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A18   SPORTS
                    Saturday 2 March 2019
            Im, Mitchell share 36-hole lead at Honda Classic




            By TIM REYNOLDS                                                                                                     in  much  later  Saturday,
             AP Sports Writer                                                                                                   with his tee time scheduled
            PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.                                                                                            for 1:35 p.m.
            (AP)  —  Sungjae  Im  was  in                                                                                       Even  though  the  Honda  is
            the first group to tee off on                                                                                       played in an area of South
            the  first  hole  Friday  at  The                                                                                   Florida where a number of
            Honda  Classic.  He'll  be  in                                                                                      PGA Tour players live — in-
            the final group Saturday.                                                                                           cluding Tiger Woods — the
            Im,  the  20-year-old  South                                                                                        field includes only three of
            Korean rookie who around                                                                                            the  top  20  players  in  the
            this time last year was win-                                                                                        most recent world rankings.
            ning the first Web.com Tour                                                                                         Im  grew  up  watching
            start  of  his  career,  shot  a                                                                                    Woods, staying up until the
            6-under  64  in  the  second                                                                                        middle of the night in many
            round at PGA National. He                                                                                           cases  to  see  him  play  on
            shared  the  36-hole  lead                                                                                          television.
            at  6-under  134  with  Keith                                                                                       "Just  watching  him  makes
            Mitchell (66).                                                                                                      me nervous," Im said.
            It  could  be  considered  a                                                                                        He's  got  a  36-hole  lead  to
            surprise  final  pairing:  Com-                                                                                     be nervous about now.
            bined,  Im  and  Mitchell                                                                                           Lucas  Glover  (69)  was
            have zero PGA Tour wins.                                                                                            third  at  5  under.  Svensson
            "It's just nice to kind of feel                                                                                     and  Brooks  Koepka  were
            like  you're  in  contention                                                                                        among  those  in  a  group
            and  playing  well,"  Mitchell                                                                                      at 4 under, and 42 players
            said.  "You're  out  there  ac-                                                                                     were within five shots of the
            tually trying to make birdies                                                                                       lead.  "Can't  be  too  upset
            instead of trying to salvage                                                                                        with  1  under  around  here,
            and trying to make a cut ...                                                                                        to be honest," said Glover,
            trying to make a birdie and                                                                                         the 2009 U.S. Open cham-
            force it. Today we were just   Sungjae Im, of South Korea, hits from the fairway of the 10th hole during the second round of the   pion who has three straight
            out there trying to hit good   Honda Classic golf tournament, Friday, March 1, 2019, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.    rounds  in  the  60s  at  PGA
            shots."                                                                                            Associated Press  National  going  back  to
            Mitchell  had  five  birdies                                                                                        his final-round 66 last year.
            and  bogey  Friday;  Im  had  shot a 64 on Thursday, and  money-winner on the Web.     "I was hitting the ball really  "Wind picked up a little to-
            seven birdies and a bogey  Adam  Svensson  had  one  com  Tour  last  year,  was  well  today,  so  all  my  putts  wards  the  end.  I  didn't  hit
            to match the low round of  Friday.  Im  got  through  the  atop the money list for the  were  under  10  feet,"  said  it great, but got myself into
            the week so far. First-round  second  round  on  only  25  entire  season  and  played  Im, who had a 6:45 a.m. tee  the thing."
            leader  Jhonattan  Vegas  putts.  He  was  the  leading  his way into two majors.      time. He'll be able to sleep  Justin  Thomas  also  is  still  in
                                                                                                                                the  thing,  though  the  de-
                                                                                                                                fending champion has a lot
            American Amy Olson                                                                                                  of work to do if he's going
                                                                                                                                to go back-to-back.
            leads by 2 strokes                                                                                                  Thomas, playing with a sore
                                                                                                                                right wrist after a wayward
                                                                                                                                swing against a tree Thurs-
            at LPGA Singapore                                                                                                   day, had an eagle, a dou-
                                                                                                                                ble-bogey and a triple-bo-
                                                                                                                                gey on his way to an event-
            SINGAPORE  (AP)  —  Amy  (71)  and  No.  3  Minjee  Lee                                                             ful 74. He got in right on the
            Olson's  eagle  on  the  front  (71).                                                                               36-hole cut line, 2 over.
            nine  and  a  late  birdie  After an eagle on the par-                                                              "Hopefully, I'll at least have
            on  the  16th  hole  were  5 eighth on Thursday, Olson                                                              a  chance  where  I  can
            enough  for  the  American  did the same on the par-5     In this Sept. 16, 2018, file photo, Amy Olson of the U.S. plays an   make  something  up  this
            to emerge from a five-way  fifth in the second round.     approaching shot during the Evian Championship women's golf   weekend," Thomas said.
            tie from the first-round lead  "I've  made  some  pretty   tournament in Evian, eastern France.                     Vegas  reached  7  under
            to shoot a 3-under 69 and  good  shots  on  both  those                                            Associated Press  briefly,  then  finished  in  a
            take  a  two-stroke  lead  af-  par  fives  to  set  them  up,"                                                     group tied for 13th at 3 un-
            ter two rounds at the HSBC  Olson said.                   day."                        her  opening  round,  and    der after shooting a 73.
            Women's World Champion-      "I  hit  the  ball  really,  really  No. 4 Park, making her first  tweeted about it later.  Gary  Woodland  extended
            ship.                        good today and gave my-      start  of  the  LPGA  season,  "Well,  I  tried  to  get  out  of   his  streak  of  consecutive
            The  26-year-old  American  self  a  ton  of  birdie  oppor-  said  she  was  "feeling  kind  some  trouble  by  punch-  made  cuts  to  21  with  an
            had  a  two-round  total  of  tunities  on  the  front,  and  of rusty, but happy where I  ing  out...  I  proceeded  to   eventful  birdie  on  the  par-
            7-under  137  Friday  on  the  honestly, I just couldn't read  am at the moment."      hit  a  tree  ...  and  slammed   5  18th.  He  went  over  the
            Sentosa  Golf  Club's  Tanjo-  the greens out there. I don't  Former No. 1 Lydia Ko shot  the grip end of the club in   green with his second shot,
            ng course.                   know if the pins were just in  70  and  was  2-under.  Nelly  the ground, little did I know   ran  his  third  well  past  the
            There  was  a  five-way  tie  tricky spots but I gave up a  Korda, who won the Wom-    it  was  going  to  bounce   hole and coolly rolled in a
            for  second  —Inbee  Park  lot  of  opportunities  on  the  en's  Australian  Open  two  up and hit me full force in   15-footer  for  birdie  to  get
            (69),  Azahrara  Munoz  (68),  front  nine.  A  couple  putts  weeks  ago,  shot  70  and  my  lip,"  she  said  on  Twit-  to 2 over. Woodland hasn't
            Jodi Ewart Shadoff (70), No.  kind of fell at the end, but  was at even-par.           ter.  "That's  what  we  call   missed  a  cut  since  at  The
            1-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn   just overall, kind of a steady  Korda  had  a  painful  74  in  Karma."q                Players  Championship  last
                                                                                                                                May.q
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