Overnight leader Anthony Kim shrugged off an erratic outward nine in difficult putting conditions to grab a two-stroke advantage after the Tour Championship second round on Friday.
Four shots clear at the start of a steamy day at East Lake Golf Club, the 23-year-old American birdied two of the last nine holes to card a one-under-par 69.
In pursuit of his third PGA Tour victory this year in the final event of the regular season, Kim posted a seven-under total of 133.
Spaniard Sergio Garcia briefly joined Kim at the top of the leaderboard after a sizzling start before bogeying the par-three last for a 65 and second place at five under.
American world number two Phil Mickelson was a further stroke back in third after piling up five birdies in the last seven holes for a 68.
”I hit it pretty well, I just didn’t get the putts to fall,” Kim told reporters after totalling 32 putts on East Lake’s lightning-fast greens. ”I just wanted to keep grinding.
”It’s a tough golf course and I know nobody is going to shoot 61 out there and really jump on anybody. It was a tough day but I’ve got good thoughts going into the weekend.”
Garcia, crushed 5 and 4 by Kim in the last-day singles at the Ryder Cup on Sunday, was delighted to vault into second place in the elite 30-man field.
”I played solid today [Friday], hit some good shots and hit some good putts,” said the world number five, who rolled in birdie putts from 25 feet at the sixth and seventh. ”Unfortunately not the best finish but overall a good, solid round.”
Cup defeat
Asked whether he would reflect on his Ryder Cup defeat after being paired with Kim for the third round, Garcia replied: ”It’s a totally different event. Tomorrow [Saturday] is an important day to give yourself a chance on Sunday.”
Kim, who played a significant role in the United States Cup victory over Europe last week, briefly stretched his lead to five when he struck his approach to three feet at the par-four first and tapped in the birdie putt.
Although the Korean-American stumbled with a three-putt bogey at the second, he picked up another shot at the par-four fourth where he rolled in a 15-footer to lead Garcia by three.
Kim then bogeyed seven and eight before reaching the green in two at the ninth and two-putting for a birdie four.
He raised his game after the turn, picking up strokes at the 10th and 12th to forge three ahead before bogeying the last after hitting his tee shot into a bunker.
Of the other big names in the field, South African world number six Ernie Els carded a 73 to lie eight strokes off the pace while Fiji’s Vijay Singh battled to a 74.
Singh, who has all but secured the season-long points race for the FedExCup, bogeyed the final hole to finish at seven over, a distant 14 shots behind leader Kim.
After winning the first two of the four lucrative play-off events, Singh simply needs to complete Sunday’s final round to lift the trophy and pocket $9-million in cash with $1 million deferred. — Reuters