Lee Kyoung-hoon surges into contention at Shriners Children’s Open

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Lee Kyoung-hoon surges into contention at Shriners Children’s Open

Published: 14 Oct. 2023, 14:13 Updated: 15 Oct. 2023, 06:08

JIM BULLEY
jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr

Lee Kyoung-hoon plays his shot from the 15th tee during the first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship at The Country Club of Jackson on in Jackson, Mississippi on oct. 5. [GETTY IMAGES]

Lee Kyoung-hoon surged into contention at the Shriners Children’s Open on Friday with a superb 7-under 64 to sit three back of second round co-leaders Cameron Champ and Lanto Griffin.

The 32-year-old Lee, who is a two-time PGA Tour champion, struck an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas for tied sixth position on 9-under 133. Champ shot a 67 while Griffin returned a 66 to lead on 12-under heading into the weekend of the third FedExCup Fall event.

China’s rookie professional Yuxin Lin enjoyed an impressive 66 for tied 11th place on 8-under while defending champion Tom Kim of Korea, also known as Kim Joo-hyung, carded a 68 to be six off the pace. Another Chinese, Carl Yuan produced an 11-shot improvement with a stellar second round 64 to make the weekend cut on 139, a week after a career-first top-10 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson, the seventh woman golfer to compete on the PGA Tour, missed the cut following a 69.

Lee is hoping to become the third successive Korean to win the Shriners Children’s Open after Im Sung-jae (2021) and Tom Kim (2022).

"I’m happy with the score and played really well, especially on the back nine. It was good to see good shots and I managed to hole some good putts including the eagle on 16," said Lee, who converted a 13-foot putt for eagle.

"I’m looking forward to the weekend and will try to keep playing aggressively on this golf course. I know Sungjae and Tom won here in the last two years so maybe this place is good luck for Korean golfers and I will do my best to challenge for the title to keep the streak going."

After the disappointment of missing the FedExCup Playoffs which is limited to the top-70 players, Lee, who is currently 76th in the rankings, is determined to conclude 2023 on a strong note and give himself a chance of earning exemptions into two Signature events in early 2024 — the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational — by finishing inside the top 60 of the FedExCup Fall rankings. He has three top-10s and six other top-25s so far this season.

Lin, who is a two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur champion, birdied three of his last four holes to move up the leaderboard and give himself a shot at concluding a successful week in his first regular PGA Tour start outside of the majors. Defending champion Kim Tim, meanwhile, dropped a double bogey in his round of 68 to leave himself with an uphill battle in his hopes to secure a repeat victory in Vegas.

Champ, chasing a fourth career win, and Griffin, who holds one win previously, lead by one stroke from Henrik Norlander who charged into contention with a 64. "Just stick to my game plan. If I hit it somewhere in the middle of what I did on Thursday and today, I think I'll be fine," said Champ.

Eleven-time LPGA Tour winner Lexi Thompson shot a fine 69 but missed the cut by three shots with her 142 total. "I played really well today, came out super early, and bogeyed 17 but made a great save on 18 there and just overall played very steady," said Thompson. “As the day went on, I tried to stay committed to my targets out there and to my swing thoughts and just enjoyed the whole experience."

Watch this week's Shriners Children's Open on JTBC Golf and Sports.

BY CHUAH CHOO CHIANG [kjdsports@joongang.co.kr]