Hole-in-one prompts Si Woo Kim to lead at Valero Texas Open after Round 2

SAN ANTONIO — When Greg Norman designed the par-3 16th hole at TPC San Antonio, he created an homage to No. 6 at Riviera Country Club, home of the Genesis Open in Los Angeles, right down to its signature bunker in the center of the green. The doughnut of sand makes the green an easier place to land a small aircraft than land a golf ball unless, of course, you’re Si Woo Kim, who hoisted a 9-iron high in the air from 167 yards and tossed his club when the tentative cheers of the gallery gave way to a lusty, all-out roar that reverberated throughout the Texas Hill Country. “I saw the bounce, but I never (saw) it go in,” said Kim, a former winner of THE PLAYERS Championship. It was the sixth ace of his career — he noted he made his first at age 8 at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles — and second on the PGA TOUR (2016 Travelers Championship). It propelled Kim to a second straight 66 and a 4-stroke lead over six golfers including Rickie Fowler (68) and Jordan Spieth (68). RELATED: Spieth back to holing out shots | Conners a Monday warrior The South Korean carded two birdies on the front nine and grabbed the lead when he rolled in a 22-foot birdie putt at No. 12. He tacked on a short birdie at the par-5 14th before his heroics at No. 16. The ball landed 5 feet short of the cup, hopped once, twice and into the cup. “I’m (always) playing (to) draw the ball, but pin’s tight right,” Kim said. “I’m just trying start left edge of the right bunker. Hit it like really good and then wind’s kind of coming in. Perfect number, too.” Perfection, indeed, as was his celebration. He high-fived with playing competitor Jonas Blixt and caddie Bobby Brown. “Never this loud,” Kim said of the roar for his ace at 16. His play at TPC San Antonio is worthy of applause too. Kim leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (+5.855), and struck the ball better during his bogey-free second-round 66 than he did during his eight-birdie effort the day before, Brown said. Kim, 23, has won twice before — at the 2016 Wyndham Championship and at the 2017 PLAYERS Championship. He expressed his disappointment that he didn’t notch a win last season. “I always try to win,” he said. To do so, he may have to battle the elements. The Texas winds, which laid down on Thursday and Friday, are expected to be a bigger factor this weekend and rain is forecasted for Saturday. Kim’s four-stroke lead is the largest of the TOUR season at the midway point, but he also will have to fend off Fowler and Spieth as well as a host of others. Eighty golfers made the cut at 1-under 143, precipitating a 54-hole cut will take place to the low 70 and ties. Defending champion Andrew Landry, Billy Horschel and Smylie Kaufman, who made his first TOUR start since July, are among the pros from the field of 144 to miss the cut. At 12-under 132, Kim set the 36-hole tournament record at by two strokes since the event moved to TPC San Antonio in 2010. “Halfway home,” said Brown, Kim’s caddie. “Now the real fun starts.”

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