Sungjae Im moved into a share of the lead at the halfway stage of the Genesis Championship after carding a four under par round of 67 at Woo Jeong Hills.
Related: Haotong Li in share of early lead at Genesis Championship
The two-time PGA TOUR winner, who was victorious at this event in 2019, carded six birdies in his round to move into contention, with compatriots Junghwan Lee and Minhyuk Song joining him in an eight-way tie at the top of the leaderboard on six under par.
Also in a share of first after 36 holes are Nacho Elvira of Spain, Englishman Alex Fitzpatrick, New Zealander Daniel Hillier, Haotong Li, of China, and Frenchman Tom Vaillant.
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Both Hillier and Li have their sights on earning dual membership with the PGA TOUR, as they currently occupy two of the ten coveted spots at the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings, whilst Elvira and Vaillant are competing to earn a place in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in a fortnight’s time, the first event of the DP World Tour Play-Offs.
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The Top 70 available players on the Race to Dubai Rankings at the conclusion of this event will earn a spot at Yas Links. At the other end of the Rankings, the Top 115 are projected to earn their playing rights for 2026. Adam Scott, who was the last man in at the start of the week, is now projected to keep his card for next season as he currently sits in a share of 44th place on one under par.
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Player Quotes
Sungjae Im: “I think I was playing much better overall today. I was really making the shots that I intended. Compared to yesterday, I had a really good. Especially because I felt my play was really consistent and stable.
“I feel that today I was very consistent. Looking back at my game, I think I was aggressive when I needed to be and I played safe when I needed to. When I could create birdie opportunities, I was really going for it. On pin locations where I felt I needed to play safe, I did, and I was able to make par on those holes. My strategy was really good today.”
Nacho Elvira: “The goal for all the DP World Tour members is to play in the final series in Abu Dhabi and especially Dubai. Getting there would be great, giving us a chance to get into Dubai. But the honest truth is we are trying to stick to our game plan, build things for next season. If that gets us to Abu Dhabi and Dubai great, if not, we keep building.”
Alex Fitzpatrick: “I played pretty nicely, to be honest. I drove the ball well, I drove it a lot better than yesterday so I found myself in a few more fairways. I think I dropped one shot on the 13th, the par three, just with a wrong club. I felt pretty solid. Just trying to capitalise on the last couple of weeks and keep momentum for the weekend.”
Daniel Hillier: “It’s very important out there (staying patient). It’s a course where you feel like you should be able to shoot a good score, but if you bite off more than you can chew you can get caught out quickly. I knew I had to hang in there and that chances would come. Thankfully I managed to snag one on the last to put me in position.”
