Burns Cruises Toward Second Consecutive Win "Tied 3rd, 3 Strokes Behind"... Nesmith Surprises as Leader

Valspar Championship Day 2: Headwin 2nd, Thomas 5th, Shoply Tied 7th, No Seung-yeol and Kepka Tied 25th

Sam Burns is teeing off on the 14th hole on the second day of the Valspar Championship. Palm Harbor, USA=Getty Images/Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Defending champion Sam Burns (USA) is cruising smoothly.

On the 19th (Korean time), at the Innisbrook Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida, USA (par 71, 7,340 yards), Burns posted 4-under par on the second day of the PGA Tour Valspar Championship (total prize money $7.8 million) to tie for 3rd place (11-under par 131). Matthew NeSmith (USA) leads by 2 strokes (14-under par 128), Adam Hadwin (Canada) is 2nd (12-under par 130), and Scott Stallings (USA) is tied for 3rd.

Burns started tied for the lead by 1 stroke and recorded 1 eagle, 4 birdies, and 2 bogeys. In the front nine, he quickly recovered from a bogey on the 11th hole with an eagle on the 14th hole (both par 5s), and in the back nine, he fired three consecutive birdies from holes 1 to 3. However, a bogey on the 4th hole (par 3) slowed him down, but a birdie on the final 9th hole (par 4) secured his spot for the next round. He relied on a maximum drive of 332 yards, a greens in regulation rate of 72.22%, and an average of 1.62 putts per hole.

Burns is a 25-year-old young gun who won the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour Savannah Championship and immediately advanced to the PGA Tour in the 2019 season. After his first victory at this tournament last year, he finished runner-up at the AT&T Byron Nelson and the FedEx St. Jude Invitational in August. He secured his first win of the 2022 season early at the Sanderson Farms Championship in October. He is 3 strokes behind the leader and is in a position to aim for his second consecutive win of the season and his third career victory.

Matthew Nesmith is putting on the 9th hole of the second day of the Valspar Championship. Palm Harbor, USA=Getty Images/Multivitz

NeSmith dominated the top of the leaderboard by collecting 1 eagle and 8 birdies without any bogeys. He is ranked 279th in the world and has yet to win a tournament. His best personal finish was a tie for 6th at the Puerto Rico Open in February 2020. Justin Thomas (USA) reduced his score by 5 strokes for two consecutive days and rose to 5th place (10-under par 132). Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele and Webb Simpson (both USA) are tied for 7th place (8-under par 134).

David Lipsky (USA) and Jonathan Vegas (Venezuela), who were co-leaders the previous day, faltered with even-par rounds and are tied for 10th place (7-under par 135). Brooks Koepka is tied for 25th (5-under par 137), world No. 2 Collin Morikawa and Dustin Johnson (both USA) are tied for 38th (4-under par 138), and Viktor Hovland (Norway) is tied for 49th (3-under par 139). From Korea, No Seung-yeol (32) is tied for 25th, while Kang Sung-hoon (35) missed the cut, tied for 141st (10-over par 152).

No Seung-yeol (left) is walking with his caddy after teeing off at the 6th hole on the second day of the Valspar Championship. Palm Harbor, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

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