Conor Purcell wasn’t able to reproduce the same quality he displayed in his opening round but still finds himself with weekend work while Seamus Power’s hopes of retaining a full PGA Tour card took another blow as he heads home early from the ISCO Championship.
After an eagle-par-birdie start on Thursday, Purcell came to the 18th on Friday right on the one-over-par cutline, but a brilliant birdie ensured a safe passage through to the weekend on the PGA Tour. Power added a three-over-par 73 to his Thursday 74 for a seven-over-par total, and his hopes of getting inside the top 100 on the FedEx Cup look to be fading.
Chan Kim eagled the par-4 fourth hole for the second straight day, this time with a 36-yard chip in a two-under-par 68 that stretched his lead to five strokes Friday in the ISCO Championship.
On Thursday at Hurstbourne Country Club, Kim holed out from 123 yards on the fourth and shot a 61 to take a four-shot lead in the additional Event on the PGA TOUR, also sanctioned by the DP World Tour.
“Obviously, the hole-out on four again,” Kim said. “I don’t know what the odds are of doing that, but boy, if I could make four twos on that hole I’d be very happy.”
Kim also holed a 35-foot birdie chip on the par-4 eighth to get to 11 under, five shots clear of Kris Ventura, Vince Whaley, and Thomas Rosenmueller tied for second at six-under-par.
“I think this is a course where you just have to stay patient,” said Kim, the 35-year-old former Arizona State player who was born in South Korea and grew up in Hawaii. “I know I shot 9 under yesterday, but the course is not playing that easy.”
An eight time winner on the Japan Golf Tour, Kim is chasing his first PGA TOUR title.
“Just keep my foot down,” Kim said. “I know that these guys are so good, somebody’s going to catch up. I already know that. The best I can do is handle myself the way I did when I won all those events and that’s just to stay patient and play my game.”
The tournament winner will receive a two-year exemption and a PGA Championship spot next year.
Purcell gets his third round underway at 3.55pm Irish time and he sits five off the top 10 spots.
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