Sung

Kang

The Texas resident, whose lone TOUR title came at the 2019 Byron Nelson in Dallas, WD’s mid-tourney for a third time in 228 events, first since this event in 2018 at the GC of Houston, also during R2. This week, he was 7-over thru nine holes (beginning off 10 tee), 11-over total after an opening 74, 10 adrift of the current cut line with nine holes to go. The South Korean arrived 5-for-6 on the season with a best of T27 at the Shriners four starts ago as the 18-hole leader (61-73-69-69). At press time, he is in the published field at next week’s RSM Classic.

After making five straight cuts beginning with a T-47 at the Fortinet Championship and extending through a T-48 at the Zozo Championship, Kang shot 68-71 to miss the cut by one last week at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. And while Kang also missed the cut last year in Houston at Memorial Park GC, he does have some good memories to draw on from past tournament success: In 2017, Kang shot 65-63 to stand at 16-under par through two rounds and set the tournament 36-hole scoring record as well as the largest 36-hole lead (six strokes). A 71-72 over the weekend opened the door for eventual winner Russell Henley and Kang finished solo second, three shots back. Kang also caused some sparks early at the Shriners Children’s Open, where he shot 61 in the first round to take the 18-hole lead before eventually finishing T-27. Last season, he was 178th on the FedExCup standings, making 14 cuts in 31 starts with a season-best T-15 at the Wyndham Championship.

If this lead holds up, it would be the South Korean’s third 18-hole-lead/co-lead in 224 events, first since T1 at the 2011 Viking Classic during his rookie campaign (finished T7). His other, also in 2011, was at the Farmers, where he led by one before cratering to T51 (64-76-78-70). Today’s 61, his best in 15 rounds at TPC Summerlin, previously 63/R2 in 2020 (finished T29), is one shy of a career-low, tournament-record 11-under 60/R2 at MPCC at the 2016 AT&T Pebble Beach (finished T17). On nine (of 14) fairways and 16 greens in regulation, Kang squared a lone bogey-5 at hole 3 (3-putt from 20'8"), smothered by nine birdies, seven of those birdie-3s, and a walk-off eagle-3 at 9 from 17'10", after a brilliant 7-wood approach from a fairway bunker 259 yards away. At last check, he posted 0.946 SG: Off-the-Tee, 4.169 SG: Approach, -0.001 SG: Around, and 2.890 SG: Putting with 25 total putts, and preceded the eagle with a par-saver at 8 from 15'7". The 34-year-old arrived off a T65 at last week’s Sanderson Farms, where he was T17 after R1 (68-71-72-72). See link below to post-round comments.

Kang smothered 14 greens today after splitting 10-of-14 fairways. It was a well-balanced attack as he walked off the course gaining more than a stroke over the field in all four sub-categories of strokes gained. Kang entered the week just 188th in the FedExCup race so he would need a win in order to qualify for next week’s Playoffs. On the bright side, the pressure isn’t too high since he has another full season of status thanks to his 2019 Byron Nelson victory.

Kang tossed together rounds of 70-72-72-73 last week at Muirfield Village Golf Club to post a T32 finish. That was his third straight cut made and he’s now 177th in the FedExCup race. Kang made a pit stop before traveling to South Carolina. He qualified for next week’s U.S. Open via the Columbus sectional. He fired rounds of 71-66 to finish T9 which secured him one of the 16 allotted spots.

The 33-year-old South Korean native missed the cut at the Wells Fargo (75-79) and Valspar (71-73), but Kang said he’s feeling confident after making some technical adjustments to his swing recently. “I had been really struggling until probably last month with the technical problems in my golf swing, but my coach and myself, we figured that out what was going on …and now I’m actually working more on technique -- the shots that I need to play on the golf course, working more on the hitting of shots and how we’re going to score better,” he said Tuesday. “Plus, this week I’m playing on my home course. I’m going to feel really comfortable and hopefully everything works out great and I can get the same results in 2019.” Kang is 8-for-21 in cuts made on the season, with his best being a T-29 result at the Masters last November. This week marks Kang’s seventh start in the Byron Nelson (four cuts made).

This is the Texas resident’s seventh appearance with one previous top 25, a T6 three tries ago in 2017 (69-70-74-68). He checked in just 6-for-16 on the season, missing his last three cuts, with a best of T29 at the Masters 11 starts ago (75-69-71-70). This is the first time the South Korean has been in the top 10 after 18 holes since last season’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude (August), where he was solo 4th before cratering to T44 (65-69-72-72). On five (of 14) fairways and 14 greens in regulation, he lost strokes off-the-tee (-1.055) and around-the-green (-0.029), but gained 3.810 approaching, No. 1 in SG: Approach. The 33-year-old squared a lone bogey-5 at 12, outpaced by an eagle-3 at 2 from 30'1", and five birdies at 10, 18, 3, 8 and 9, four from between nine and 39 feet, with three of those from beyond 20 feet. Kang posted a tidy 1.571 putts per GIR and 4.642 SG: Putting with 26 total putts, buoyed by a par-save at 15 from 12'2".

Kang roared out of the gate last year at Bay Hill, posting rounds of 69-68 to grab a share of the 36-hole lead. He would fade to T9 over the weekend but it was still a strong showing. That was his final event before the COVID-19 pause and he’s failed to find any momentum since the return to action. Last year wasn’t his first taste of success at Bay Hill, either, as he also posted a T6 during the 2019 edition. Perhaps a return to this comfortable venue can kickstart his season.

Kang has a flawless 6-for-6 record at Riviera Country Club and he’s turned two of those into top-10 finishes. First, it was a T8 back in 2016 and he posted a runner-up finish last year. Over Kang’s career, he has racked up top 25s in 36-of-202 events while he’s managed top 25s at The Riv in four of his six starts. It’s safe to say he likes the layout this week but what about his recent form? Kang arrives with nothing better than a T29 over his last 21 starts on TOUR. This is truly a case of course history clashing with recent form so gamers will have to decide which path they want to take.

Kang has been active this season, already racking up 10 starts, earning a paycheck in four of those. That includes a T29 at the Masters Tournament, his only result to really write home about. As for his track record at Torrey Pines, Kang struggled at first but was arriving with top 20s in each of his last two trips to La Jolla, California. Gamers should remove him from all weekly lineups.