AFP, Los Angeles :
Kim Si-Woo flirted with a 59 score before settling for a course record 10-under par 60 to grab a two-shot lead after the second round of the Wyndham Championship on Friday.
South Korea’s Kim leads the USPGA Tour tournament at 12-under after his bogey-free round at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. He holds a two-shot edge on four others, including Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.
Kim tried not to allow himself to think too much about the possibilities as he went through the final holes of the second round. His birdie attempt missed on his final hole.
“I make birdie it is a 59,” Kim said. “I was really trying to make that birdie on the last hole.”
Before the day was done, Lucas Glover had a bid for 59 with a birdie putt on number 18. He left a 27-foot attempt well short, then missed the par putt and ended with 61.
Glover, Matsuyama, Jim Furyk and first-round co-leader Kevin Na are all at 10-under. Glover, who was playing for the first time in seven weeks, played in the group behind Furyk, who posted a 58 less than two weeks ago.
The rash of 59 attempts and Furyk’s historic 58 come as a bit of a surprise as the top players in the world have either taken the past several weeks off or are competing in the Rio Olympics which wraps up on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Kim is enjoying the moment but isn’t going to rejoice too loudly because he still has two rounds to go. “Not so much celebration today,” he said.
His last birdie attempt came on the par-four ninth hole after his tee shot with a driver sailed left and he had a difficult approach shot. His putt from 49 feet rolled next to the hole.
“Just trying to par,” he said.
Five golfers, including Brandt Snedeker, held the previous course mark of 61.
This is the final tournament for the PGA Tour season’s FedEx Cup points. Graham DeLaet, Noh Seung-Yul, Kang Sung, Matt Jones, Kim Whee and Scott Stallings-with rankings between 119 and 129 — all missed the cut, jeopardizing their chances of finishing in the top 125.
