Shin Sang-hoon reads the putting line on the 14th hole. [Photo=KPGA]
Shin Sang-hoon reads the putting line on the 14th hole. [Photo=KPGA]

Shin Sang-hoon is tied for third at the Genesis Championship, a co-sanctioned event between the KPGA Tour and the DP World Tour carrying a $4 million purse.

Shin carded five birdies and three bogeys for a 2-under-par 69 on Friday at Woojeong Hills Country Club (par 71) in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, moving to 7-under 135 for the tournament. He shares third place with The Open champion Ryan Fox of New Zealand, Martin Couvra of France and Filippo Celli of Italy, three strokes behind the leaders.

"Things didn't go my way early on and it was a bit of a struggle," Shin said after his round. "Still, I stayed patient and kept playing, and a lot of chances came on the back nine — I think I took them well and finished strong. In rounds three and four, I'll try to attack and bring my score down. I'll do my best to put on a great show for the fans who come out to watch."

Casey Jarvis of South Africa and Antoine Rozner of France share the lead at 10-under 132. Jarvis posted four birdies with no bogeys, while Rozner went bogey-free with six birdies to move into a tie at the top.

Kim Si-woo, the highest-ranked player in the field at world No. 14, made six birdies and four bogeys for a 2-under 69, leaving him at 6-under 136 in a tie for seventh with Lee Dae-han.

"The cold weather made it hard to swing the way I wanted, and I made a lot of small mistakes that led to bogeys," Kim said. "It was tough because things just weren't clicking until the end, but the weather warmed up toward the finish and I found my feel, so I was able to close on a good note."

Im Sung-jae, who finished runner-up at last week's Asian Tour Macao Open, barely made the cut. Im made four birdies and five bogeys for a 1-over 72, leaving him at 1-over 143 in a tie for 57th with Lee Kyoung-hoon — just inside the cut line.

Im was 2-over through 17 holes and in danger of missing the cut, but he saved his weekend with a birdie on the par-5 18th. Defending champion Lee Jung-hwan, however, struggled to a 2-over 73 and finished at 3-over 145, missing the cut and ending his bid for back-to-back titles.


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