Chris Kirk leads Anthony Kim in second round of Shell Houston Open – Golf news
Chris Kirk fired a score of 3-under-par 69 in the second round of the Shell Houston Open to take a one-stroke lead over Anthony Kim, who made a good comeback with a 64.
The $5.9-million Shell Houston Open is taking place at the par-72 Redstone Golf Club in Houston, Texas.
Kirk reeled six birdies against one bogey and one double bogey in 18 holes to take the front seat on the leaderboard.
He was chased by the defending champion Anthony Kim, who matched the course lowest score of 64 with the help of eight birdies and pars. The Californian made a superb comeback after carding a par score on Thursday. He then stepped onto the back nine with
his trusted putter.
He parred the two opening holes to familiarise himself with the weather conditions that were foggy in the morning. Once he accustomed himself with the thick air, he rolled two back-to-back birdies starting from the par-4 12th. He emulated the
putter-play on the 15th hole and successfully netted two more birdies to move up on the leaderboard.
The defending champion rolled another 12-footer on the closing hole of the back nine to wrap up the first half with a score of 5-under par. He proceeded towards the front nine in pleasant weather conditions and anchored three more points to take the second
spot behind the leader.
The 25-year-old golfer was very happy with his game. He talked to the press after the glorious round and said, “I'm really pleased with my round today, obviously because of the score, but the fact that my coach and I have been working so hard on my game
and it's not - it just hasn't clicked out there and I just haven't trusted it.”
He added that the credit of his improved swings went to his new Dallas-based coach Adam Schriber, who helped him in recovering after the thumb surgery.
Kim added, “Today, even though it was a couple of swings where I didn't trust it, but I got away with it, I got up and down and managed to make a par, but it feels great to have that feeling of confidence and go out there even make some good golf swings
and make a couple putts after that.”
The Professional Golfers Association Tour Shell Houston Open has moved into the third round with Kirk in the lead and Kim chasing him. Let’s see who makes it to the top when the tournament ends on Sunday.
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