Farmers Insurance Open Day 2: 1 Under Par Stumble, Im Sung-jae and Kang Sung-hoon Tied for 17th Place
Tiger Woods is preparing for a shot on the 4th hole on the second day of the Farmers Insurance Open. San Diego, California, USA - Photo by Getty Images/Multibits
[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] The 'comeback golf emperor' Tiger Woods (USA) is facing a tough challenge in his pursuit of 83 wins.
On the 25th (Korean time), at the Torrey Pines Golf Course South Course (par 72, 7,765 yards) near San Diego, California, USA, during the second day of the PGA Tour Farmers Insurance Open (total prize money $7.5 million), Woods faltered with a 1-under-par round, remaining tied for 17th place (4-under-par 140). Ryan Palmer (USA) surged with an impressive 10-under-par on the North Course (par 72, 7,258 yards), taking the top spot on the leaderboard (10-under-par 134).
Starting tied for 21st place, 3 strokes behind, Woods recorded 5 birdies, 2 bogeys, and 1 double bogey. He suffered a critical blow right from the first hole, the 1st hole (par 4), with a double bogey. An unbelievable '4-putt' occurred from a distance of 7.2 meters. The second putt was the culprit. The ball passed the hole by 1.5 meters from just 0.6 meters away, and he missed the third putt as well. Golfweek described it as "Woods' 13th 4-putt in his PGA Tour career."
Fortunately, he changed the momentum with a birdie on the 6th hole (par 4), and regained composure with consecutive birdies on the 8th and 9th holes. In the back nine, he recorded 2 birdies and 2 bogeys. His iron shot green hit rate dropped to 61.11%, and his average putts per hole soared to 1.82. He is 6 strokes behind the leader, with two days remaining, so a victory is still possible. Woods himself said, "My short game wasn't bad," and added, "Anything can happen on the South Course," showing his fighting spirit.
Palmer racked up 11 birdies (1 bogey). He is a veteran with 4 PGA Tour wins. He is challenging for his first victory in 9 months since the Zurich Classic last April. His even-par round on the South Course on the first day remains a concern. This tournament plays the first and second rounds on the South and North Courses respectively, then returns to the South Course for the third and fourth rounds. Brent Snedeker (USA) is in second place, 2 strokes behind (8-under-par 136).
Sebastian Cappelen (Denmark), tied for 3rd place (7-under-par 137), and Jon Rahm (Spain), tied for 12th place (5-under-par 139), are also looking for opportunities. World No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) is tied for 17th. South Korea's Kang Sung-hoon (33) and 'Rookie of the Year' Im Sung-jae (22) have joined this group. An Byeong-hun (29, both from CJ Logistics) lost 2 strokes on the South Course and dropped to tied 38th place (3-under-par 141), while 'Tank' Choi Kyung-ju (50), Lee Kyoung-hoon (29), and Noh Seung-yul (29) were cut off.
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