‘Washinsangdam’ An Byeonghun's Smooth Return... "Did You See the Chip Shot Eagle on the 9th Hole?"

Byeonghun An shoots 4-under in Round 2 of Fortinet Championship, tied 3rd at 2 shots behind
Willet and defending champion Homa share lead, Seonghyeon Kim tied 11th
Matsuyama tied 42nd, Seongryun Kang and Seungyul Noh 'cut off'

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] The steady progress of ‘Wasinsangdan’ An Byeong-hun (31).

Ahn Byung-hoon is teeing off at the 9th hole on the second day of the Fortinet Championship. Napa, USA=Getty Images/Multivitz

On the 16th (local time), An Byeong-hun posted a 4-under-par on the second day of the Fortinet Championship (total prize money $8 million), the opening event of the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season, held at Silverado Resort and Spa (par 72, 7,123 yards) in Napa, California, USA, to position himself tied for 3rd place (10-under-par 134 strokes). Danny Willett (England) and last year’s champion Max Homa surged to a tie for the lead (12-under-par 132 strokes), while Justin Lower (USA), who was the leader the previous day, is tied for 3rd.

An Byeong-hun started tied for 3rd, three strokes behind the leaders, and recorded one eagle, three birdies, and one bogey. After warming up lightly with a birdie on the 5th hole, he rode a steep upward trend by making a 21-meter chip shot eagle on the 9th hole (par 5). In the back nine, after a bogey on the 13th hole (par 4), he joined the victory race with ‘stepping stone birdies’ on the 16th and 18th holes. He relied on powerful drives of up to 380 yards. He is two strokes behind the leader, a position from which a comeback is definitely possible.

An Byeong-hun debuted on the PGA Tour in 2016, but due to poor performance in the 2020-2021 season, he was relegated to the Korn Ferry Tour (second tier). Last season, he won once and finished runner-up once on the Korn Ferry Tour, ranking 13th in points and returning to the first tier. An Byeong-hun has experience winning on the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) and the Korn Ferry Tour, but has yet to win on the PGA Tour.

Danny Willett is making a chip shot on the 5th hole during the second day of the Fortinet Championship. Napa, USA - Photo by Getty Images/Multivits

Willett swept up eight birdies without a bogey, quickly taking over the top of the leaderboard. He is the player who won the Masters in 2016. Rookie Kim Seong-hyun (24) faltered, finishing even par and tied for 11th place (6-under-par 138 strokes). Favorite to win Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) advanced to the third round tied for 42nd place (3-under-par 141 strokes). On the other hand, Kang Seong-hoon (35) tied for 74th place (1-under-par 143 strokes), and No Seung-yeol (31), who advanced through Monday qualifying, was cut off tied for 131st place (4-over-par 148 strokes).

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