One stroke back heading into the weekend, in-form Korean star K.H. Lee is thinking of nothing less than a victory after a second round 2-under 70 kept him on Cameron Smith’s heels at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday on Friday.
Lee traded four birdies, which included a 40-foot monster putt, against two bogeys at Muirfield Village for a two-day total of 7-under 137 as World No. 3 Smith stepped up his bid for a third victory of the season on the PGA TOUR by adding a 69 to his opening 67.
Related: KH Lee sounds the bugle early at Memorial Tournament
Another Korean, Sungjae Im kept himself in contention with a second successive 70 to lie four back in the $12 million showpiece which has been unkind to him following two missed cuts over the last two seasons.
Three weeks ago, the 30-year-old Lee successfully defended his AT&T Byron Nelson title in Dallas and his return to winning form has him yearning for more success at the Memorial Tournament, which is hosted by legend Jack Nicklaus and is one of three elevated events on TOUR.
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“I will have another chance to win if I play well like this Thursday and Friday,” said Lee, whose imperious ball-striking form through 36 holes sees him leading the Strokes Gained: Tee to Green statistic where he has gained eight shots over the field.
Starting from the 10th, he holed birdie putts of seven feet and five feet on the 12th and 15th holes respectively to turn in 34 before nailing a lengthy 40-footer from off the fringe on the first hole. After dropping bogeys on Hole Nos. 2 and 4, Lee brilliantly splashed out from a greenside trap to within a foot on the par-5 7th hole for his final birdie of the day.
“The strong wind made my game very difficult today. But I hit some solid shots, so I can keep good momentum. Made birdie on par 5 (7th hole) so I can get a good position for tomorrow. Today’s 2-under is a good score,” he said.
While this is Lee’s fifth straight tournament, the adrenaline rush has kept him firing on all cylinders. He made changes to his team in early May by going back to his old swing coach Chris Mayson, former psychologist Jung Gu Reen and hired a new caddie, Dan Parratt and the results have been immediate.
“Still exciting. And plus, Muirfield, I love this golf club. Still a lot of good momentum,” he smiled.
Im, 24, kept himself in the title chase with three birdies on Hole No. 6, 9 and 14 from inside of 11 feet and three-putted the 15th hole for his lone bogey to stand at 4-under. “I kept on the fairways on most holes, that was good. And I hit some good irons. I’m a little disappointed I didn’t make more birdies even though I had many chances.
“I didn’t play for four weeks, but I finished T15 last week, so I feel great now,” said Im, who tested positive for Covid-19 while at home in Korea last month for a domestic event which forced him to withdraw from the PGA Championship.
Smith, 28, is aiming to join Tiger Woods (2001) as the only other player to win the Memorial Tournament and THE PLAYERS Championship in the same season. Four birdies against a lone bogey kept his nose ahead of Lee and Denny McCarthy (69) as he gained his third career 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR.
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“I think my game’s in a good spot. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be. I’m playing some of the best golf of my life, and I feel I’m getting more consistent with the longer stuff. So just looking forward to everything coming up,” said the Aussie, who was victorious at the Sentry Tournament of Champions as well this season.
“I feel like I’m rolling the ball really good. Just need to sort out that longer stuff. Didn’t really hit many fairways on the back greens, but just need to hit a few balls and sort it out.”
Korea’s Si Woo Kim added a 71 to his first round 72 for tied 29th position while Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan bounced back from a 76 on Thursday with a 68 to lie in a share of 39th place. India’s Anirban Lahiri missed the halfway cut by one after a 73.
