Choi Kyung-ju's Strength 'Tied 15th, 4 Strokes Behind'... Taylor Leads

Sony Open Day 2: Morikawa Tied 7th at 5 Under, Kim Si-woo and English Tied 35th, Im Sung-jae Tied 57th

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is the resilience of ‘Tank’ Choi Kyung-ju (51, SK Telecom).

On the 16th (Korean time), at the second day of the PGA Tour Sony Open (total prize money $6.6 million) held at Waialae Golf Club (par 70, 7,044 yards) in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, he surged with a 5-under-par round to leap to a tie for 15th place (8-under-par 132 strokes). Nick Taylor (Canada) leads (12-under-par 128 strokes), followed by a chase pack of five players tied for 2nd place at 10-under-par 130 strokes, including Stewart Cink, Webb Simpson, Russell Henley, Vaughn Taylor, and Chris Kirk (all from the USA), just two strokes behind.

Starting from a tie for 40th place, 5 strokes behind, Choi Kyung-ju showcased flawless play with no bogeys and five birdies. He made birdies on the first hole he played, the 10th hole, and the 14th hole (both par 4), reducing two strokes in the front nine. In the back nine, he continued with a birdie on the 1st hole (par 4) and ‘stepping stone birdies’ on the 7th and 9th holes, climbing up the leaderboard. His putting average per hole was an outstanding 1.692, demonstrating excellent ‘stingy putting.’ He is now 4 strokes behind the leader, in a position to contend for the title again since 2008.

Taylor took the top of the leaderboard in one fell swoop with a daily best 8-under-par round. He is a player who won the 2015 Sanderson Farms Championship and last year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Cink also joined the title race by shooting an impressive 7-under-par round. World No. 5 Collin Morikawa (USA) is tied for 7th place (9-under-par 131 strokes), defending champion Cameron Smith (Australia) is tied for 19th place (7-under-par 133 strokes), and ‘Sentry Tournament of Champions’ winner Harris English (USA) is tied for 35th place (6-under-par 134 strokes).

Korea’s Kim Si-woo (26, CJ Logistics) struggled, failing to reduce his score and dropping to a tie for 35th place. Lee Kyung-hoon (30) is tied for 46th place (5-under-par 135 strokes), and Im Sung-jae (23, both CJ Logistics) made it to the main event tied for 57th place (4-under-par 136 strokes). On the other hand, Yang Yong-eun (49) and Kang Sung-hoon (34, CJ Logistics) were cut off, tied for 88th place (2-under-par 138 strokes). Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour member Heo In-hoe (34), who passed the Monday qualifier, performed poorly, tied for 133rd place (4-over-par 144 strokes).