn’t rushing anything. I wasn’t trying to force anything. I was just really calm, and yeah, just a great day.”

Canada’s Adam Hadwin shot a bogey-free 63 for his share of the lead.

“I think everything has to work well to shoot 8-under par. I continued to strike the ball very well, both off the tee and into the greens,” said Hadwin. “I had a lot of good opportunities today. Made a few more putts than I had the previous couple days.

“Looking forward to a chance to win a golf tournament tomorrow.”

Also tied in the lead is American Lanto Griffin who shared the overnight lead and carded a 68. His 198 total is his lowest opening 54-hole score on the PGA Tour.

“Hit the irons a lot better today, especially on the front,” said Griffin. “Just made nothing. I know we’ve been talking the last few days about making everything. That’s kind of how it goes. A little regression today. Nothing too bad with the putter. I felt like I hit a lot of good putts, they just didn’t drop. We’ll clean that up a little bit.

“But not making a birdie until 13 is kind of — on a course that everybody is going low and making birdies on, it’s nice to get a couple early, kind of settle yourself down, feel like you have a little bit of wiggle room, and that didn’t happen today. But making only pars isn’t the end of the world, either.

“We stuck to our game plan, played pretty conservative off the tee, and I told Billy walking on the range, I was like, let’s just give ourselves as many looks as possible, the way we were putting it. So it was kind of ironic, after the round he was like, you gave yourself a lot of looks but you didn’t make any of them.

“I don’t think I made I putt outside three feet all day. If somebody had told me that, I wouldn’t have expected 68, so very happy with it.”

Koean K.H. Lee (66), Canadian Taylor Pendrith (65) and American Vince Whaley (65) are tied in fourth at 14-under.

Seventeen players are tied for or within three strokes of the lead, the second-most of any tournament on Tour this season through 54 holes.

Related: Angel Yin joins Maja Stark in tie for the lead

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