Im Sungjae's Power "Tied 61st → Tied 14th Jump"... Niemann 'Two-Day Leader'

Genesis Invitational Day 2: Young 2nd at 2 Strokes Behind, Thomas 3rd, Spieth Tied 4th, Morikawa 6th

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is the resilience of ‘Shriners Champ’ Im Sung-jae (24, CJ Logistics, photo).

On the 19th (Korean time), at the Pacific Palisades Riviera Golf Club in California, USA (par 71, 7,322 yards), during the second day of the PGA Tour Genesis Invitational (total prize money $12 million), he surged with a 5-under-par round to leap to a tie for 14th place (5-under-par 137). Joaquin Niemann (Chile) leads by 2 strokes (16-under-par 126), Cameron Young is second (14-under-par 128), and Justin Thomas (both USA) is third (11-under-par 131).

Starting from a tie for 61st place, 8 strokes behind, Im Sung-jae collected 6 birdies (1 bogey). After reducing 2 strokes on the front nine with birdies on the 10th hole (par 4) and 16th hole (par 3), he gained momentum on the back nine with consecutive birdies on the 1st and 2nd holes and another birdie on the 6th hole (par 3). He recovered from a bogey on the 7th hole with a birdie on the 9th hole (both par 4), promising a strong next round. He relied on powerful drives averaging 318.8 yards and ‘stingy putting’ averaging 1.58 putts per hole. He is currently 11 strokes behind the leader.

Joaquin Niemann is reading the putting line on the 18th hole on the second day of the Genesis Invitational. Pacific Palisades, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

Niemann recorded 1 eagle, 7 birdies, and 1 bogey. He reduced 8 strokes for two consecutive days, firmly holding the top of the leaderboard. He is a player who won once at the 2019 Greenbrier. Jordan Spieth is tied for 4th place (9-under-par 133), ‘Number 2’ Collin Morikawa (both USA) is 6th (8-under-par 134), and ‘Number 3’ Viktor Hovland (Norway) and Cameron Smith (Australia) are tied for 7th (7-under-par 135). Defending champion Max Homa (USA) is tied for 10th (6-under-par 136).

‘Phoenix Open Champ’ Scottie Scheffler (USA) dropped 1 stroke to a tie for 22nd place (4-under-par 138). Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) and ‘Tokyo Olympic Gold’ Xander Schauffele (USA) are tied for 31st (3-under-par 139). ‘Number 1’ Jon Rahm (Spain) and Patrick Cantlay (USA) are tied for 60th (even par 142). From Korea, Kim Si-woo (27) is tied for 22nd, and Lee Kyoung-hoon (31) is tied for 31st. ‘Domestic player’ Lee Jae-kyung (23) missed the cut, tied for 90th (3-over-par 145).

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