Kang Sung-hoon 3 Strokes Behind in 5th Place "Putting Has Returned"... McIlroy "2 Strokes Behind in 2nd Place"

Genesis Invitational Day 2: Kuchar Leads at 4 Under Par, Kim Si-woo 11th, Woods 45th

Kang Sung-hoon is making a birdie putt on the 13th hole on the second day of the Genesis Invitational. Pacific Palisades, California, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Kang Sung-hoon (33, CJ Logistics) makes a leap into the leading group.

On the 15th (Korean time), at the Pacific Palisades Riviera Golf Club in California, USA (Par 71, 7,322 yards), during the second day of the PGA Tour 2019/2020 season Genesis Invitational (total prize money $9.3 million), he shot 4 under par to rise to a tie for 5th place (6 under par, 136 strokes). Matt Kuchar (USA) leads (9 under par, 133 strokes), with world No. 1 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Harold Varner III, and Wyndham Clark (both USA) tied for 2nd place (7 under par, 135 strokes).

Kang Sung-hoon started from a tie for 7th place, 4 strokes behind the leader, and recorded 6 birdies and 2 bogeys. He showed his skill by scoring 4 under par in the front nine, including 'stepping stone birdies' on holes 1 and 3 and consecutive birdies on holes 6 and 7. In the back nine, after a bogey on the 10th hole (par 4), he steadied himself and then made consecutive birdies on holes 11 and 12. On the 16th hole (par 3), he lost a stroke after his tee shot went into the rough. Although his tee shots were shaky with a fairway hit rate of only 35.71%, his putting was outstanding with an average of 1.50 putts per hole.

He is 3 strokes behind the leader, with a chance for his second PGA Tour win since the AT&T Byron Nelson in May last year. He said, "My putting has returned," and "I think I caught a good flow." Kuchar added 2 under par to maintain his position at the top of the leaderboard for the second consecutive day. McIlroy shot 4 under par to jump into the winning competition, and Adam Scott (Australia) joined the tie for 5th place with a daily best 7 under par. Jon Rahm (Spain) and Dustin Johnson (USA) are tied for 11th place (4 under par, 138 strokes).

On the other hand, Tiger Woods (USA) made 3 birdies, 3 bogeys, and 1 double bogey, tying for 45th place with Brooks Koepka (USA) at even par (142 strokes). From Korea, Kim Si-woo (25) is tied for 11th place, and Lee Kyoung-hoon (29, both CJ Logistics) is tied for 26th place (2 under par, 140 strokes), advancing to the final round. Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics) and Bubba Watson are tied for 69th place (2 over par, 144 strokes), Phil Mickelson (USA) is tied for 97th place (4 over par, 146 strokes), and Moon Kyung-jun (38) is 120th (10 over par, 152 strokes), missing the cut.