Round of 60 ties his personal best
Song Min-hyuk (22, Dong-A Pharmaceutical) surged to the outright lead in the second round of the Asian Tour Philippine Open on Friday, powered by a hole-in-one and an eagle.
Playing at South Woods Golf and Country Club (par 70, 7,138 yards) in Manila, Song carded a hole-in-one, an eagle, eight birdies and two bogeys for a 10-under-par 60. After finishing even par in the opening round, Song moved to 10-under 130 for the tournament to take sole possession of first place.
Starting on the 10th hole, Song opened with a birdie and followed with back-to-back birdies on holes 14 and 15 to build momentum. He then made eagle on the par-4 16th before recording a hole-in-one on the par-3 17th. A birdie on the par-5 18th capped a front nine in which he made seven birdies.
Song dropped a shot with a bogey on the par-4 1st hole to begin the back nine but bounced back with four more birdies to finish at 60. The round tied his personal best score.
Song made his KPGA Tour debut in 2024 and won the rookie of the year award that season. In May this year he claimed his first professional victory at the GS Caltex MK Open, which also earned him Asian Tour playing rights.
Wang Jeong-hun (31) finished the second round at 4-under 136, while Ham Jeong-woo (32, Hana Financial Group) was at 3-under 137. Jo Woo-young (25, Woori Financial Group) and Jung Jae-hyun (21) both finished at even-par 140.
KPGA Tour players have now claimed two Asian Tour victories this year. Jo won the Philippine Golf Championship in February, and Ham took the International Series Singapore Open title in April.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
