'Number 1' Johnson "Tied 2nd, 5 Shots Behind"... Kim Taehoon 'Cut Off'

Genesis Invitational Day 2: Burns Leads at 4 Under, Spieth Tied 6th, Ram and Kang Seonghun Tied 19th

Dustin Johnson is hitting an iron shot on the 7th hole during the second day of the Genesis Invitational. Pacific Palisades, California, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] The smooth sailing of 'Number 1' Dustin Johnson (USA).

On the 20th (Korean time), at the Riviera Golf Club in Pacific Palisades, California, USA (par 71, 7,322 yards), the second day of the PGA Tour Genesis Invitational (total prize money $9.3 million) continued, and Johnson shot 4 under par to rise to a tie for 2nd place (7 under par 135). Jason Kokrak (USA) and Joaquin Niemann (Chile) joined this group. Sam Burns (USA) occupied the top of the leaderboard for the second consecutive day (12 under par 130).

Johnson started from a tie for 12th place, 4 strokes behind, and collected 5 birdies (1 bogey). Although he started shakily with a bogey on the 2nd hole (par 4), he made up for the lost strokes with a birdie on the 6th hole (par 3), followed by consecutive birdies on the 9th and 10th holes, and added birdies on the 12th and 17th holes to improve his ranking. He relied on his long drives averaging 310.4 yards and a 'pinpoint iron shot' accuracy with a green hit rate of 72.22%. He is 5 strokes behind the leader and has a chance for his second win of the season since winning the 'Fall Masters' last November.

Burns continued his spirited run by shooting 5 under par. He is currently ranked 149th in the world and has yet to win a tournament. Jordan Spieth is tied for 6th place (6 under par 136), Patrick Cantlay tied for 9th (5 under par 137), Brooks Koepka (all USA) tied for 14th (4 under par 138), and 'Number 2' Jon Rahm (Spain) is tied for 19th (3 under par 139). Defending champion Adam Scott (Australia) barely made it to the final round, tied for 56th place (even par 142).

Kang Sung-hoon is teeing off on the 3rd hole on the second day of the Genesis Invitational. Pacific Palisades, California, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

In Korea, Kang Sung-hoon (34, CJ Logistics) posted the best score, reducing 3 strokes to tie for 19th place. Lee Kyung-hoon (30, CJ Logistics) is tied for 56th. On the other hand, 'Domestic Number 1' Kim Tae-hoon (36, Webcash Group) struggled with 4 over par and was cut off, tied for 84th place (2 over par 144). Kim Si-woo (26, CJ Logistics), along with 'Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau, 'Number 3' Justin Thomas (all USA), and Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) also failed to advance to the 3rd round.