Kang Sung-hoon's Fierce Battle "Tied 19th, 4 Strokes Behind"... 'Number 2' Johnson 'Cut Off'

3M Open Day 2: Haedwin and Armour Tied for Lead at 6 Under Par, Lee Kyung-hoon and Oosthuizen Tied for 19th, Fowler Tied for 26th

Kang Sung-hoon surged with a 6-under par on the second day of the 3M Open, rising to a tie for 19th place.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Kang Sung-hoon (34, CJ Logistics) is showing strong performance.

On the 24th (Korean time), at the Twin Cities Golf Club in Blaine, Minnesota, USA (par 71, 7,431 yards), during the second day of the PGA Tour 3M Open (total prize money $6.6 million), he surged with a 6-under-par round to climb to a tie for 19th place (6-under-par 136 strokes). Adam Hadwin (Canada) and Ryan Armour share the lead (10-under-par 132 strokes), while Chez Reavie and Bo Hoag (both USA), Jonathan Vegas (Venezuela), and Roger Sloan (Canada) are tied for third place (9-under-par 133 strokes).

Kang started in the 80th position and collected one eagle and five birdies (one bogey). Starting at the 10th hole, after birdies on the 11th and 14th holes, he took a brief breather with a bogey on the 16th hole (both par 4s), then energized himself with a chip-in eagle on the 18th hole (par 5). In the back nine, he added three more birdies on the 5th, 7th, and 9th holes, launching a serious chase for the lead. He relied on his ‘pinpoint iron shots’ with an average driving distance of 313.2 yards and a green hit rate of 83.33%.

His putting average per hole was also excellent at 1.60. He is four strokes behind the leader, presenting an opportunity to aim for his second career win after 2 years and 2 months since his victory at the 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson. Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) and Lee Kyung-hoon (30, CJ Logistics) also advanced to the final round tied for 19th place. Ricky Fowler (USA), who was the leader the previous day, struggled with 2-over-par and dropped to a tie for 26th place (5-under-par 137 strokes). ‘Number 2’ Dustin Johnson (USA) and An Byeong-hoon (30, CJ Logistics) missed the cut.