THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson Round 2: Si Woo Kim Flirts With 59, Settles for 60 and a Five-Shot Lead

For 17 holes on Friday, Si Woo Kim was playing a round that belongs in the record book. The 18th hole had other ideas, and Kim still walked off TPC Craig Ranch with a 60 and a five-shot lead.

Kim made 12 birdies in an 11-under 60 to reach 18-under 124 at the halfway point of THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. A par on the last would have made Kim the 16th player in PGA TOUR history to break 60. Instead, a bogey on the par-4 18th left that door shut, and a stacked group of five sits tied for second at 13 under: Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Sungjae Im, Jackson Suber and Kensei Hirata.

Seventeen Holes of Perfect

The South Korean was simply relentless. Kim had seven birdies through 10 holes, stuck a 166-yard approach to 3 feet at the par-4 11th and kept going. At the 16th, a birdie putt that would have put Kim on pace for 59 missed by inches. At the par-3 17th, Kim responded by curling in a 17-footer from the fringe for birdie number 12.

That left a par at the last for 59. It did not come. Kim's second shot flew the green on the 18th, a hole that used to be a par 5 before the redesign turned it into a par 4 and that played as the hardest on the course through two rounds. The chip came up about 19 feet short, the par putt broke right, and the dream ended on the final stroke.

Kim did not sound too wounded about it.

"I hit it great and putted great," Kim said, per the AP. "So everything was perfect, other than the last hole."

Kim also admitted the number crept into the picture after the birdie at 17. "Sixty is hard, but I was a little bit of thinking about the 59 after I make that on 17," Kim said.

For context, the TOUR's 18-hole record is still Jim Furyk's 58 at the 2016 Travelers, and 59 has been shot 14 times, including by Scheffler at TPC Boston in 2020.

Scheffler Plays Along, Quietly

Scheffler had the best seat in the house, again paired with Kim, and kept a respectful silence as the round built.

"I would say it would definitely be in poor taste to remind somebody they're on 59 watch," Scheffler said, per the AP.

The defending champion was not just a spectator. Scheffler shot 63 and played a four-hole stretch on the back nine in 5 under, highlighted by a 45-foot eagle putt at the par-5 12th. Patience was the only play on a day when a playing partner was lapping the field. Scheffler sits five back with 36 holes to go.

A Crowded Chase

Clark matched Scheffler's 63 to get to 13 under, a quiet but significant move for a player who started the day four shots back after an opening 66. Suber was even more impressive, shooting a bogey-free 61 with an eagle at the par-5 12th after opening with 68. Hirata backed up his opening 64 with a bogey-free 65.

Im produced the shot of the day. Im aced the 222-yard par-3 seventh, then rolled in a 14-foot eagle putt at the par-5 ninth on the way to a 61 with seven birdies and one bogey. Jordan Spieth called it one of the prettiest aces he had ever seen.

Spieth had a show of his own. Spieth made six straight birdies starting with a 12-footer at the fourth and finished with a 4-footer at the ninth for a bogey-free 62, reaching 12 under. Spieth is part of a five-way tie for seventh along with Tom Hoge (62), Tony Finau (63), Tyler Duncan and Keith Mitchell.

Thursday's Leaders Cool Off

The first-round pacesetters could not keep up. Taylor Moore followed a 62 with 69 and sits at 11 under, seven behind. Brooks Koepka also shot 69 to fall to 10 under, eight back. Jesper Svensson, who shared second after the first round, slipped all the way to 7 under with a 72.

The cut fell at 6 under, a reminder of how soft Craig Ranch played. Michael Thorbjornsen, who opened with 64, shot 73 and missed by a shot at 5 under. Billy Horschel, Nick Dunlap and Matt Kuchar were among the others headed home early.

Why the Scoring Is So Low

The renovation, a nearly $25 million redesign led by Lanny Wadkins, added bunkers and more contour on the greens. But rain on Thursday and little wind left the course soft, and players could lift, clean and place in the fairway. Spieth said it was unusual to get soft conditions with no wind in Dallas in May, and argued the course would be significantly harder under normal conditions.

The Weekend Picture

Five shots is a big cushion, but this is not a golf course that protects leads. Scheffler, last year's runaway winner with a record-tying 253, is in the chasing pack. So are Clark, a red-hot Im and a confident Suber. Kim has the lead, the round of the week and the scars of one bad swing on 18. How Kim handles Saturday after a day like that is the question that frames the weekend.

Catch up on Thursday in our Round 1 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 2 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (AP Round 2 stories and leaderboard), AP via WTOP, Golf Today. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.