Byung-Hoon Ahn, 32, of South Korea, shaved four strokes off his score on day two of the U.S. Professional Golf (PGA) Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge ($8.7 million) to move into a tie for fourth place, five strokes behind leader Harry Hall (England).
Ahn carded five birdies and a bogey for a 4-under 66 in the second round of the tournament at Colonial Country Club (par 70, 7209 yards) in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, on Sunday (July 27), giving him a 7-under 133 total.
Ahn, who started the day in a tie for seventh place, birdied the first hole to get off to a good start. He bogeyed the fourth hole, the course’s most difficult “Dreaded Horseshoe” corner. However, he birdied the 7th and 8th holes, and then birdied the 12th and 13th holes in the second half to move up the leaderboard.
A tie for sixth at the Valero Texas Open in April is his best finish since moving back up to the first division after playing in the second tier last year.
Rookie Hall, who was 8-under on the first day, carded six birdies and two bogeys for a 4-under 66 to move to 12-under. On the par-3 eighth, his tee shot landed in a bunker and his second shot failed to clear the bunker, sending him further away from the hole, but he saved the day when he holed his third shot.
The 25-year-old Hall, who wore a hunting cap like legendary player Ben Hogan, who has five wins in this event, has made the cut in 12 of 20 events this season. His best finish was a tie for seventh at the Puerto Rico Open in March. This time around, he has been in peak shot making form, with no change in expression, and is leading the field.
Harris English (USA) is three strokes off the lead at 9-under-par after hitting a 9-iron from 170 yards on the eighth hole for a hole-in-one. Emiliano Grillo (ARG) shot a daily best of 5-under par to move up four places to third (8-under par).
Adam Shank and Robbie Selton (USA) shot 3-under par to finish in a tie for fourth with Byung-Hoon Ahn. Scottie Schaeffler (USA), who moved to No. 1 in the world golf rankings, dropped three strokes to share seventh place (6-under par) with Andrew Novak (USA). Schauffler finished second in a playoff at this event last year.
Michael Block was a big favorite [Photo: Getty Images Korea].
Kim, 28, who started the day in a tie for seventh place, is tied for 19th (3-under par) with Lee, 32, and defending champion Sam Burns (USA), who shot 1-under par. Kim, who has four career wins at the Sony Open, including a tie for second at the AT&T Byron Nelson two weeks ago, had been feeling the ball well of late, but today he alternated four bogeys with four birdies.
Lee Min-woo (AUS), who earned provisional status on the Tour with this event, shot 1-over par to finish tied for 28th (2-under par) with Ryan Fox (NZL), who also earned provisional status, and Korean-Americans Justin Seo and Michael Kim.
Seventy-two players with two-day totals of 1-over par or better qualified for the weekend. Sung Jae Lim, 25, who returned to the United States after winning the Korean Tour in South Korea two weeks ago, shot even-par to tie for 73rd (2-over par) with Tony Finau, while Sung Hyun Kim, 25, missed the cut after shooting 1-over par to tie for 109th (6-over par).
Teaching professional Michael Block (USA), who entered last week’s PGA Championship tied for 15th, dropped four strokes on the day and finished in a tie for last place (15-over par) to end a long two weeks. As an unscheduled invitee, his schedule was limited from the start. However, Block enjoyed the two weeks in front of the fans and made a strong impression. 메이저놀이터
The third round will be broadcast on JTBC Golf & Sports from 2 a.m. on Aug. 28.