Korea's Sungjae Im brilliantly birdied six of his opening eight holes on Friday to surge into contention at the USD 20 million WM Phoenix Open, the second round of which was suspended due to darkness.
The 24-year-old Im, chasing a third PGA Tour win, chipped in for birdie from 63 feet on the par-4 10th hole before making five more gains including a 34-footer at the famous par-3 16th at TPC Scottsdale's Stadium Course to sit on 6-under through 12 holes. Play was suspended due to darkness with the entire afternoon wave unable to compete in their second rounds.
Im's 7-under total left him in tied-fourth place and three shots behind clubhouse leader and defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who fired a superb 64 to reach the halfway mark at 10-under 132. The world No. 2 holds a two-shot lead over in-form Spaniard Jon Rahm (66) and Adam Hadwin of Canada, who was 3-under with eight holes remaining.
McIlroy, at 3-under thanks to 13 holes of 5-under golf in the second round, was among those still out on the course.
Scheffler could return to No. 1 with a win provided McIlroy finishes worse than a solo third. There is also a path to No. 1 with a runner-up for Scheffler, but Rahm would have to not win and McIlroy would need to finish worse than solo 36th.
Last year at TPC Scottsdale, Scheffler not only broke through for his first career PGA Tour victory, but he also sparked a scintillating run that included wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, WGC-Dell Match Play and Masters, as well as his initial ascension to world No. 1, which McIlroy later grabbed from him after winning the CJ Cup last fall.
On the first day, McIlroy got off to a very slow start as he shot 2-over 73 and was lying way down as darkness stopped play early. The World No. 1 McIlroy has won his last two starts, the CJ Cup and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and is looking at making it three in a row.
Im is looking to return to winning ways after he last lifted the Shriners Children's Open in October 2021. This season, he finished top-10 twice including a T4 at the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago and holds a best finish of tied seventh in Phoenix in 2019.
Another Korean Tom Kim was another impressive performer of the day as he registered a superb 66 to move up to T11 on 137. He was two over par through his first four holes on Thursday but has since produced some sublime golf to move up the leaderboard.
Yet another Korean Si Woo Kim, who was victorious at the Sony Open in Hawaii last month, sits T38 on 141 following a 69 and was joined by Japan's Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner at WM Phoenix Open, who was 4-under with five holes to finish on Saturday morning.
( With inputs from ANI )
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