Kang Sung-hoon's Leap to the Lead... Im Sung-jae and McIlroy Tied for 4th, 2 Shots Behind

Arnold Palmer Invitational Day 2: Hatton Tied for Lead at 4 Under Par, Kepka and Lee Kyoung-hoon Tied for 38th

Kang Sung-hoon is hitting an iron shot on the 16th hole on the second day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Orlando, Florida, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is Kang Sung-hoon’s (33, CJ Logistics) leap to the lead.

On the 7th (Korean time) at Bay Hill Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, USA (par 72, 7,454 yards), during the second day of the 2019/2020 PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational (total prize money $9.3 million), he surged with a 4-under-par round to take the top spot on the leaderboard at 7-under-par 137. Tyrrell Hatton (England) joined him in a tie for the lead, while world No. 1 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics), and Harris English (USA) are tied for 4th place at 5-under-par 139.

Kang Sung-hoon started tied for 11th, 4 strokes behind, and racked up 6 birdies (2 bogeys). After exchanging 2 birdies and 2 bogeys over 11 holes without much progress, he showed strong finishing power with consecutive birdies on holes 12 and 13, and “stepping-stone birdies” on holes 16 through 18, ultimately rising to the lead. His fairway hit rate and greens in regulation were in the 60% range, but his “stingy putting” of 1.50 putts per hole was outstanding. This is his second win opportunity since his victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson in May last year.

Hatton shot 3-under-par to join the race for the title. Danny Lee (New Zealand) posted the daily best of 5-under-par to sit in 3rd place, one stroke behind at 6-under-par 138. On the other hand, McIlroy lost one stroke with 4 birdies, 3 bogeys, and 1 double bogey. His putting average of 1.818 per hole was a setback. He is 2 strokes behind the leader and still in a position to contend for the win. Patrick Reed is tied for 7th at 4-under-par 140, and Ricky Fowler (both USA) is tied for 13th at 3-under-par 141.

“Number 2” Brooks Koepka (USA) lost one stroke and remained tied for 38th at 1-over-par 145. Among Koreans, Im Sung-jae continued his smooth play with 4 birdies and 1 bogey. This is his second consecutive week with a chance to win, following last week’s Honda Classic. Lee Kyung-hoon (29) is tied for 38th, and An Byeong-hun (29, both CJ Logistics) is tied for 61st at 3-over-par 147, advancing to the third round. Meanwhile, Kim Si-woo (25, CJ Logistics) struggled with 7-over-par and was cut off, tied for 97th at 7-over-par 151.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.