The air is thick with anticipation at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in South Korea, where the 2025 Genesis Championship is barreling toward a thrilling conclusion. With just one round—eighteen holes—left to play, the DP World Tour’s latest stop has delivered drama, surprises, and a leaderboard stacked with both seasoned champions and hungry upstarts. The big question on everyone’s mind: who will seize the moment in Sunday’s final round?
After three rounds of high-stakes golf, two players have emerged as joint leaders: Spain’s Nacho Elvira and Sweden’s Mikael Lindberg. Both sit at eight under par, but their journeys to the top have been anything but identical. Elvira, a two-time DP World Tour winner, carded a 2-under-par 69 on moving day, keeping his cool through a round that included five birdies, one bogey, and a costly double bogey. “I just tried to stay patient out there,” Elvira said after his round. “It wasn’t perfect, but I kept fighting.”
Lindberg, meanwhile, produced one of the most impressive surges of the tournament. With a blistering 4-under-par 67 in the third round, he vaulted 14 places up the leaderboard, notching six birdies against just two bogeys. The Swede is chasing his maiden DP World Tour victory, and his performance on Saturday signaled that he’s not just here to make up the numbers. “I felt really comfortable with my game today,” Lindberg remarked. “I was able to take advantage of the opportunities when they came.”
They’ll have company in the final group: England’s Andy Sullivan, who sits just two shots back at six under par. Sullivan, a proven winner on the DP World Tour, knows a thing or two about handling Sunday pressure. He’ll tee off with Elvira and Lindberg at 11:30 am local time, in what promises to be a battle of nerves as much as skill.
But the chase pack is hardly out of it. Also tied at six under are Alex Fitzpatrick and Li Haotong, both of whom have shown flashes of brilliance this week. Fitzpatrick, the younger brother of 2022 U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, has steadily climbed the ranks and is eager to make his own mark on the circuit. Haotong Li, a multiple-time DP World Tour winner, has proven he can close out tournaments under pressure. Rounding out their trio is Japan’s Yuto Katsuragawa, and they’ll go off at 11:19 am local time, right before the leaders.
One of the tournament’s biggest draws, Hideki Matsuyama, remains very much in the hunt. The 2021 Masters champion is three shots off the pace at five under par, and will tee off at 11:08 am local time alongside Belgium’s Thomas Detry and South Korea’s Garam Jeon. Matsuyama’s calm demeanor and world-class ball striking make him a perennial threat. “I’m just focused on playing my game,” Matsuyama told reporters. “If I can put together a solid round, anything can happen.”
Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters winner and another fan favorite, begins the final round at four under par. The Australian is grouped with Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Seungbin Choi, teeing off at 10:57 am. With eleven DP World Tour titles already in his trophy case, Scott is no stranger to Sunday charges. Could he pull off another come-from-behind victory?
The final round’s tee times read like a who’s who of international golf, underscoring the DP World Tour’s global reach. From the first group of Joakim Lagergren and Hongtaek Kim at 7:00 am to the last trio of Elvira, Lindberg, and Sullivan at 11:30 am, the stage is set for a day of high drama. Every pairing has its own story—rising stars, seasoned veterans, and local favorites all vying for a share of history.
For those tracking the action from afar, it’s worth noting the time difference: South Korea is thirteen hours ahead of Eastern Time and eight hours ahead of GMT. For fans in the UK, the added wrinkle of the clocks going back at 2 am GMT on October 26 means an extra hour of sleep before tuning in for the action.
The course at Woo Jeong Hills has tested every facet of the players’ games. Undulating fairways, treacherous rough, and fast greens have forced the field to dig deep both mentally and physically. Birdies have been hard-earned, and mistakes have been punished swiftly. The leaderboard’s tightness heading into the final day is a testament to the course’s challenge and the quality of the field.
Looking back at the third round, it was Lindberg’s six birdies that turned heads. His aggressive play was rewarded, but he also displayed resilience in bouncing back from two bogeys. Elvira’s round, meanwhile, was a rollercoaster—he mixed in five birdies with a double bogey, but crucially avoided a collapse. “You can’t win the tournament on Saturday, but you can lose it,” Elvira reflected. “I made sure to keep myself in it.”
Sullivan, Fitzpatrick, and Li all have the firepower to make a run. Sullivan’s consistency, Fitzpatrick’s youthful confidence, and Li’s flair for the dramatic could each prove decisive. And don’t sleep on Matsuyama or Scott—both have the pedigree and the experience to go low when it matters most.
Thomas Detry, who sits tied for seventh after a steady 2-under-par round on Saturday, will be looking to make a move in the early going. He’s paired with Matsuyama and Jeon, and if any of them can catch fire, the leaders will be looking over their shoulders.
As the sun rises over Woo Jeong Hills, it’s anyone’s guess who will lift the trophy. The Genesis Championship has already delivered its share of twists and turns, and with one round to play, the script is far from written. Will it be a breakthrough for Lindberg, a third DP World Tour title for Elvira, or a charge from one of the chasing pack?
One thing’s for sure: golf fans are in for a treat as the Genesis Championship reaches its crescendo. The final round is set to provide all the tension, excitement, and unpredictability that makes tournament golf so compelling. Stay tuned—this one’s going down to the wire.
