'Number 1' Ram Leads for Two Days "PO 1st GO~"... Shopliffe Tied for 3rd, 2 Shots Back

'PO Round 1' The Northern Trust Day 2 4 Under Par, Finau 2nd, DeChambeau and Im Sungjae Tied 17th, Johnson and Morikawa 'Cut Off'

World No. 1 Jon Rahm is hitting an iron shot on the 16th hole during the second day of the 'PO Round 1' at The Northern Trust. Jersey City, USA = Getty Images / MultiBits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] World No.1 Jon Rahm (Spain) is cruising smoothly.

On the 21st (Korean time), at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA (par 71, 7,410 yards), continuing the PGA Tour Playoffs (PO) first round, The Northern Trust (total prize money $9.5 million), Rahm posted a 4-under-par on the second day, maintaining his position at the top of the leaderboard for the second consecutive day (12-under-par 130 strokes). Tony Finau is in second place (11-under-par 131 strokes), while Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas (both USA) are tied for third place (10-under-par 132 strokes).

Rahm started tied for the lead by 3 strokes and showed clean play with 4 birdies and no bogeys. He was 'quiet' in the front nine with only one birdie on the 13th hole (par 5), but sparked momentum with a birdie on the 4th hole (par 3) in the back nine, followed by consecutive birdies on the 6th and 7th holes. His powerful drives averaged 311.3 yards, and his accuracy stood out with an 85.71% fairway hit rate. He leads by one stroke and can become the 'PO No.1' by winning this tournament, overtaking Collin Morikawa (USA).

Schauffele surged with a 9-under-par to join the race for the title. Kevin Na is tied for 6th place (9-under-par 133 strokes), Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth are tied for 10th place (8-under-par 134 strokes), and 'Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau (all USA) is performing well at tied 17th place (6-under-par 136 strokes). On the other hand, defending champion Dustin Johnson (USA) is tied for 76th place (1-over-par 142 strokes), and Morikawa is tied for 97th place (2-over-par 144 strokes), suffering the humiliation of missing the cut.

Im Sung-jae (right) is waiting with his caddie on the fairway of the 18th hole on the second day of the Northern Trust Playoff Round 1, waiting for the group ahead to hole out. Jersey City, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

Korea's Im Sung-jae (23, CJ Logistics) showed strong resilience by collecting 6 birdies. His 85.71% fairway hit rate and 88.89% greens in regulation stood out. He joined the group tied for 17th place. Lee Kyoung-hoon (30, CJ Logistics) also improved his position slightly by reducing 3 strokes, tied for 46th place (3-under-par 139 strokes). Kim Si-woo (26, CJ Logistics) reduced 1 stroke with 4 birdies, 1 bogey, and 1 double bogey but was tied for 76th place and missed the cut.

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