Byeonghun An's Leap "Tied 3rd, 4 Strokes Behind Koepka"... '2-Time Champion' Todd Leads

WGC Series FedEx St. Jude Invitational Day 2: Strong 5-Under Surge, Kang Sung-hoon 6th, Im Sung-jae 8th 'Smooth Sailing'

Byung-Hoon An is teeing off on the 13th hole on the second day of the FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Memphis, Tennessee, USA ? Getty Images/Multibits Photo by Getty Images

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is the leap of An Byeong-hun (29, CJ Logistics).

On the 1st (Korean time), at Southwind Golf Club in Memphis, Tennessee, USA (par 70, 7,244 yards), during the second day of the World Golf Championships (WGC) FedEx St. Jude Invitational (total prize money $10.5 million), he surged with a 5-under-par round to climb to a tie for 3rd place (7-under-par 133). Brendon Todd leads (11-under-par 129), Ricky Fowler is 2nd (9-under-par 131), and defending champion Brooks Koepka (all from the USA) are tied for 3rd.

An started from a tie for 15th place, 6 strokes behind, and collected 6 birdies (1 bogey). He made birdies on holes 10, 12, 14, and 16 to reduce 4 strokes in the front nine. After a bogey on the first hole of the back nine (hole 1, par 4), he added birdies on holes 3 and 9 to join the race for the championship. His shot accuracy stood out with a fairway hit rate of 78.57% and green in regulation rate of 77.78%. He is 4 strokes behind the leader, in a position to aim for his first PGA Tour victory.

Todd dominated the leaderboard with flawless play, making 5 birdies without any bogeys. He won his first career title at the 2014 HP Byron Nelson Championship and added two more wins last November at the Mayakoba Golf Classic and Bermuda Championship. He ranked 14th in the 2019/2020 season money list ($2,796,743). Leading by 2 strokes, he is aiming for his third win of the season and fourth overall. Fowler also added 3-under-par to look for a comeback.

On the other hand, Koepka, who led the previous day, struggled with 3 birdies, 2 bogeys, and 1 double bogey, finishing 1-over-par. He had difficulties on the greens, averaging as low as 1.80 putts per hole. From Korea, Kang Sung-hoon (33, CJ Logistics) reduced 1 stroke to tie for 6th place (6-under-par 134). Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics) also shot 2-under-par with 4 birdies and 2 bogeys, currently tied for 8th place (5-under-par 135).

2018 champion Justin Thomas is tied for 12th (4-under-par 136), while 'WGC slammers' Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, and Jordan Spieth (all USA) are tied for 15th (3-under-par 137). 'Number 2' Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) posted 4-under-par to rise to a tie for 33rd (1-under-par 139). Jon Rahm (Spain), making his first appearance since becoming world number 1, struggled with 3 birdies, 1 bogey, and 3 double bogeys, finishing 4-over-par. He is tied for 62nd among 78 players (4-over-par 144).

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