Page 19 - ATD13Febr2016
P. 19
SPORTS A19
Saturday 13 February 2016
Kang flirts with 59 and
doesn’t even know it
DOUG FERGUSON made another bogey for Kang was at 11 under and
AP Golf Writer a 65, leaving him one shot playing his final hole and Sung Kang, of South Korea, hits from the 11th tee of the Monterey
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) behind. Rose smiled and said, “The Peninsula Country Club Shore Course during the second round
— Sung Kang didn’t know “I thought I was going to greens are obviously per- of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament Fri-
anything about his amateur shoot a lot lower than I did,” fect.” day, Feb. 12, 2016, in Pebble Beach, Calif. Kang co-leads the
partner until he went on the Mickelson said. “I didn’t ex- Kang couldn’t agree more. tournament after shooting an 11-under-par 60.
Internet and looked up ac- pect to play 1 over com- He lost track of the number
tor Ray Romano. He didn’t ing in. But I’m not going to of birdie putts he made Associated Press
realize the par at Monterey complain because I made in the 15-foot range, say-
Peninsula was 71 until he a lot of good putts on the ing they were “too many
scrambled for par on his fi- front.” He goes to Pebble to count.” Some of them
nal hole and realized while Beach on Saturday as he he read on his own. Other
signing his card Friday that goes after a record-tying times he brought in the
he set the course record fifth win in this event. experience of his caddie,
with a career-low 60. Kang and Iwata were at Mike “Fluff” Cowan, who is
It added to a memorable 11-under 132. working for Kang while Jim
day at the AT&T Pebble Iwata, who tied a major Furyk recovers from wrist
Beach Pro-Am, where Kang championship record with surgery.
and Hiroshi Iwata of Japan a 63 at the PGA Champi- And the 28-year-old South
wound up tied for the lead. onship last year at Whistling Korean had an actor at his
“I feel like I’m living a dream Straits, had a 66 at Pebble side cheering him along.
right now,” Kang said. Beach. Romano, who has become
Kang and Phil Mickelson Mickelson, Freddie Jacob- a regular at this event,
each brought the possibility son (69 at Spyglass Hill) and wasn’t sure the name of his
of 59 into the conversation Chez Reavie (70 at Pebble partner earlier in the week.
— one early in his round, Beach) were one shot to No offense taken. Kang
the other late. par behind at 10 under, didn’t know him, either.
Mickelson took only 11 while Justin Rose had a 68 “One of my buddies came
putts on the front nine at at Monterey Peninsula and up and said, ‘Oh, you’re
Monterey Peninsula. When was at 9 under. with Ray. He’s very fa-
he made a 40-foot eagle Jordan Spieth failed to mous,’” Kang said. “I did
putt on the 10th hole, he birdie any of the par 5s at some research on it. I
was 7 under for the round Monterey Peninsula — he Googled Ray and he was
and had a pair of par 5s re- is 1 under on the par 5s like on a really famous TV
maining over his last eight this week even though he show for six or seven years.
holes. could reach all of them in He gets like almost a third
He made bogey on one two shots — and his round more earnings from TV dra-
of the par 5s, hooking his of two birdies and 16 pars ma show.”
fairway metal into shrubs put him at 3-under 140 and Asked if Romano knew
and having to reach into eight shots out of the lead. him, Kang smiled and said,
the thick plants with a “I’m 1 under on the par 5s, “I think he’ll remember me
hybrid to punch out the and from where I’ve been, after today.”
ball and make sure it only they have pretty much all Kang had three birdies and
went about 6 feet so that been par 4s for me,” Spieth an eagle on the back nine
it wouldn’t go up the slope said. “So it almost feels like to start his round, picked up
and roll back into the bush- I’m playing them 7 over.” a pair of birdies early on the
es. Lefty usually doesn’t hit Rose thought Monterey front nine and then poured
great shots that go 6 feet Peninsula was difficult be- it on with three straight bird-
unless he has a putter. cause the greens are not ies that brought him to 11
Then, he nearly lost his tee as pure as the other cours- under with only the par-3
shot on the final hole and es. Then he was told that ninth remaining.
“I still thought the par was
72,” he said.
He hit what he called his
worst shot of the day, a big
cut that came up short and
in the rough. He chipped to
15 feet and saved par.
“It was just going in every
single time,” he said.
Jason Day had a 66 at
Monterey Peninsula to
get within five shots of the
lead. Patrick Reed, playing
alongside Mickelson, had
six birdies in a seven-hole
stretch on the back nine
and also was at 6 under.q
