Ram's 8-Under Par Storm Shot "I See the No. 1 Seed"... Im Sung-jae Ties for 7th at 5-Under Par

'PO Round 2' BMW Championship Day 1: McIlroy and Burns Tied for Lead, Finau Tied for 7th

World No. 1 Jon Rahm is teeing off on the 2nd hole during the first day of the BMW Championship 'PO Round 2'. Owings Mills, USA = Getty Images / Multivitz

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "The No. 1 seed is showing."

World No. 1 Jon Rahm (Spain) made an early surge. On the 27th (Korean time) at the Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland, USA (par 72, 7,542 yards), the first day of the PGA Tour ‘PO 2nd round’ BMW Championship (total prize money $9.5 million), he fired an 8-under par to immediately take the top spot on the leaderboard. Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) and Sam Burns (USA) are tied for first place, while Sergio Garcia (Spain) is chasing in 4th place, one stroke behind at 7-under par 65.

Rahm collected eight birdies. Starting with a birdie on the 2nd hole (par 5), he made three consecutive birdies from the 4th to 6th holes, followed by a birdie on the 8th hole (par 4), gaining momentum. On the back nine, he made ‘stepping stone birdies’ on the 12th and 14th holes, and finished pleasantly with a birdie on the 17th hole (par 3). His power comes from a maximum drive of 331 yards. Among the four par 5 holes, he eagled three with ‘2-on 1-putt’. Along with an 88.33% greens in regulation rate featuring pinpoint iron shots and an average of 1.67 putts per hole, his performance was solid.

It is noteworthy that Rahm is currently ranked 2nd in the PO rankings and can move up to 1st place with a win in this tournament. The No. 1 seed starts the ‘final 3rd round’ Tour Championship at 10-under par. This is because the PGA Tour introduced a new PO system in 2019 that awards ‘stroke bonuses’. The breakdown is: 2nd place starts at 8-under par, 3rd at 7-under par, 4th at 6-under par, 5th at 5-under par, 6th to 10th at 4-under par, 11th to 15th at 3-under par, 16th to 20th at 2-under par, 21st to 25th at 1-under par, and 26th to 30th at even par.

Im Sung-jae is teeing off at the 2nd hole on the first day of the BMW Championship 'PO Round 2'. Owings Mills (USA) = Getty Images / Multibits

‘PO 1st round’ Northern Trust champion Tony Finau is tied for 7th place (5-under par 67) along with Dustin Johnson (both USA). South Korea’s Im Sung-jae (23, CJ Logistics) joined this group. He recorded one eagle, four birdies, and one bogey, with the eagle on the 4th hole (par 4) being the highlight. On the signature hole set at 331 yards, he succeeded in ‘1-on’ and sank a 2-meter putt. With his current ranking, he is 23rd in the PO standings, and only the top 30 advance to the ‘final 3rd round’.

‘The Hulk’ Bryson DeChambeau remained tied for 19th place (4-under par 68). Despite a massive 355-yard drive, his rollercoaster play with seven birdies and three bogeys slowed him down. Justin Thomas (USA) also stopped at tied 19th place. Lee Kyoung-hoon (30) is tied for 29th place (3-under par 69), and Kim Si-woo (26, both CJ Logistics) dropped to 68th place (2-over par 74), making securing a ‘final 3rd round ticket’ urgent. Lee Kyoung-hoon is 43rd in the PO rankings, and Kim Si-woo is 39th.

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