Siwoo Kim's Breather "Tied 27th, 7 Shots Behind"... 'Top Favorite' McIlroy "Misses Cut"

Texas Open Day 2: Even Par Falters, Palmer Leads by 2 Shots, Kutcher, Chappell, and Fritel Tied for 2nd in Chase

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is a breather for Kim Si-woo (27, CJ Logistics, photo).

On the 2nd (Korean time), at the Valero Texas Open (total prize money $8.6 million) held at TPC San Antonio in Texas, USA (Par 72, 7,438 yards), Kim Si-woo struggled on the second day, failing to reduce his strokes and dropping to a tie for 27th place (3-under 141). Ryan Palmer leads (10-under 134), with Matt Kuchar and Kevin Chappell (both from the USA), and Dylan Frittelli (South Africa) tied for second place (8-under 136), two strokes behind, in pursuit.

Starting from a tie for 18th place, four strokes behind, Kim Si-woo exchanged three birdies and three bogeys. He started shakily with a bogey on the 13th hole (par 3) in the front nine but energized himself with 'stepping stone birdies' on the 16th and 18th holes. In the back nine, he faltered with bogeys on the 2nd and 4th holes but recovered the lost strokes with a birdie on the final 9th hole (par 4). His long drives averaged 327 yards, but his fairway hit rate was only 57.14%, and his greens in regulation rate was 55.56%. He averaged 1.70 putts per hole.

Kim Si-woo is the player who achieved his first victory at the Wyndham Championship in August 2016. He has won three PGA Tour titles in total, including the Players Championship in May 2017, known as the 'fifth major,' and the American Express in January last year. This season, he has played in 14 tournaments, entering the top 10 once and the top 25 seven times, ranking 47th in the money list ($1,290,973). Currently ranked 53rd in the world, he is likely to participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games this September, where professional participation is allowed.

Ryan Palmer is hitting an iron shot on the 13th hole during the second day of the Texas Open. San Antonio, USA=Getty Images/Multivitz

Palmer surged with a 6-under round to dominate the top of the leaderboard. He is a player with four career wins. Chappell joined the victory race with a daily-best 7-under round. Russell Knox (Scotland), who led the previous day, struggled with a 4-over round and slipped to a tie for 27th place. Defending champion Jordan Spieth (USA) added 2-under and is looking to climb the ranks from a tie for 47th place (2-under 142). No Seung-yeol (31, Jivent) also joined this group.

‘Top favorite’ Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) lost one stroke. He remained tied for 84th place (1-over 145), failing to advance to the final round. His tee shots were shaky, with a fairway hit rate of only 28.57%. Next week at the Masters, he will need to adjust his shots to complete the career Grand Slam, becoming the sixth player in history to do so. ‘The Hulk’ Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Kang Sung-hoon (35), and Lee Kyoung-hoon (31, both CJ Logistics) were also cut.

Lori McIlroy is making an approach shot on the 12th hole on the second day of the Texas Open. San Antonio, USA - Photo by Getty Images/Multibitz

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