In cool weather, Sung Kang produces a hot round at AT&T Byron Nelson
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Sung Kang's Round 2 highlights from AT&T Byron Nelson
DALLAS – Sung Kang was in his mid-teens when he first came to Dallas from his native South Korea. His dad sent him to the area in the winter and summer stretches to hone his golf skills.
Then in 2011, in his rookie year on the PGA TOUR, Kang moved permanently to North Texas, setting up shop in the suburb of Coppell, near the airport.
On Friday, prior to the start of his second round at the AT&T Byron Nelson, the 31-year-old woke up to conditions he had never seen in May in Texas – cool temperatures in the mid-50s, along with brisk early breezes. That forced players to wear long sleeves and sweaters; some even wore beanies, an unusual look for a tournament that’s normally closer to sweltering.
Dallas native Jordan Spieth acknowledged he wasn’t prepared for it – he was on the range when he called his wife and asked her to bring him some cold-weather apparel from their house. “No excuses if you’re in your hometown,” Spieth joked.
Sweden’s Henrik Stenson was properly bundled up. “Had four layers on and felt a little bit like the Michelin Man,” he said. Martin Laird, a native of Scotland, was very familiar with the weather. “Definitely more of a Scottish weather today than Dallas this time of year,” he said.
The cool weather might have thrown off a few players.
Kang was not one of them.
“It’s like perfect and awesome,” he said. “Nice conditions for a low score.”
Nice conditions for a 10-under 61, which is what Kang shot Friday to tie the course record set by Marc Leishman last year when Trinity Forest made its debut as the host venue.
Spieth, a member at Trinity Forest, called it “an absurd round.” Compared to the rest of the field, it certainly was – Kang’s 61 was more than 10 strokes better than the field average when he finished early Friday afternoon.
At 16 under through 36 holes, Kang had the clubhouse lead, four strokes ahead of playing partner Matt Every, who shot a 65. “An impressive round of golf,” Stenson replied when asked about Kang, who is seeking his first TOUR win. “He seems to have left some space between him and the rest of the field as of now.”
It wasn’t Kang’s lowest score on TOUR – in 2016, he shot a course-record 11-under 60 at Monterey Peninsula while playing the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. His celebrity partner that week was comedian/TV actor Ray Romano, who had never heard of Kang prior to that week. On the flip side, Kang had never heard of Romano – he did a Google search to find out more -- but they had four rounds to really get to know each other.
Ironically, that week at Pebble Beach also had unusual weather – hot temperatures and sunny skies, and none of the “Crosby weather” the tournament is famous for in February.
Obviously, Kang has shown the ability to compensate for different conditions. After checking the weather and noting the cool temperatures Friday, Kang adjusted his yardages on the driving range prior to his round, estimating that his shots were traveling five percent shorter than on Thursday.
“So we just trust the number and five percent, just hit it and then worked out good,” Kang said.
It certainly did during his run of six consecutive birdies in the middle of his round.
At the short par-4 fifth, Kang nearly holed his wedge shot, then tapped in to start his birdie streak. His approach at the sixth from 135 yards landed 6-1/2 feet from the pin. He reached the fringe of the par-5 seventh green for a birdie there. His tee shot at the par-3 eighth finished 8 feet away and his approach with a 4-iron from 217 yards at the par-4 ninth left him 6 feet for birdie.
Once he made the turn, he let his putter take over, as he rolled in birdie putts from 21-1/2 feet at the 10th, 18-1/2 feet at the 13th, 12 feet at the 14th and 11 feet at the 16th. As if that wasn’t enough, he saved par on his final hole with a 14-footer.
Every was playing so well that it wasn’t until the back nine that he realized his playing partner was playing better.
“I didn't even know Sung was playing that good until 10, 11 there, looked on the board, said he made six in a row,” Every recalled. “Really, he's made six in a row? I was kind of doing my own thing.
“Yeah, it was a good day for both of us.”
Kang said 59 did cross his mind after his birdie putt at the 16th. He needed birdies on the closing two holes, but neither one is easy, and he didn’t want to ruin his round with a late bogey. So he played conservative, not wanting to step back to the field
“Conditions were so hard,” he said. “You try to force it and the course is playing so tough out there. So, just try to get the opportunity, probably try to hit it within 15 feet and if I make the putt, good. If I don't, make par and get me going.
“I still think it was a great round.”