Defending Champion Lee Kyung-hoon's Smooth Sailing "Tied 6th, 3 Strokes Behind"... Palmer and Mu?oz, Skins 'Co-Leaders'

AT&T Byron Nelson Day 2: 4 Under Par, Spieth Tied 6th, Matsuyama Tied 9th, 'Number 1' Scheffler Tied 20th

Lee Kyung-hoon is teeing off on the 14th hole during the second day of the AT&T Byron Nelson. McKinney, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Defending champion Lee Kyung-hoon (31, CJ Logistics) is sailing smoothly.

On the 14th (Korean time) at Craig Ranch Golf Club (par 72, 7,468 yards) in McKinney, Texas, USA, during the second day of the PGA Tour AT&T Byron Nelson (total prize money $9.1 million), he shot 4-under par to stand tied for 6th place (12-under par 132). Ryan Palmer (USA), David Skinns (England), and Sebastian Mu?oz (Colombia) are fiercely battling in a three-way tie for the lead (15-under par 129).

Lee Kyung-hoon started from a tie for 2nd place, 4 strokes behind, and recorded six birdies and two bogeys. In the front nine, he showed clean play with three birdies on holes 12, 15, and 18. In the back nine, he slowed down with one birdie and two bogeys over seven holes but finished strong with consecutive birdies on holes 8 and 9. His long drives of up to 327 yards and a green hit rate of 72.22% with pinpoint iron shots were outstanding. He is three strokes behind the leaders and continues his chance for a second career win since his victory at this tournament last May.

Palmer boasted perfect play with 10 birdies and no bogeys. His putting average of 1.438 putts per hole stood out as ‘water-tight putting.’ A veteran who joined the PGA Tour in 2004, he has four career wins. Skinns also joined the winner’s race by shooting 9-under par. Mu?oz, who set a course record of 12-under par the previous day, added 3-under par to maintain his position at the top of the leaderboard for two consecutive days. Justin Lower (USA) is in 4th place, one stroke behind (14-under par 130).

Jordan Spieth is reading the putting line on the 12th hole during the second day of the AT&T Byron Nelson. McKinney, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

‘Texas boy’ Jordan Spieth (USA) and Joaquin Niemann (Chile) joined the group tied for 6th place. Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) is tied for 9th place (11-under par 133), and Justin Thomas (USA) is tied for 15th place (10-under par 134). World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) is tied for 20th place (9-under par 135). From Korea, ‘domestic No. 1’ Kim Joo-hyung (20) advanced to the third round tied for 38th place (7-under par 137). No Seung-yeol (31), Kim Si-woo (27), and Kang Sung-hoon (35) were cut off.

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