DP World Tour : Genesis Championship Leaderboard
Byeong Hun An delighted home fans with a second round of 66 to move into a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Genesis Championship.
The World Number 36 known as "Ben" was a huge draw for local crowds alongside Tom Kim, both of whom recently represented South Korea at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Presidents Cup, and they showed their class with great displays on Friday in Incheon.
An had rolled in seven birdies and two bogeys to sit one adrift of overnight leader Ivan Cantero before pressing the accelerator during the second day at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea.
He added another eight birdies and two dropped shots to climb to the summit at -11 with Italian Francesco Laporta and South Africa's Casey Jarvis at -9 and four players sitting one shot further back.
"I feel like I made a lot of putts of ten-footers, 15-footers so I think that helps for making birdies," An said. "They weren't the easiest of putts, but I've rolled in some nice putts in the last two days.
"I love to see the fans out here cheer for me. It doesn't matter whether things go well for me or not, they are still there.
"It would be nice to hold the trophy at the end of the day but I haven't been here for the last five years - six years in a tournament - so all I'm trying to do is show some good golf because they don't see much of me, so I'll try my best and see what happens."
Jarvis mixed seven birdies with three dropped shots to join Laporta at -9 in a share of second place.
Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia, who began the week in 154th on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, improved his chance of retaining his playing rights after carding six birdies and a bogey to reach -8
American Johannes Veerman was also at that mark following a matching 67 alongside Hoshino and Cantero in a tie for fourth.
Kim was flawless in his three-under round of 69 to lead a trio at -7 with Alejandro Del Rey and Matthew Southgate, another player battling to save his card.
Marco Penge, who was in 115th position heading to South Korea, nervelessly birdied the last to make the cut on the line and boost his chances playing on the DP World Tour next year.
edit *** It was a tough day for Canada's Aaron Cockerill who opened with a bogey free -2 70 but today, playing the back nine first was +1 at the turn but was soon +5, including three to get out of the greenside bunker onto the green at the 2nd. His +4 76 +2 total, dropped him below the cut line which fell at -1.
He is projected to drop 3 places to #49 with two rounds to go to complete the regular season before the top 70 head to Abu Dhabi on November 7th. Aaron has a home in Dubai with his wife Chelsea and daughter Addison so will be there for a rest and practice before the playoff.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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