Steady Hoge in four-way tie for lead
GREENSBORO, North Carolina — Tom Hoge maintained a share of the lead Friday at the Wyndham Championship, this time alongside Si Woo Kim, Talor Gooch and Billy Horschel.
Hoge, tied for the first-round lead with Harold Varner III and Roger Sloan, kept in front with a steady 2-under 68 to get to 10under par.
Hoge, whose best-ever tour finish was a second at The Greenbrier this season, was asked what it would take for his first PGA Tour win. “There’s a lot to that question,” he said. The answer could be as simple as regaining his first-round form when he had seven birdies, an eagle and one par. This time, Hoge was more up and down with five birdies and three bogeys.
Kim, whose first tour victory came here in 2016 and made history a year later as the youngest-ever winner of The Players Championship, shot a 65 to move up.
Kim got it going on the front nine (his final nine) after starting with nine consecutive pars. He had six bogeys coming in, including the final two holes to move on top.
Kim’s approach shots down the stretch were on target — his final five birdie putts were all from 12 feet or closer.
He said the rough at Sedgefield Country Club was “more sticky and deep” this year.
“It helps more to hit fairway, that’s really important,” Kim said. “That’s why I hit it more, try to focus on the fairway.”
Like Hoge, 28-year-old Gooch is seeking his first tour victory. Like Kim, Gooch shot 65 to get into the foursome on top.
It was the first time on tour Gooch, who opened with a 65, had multiple rounds that low in the same event. He had six birdies, including two of his final three holes, to move up. “Anytime you shoot 65, it doesn't matter who, what, when, where, why — you’ve done some good,” he said.
Horschel shot 64 and had birdies on four of last six holes, including a tricky seven-footer on his final one, the ninth, to join the lead group. Horschel won the 2014 FedEx Cup and said this time of year charges him up. “I like it when the pressure’s on and everyone’s looking at you and you need to step up and doing something special,” he said.
The four were a stroke ahead of Harris English (67), Varner (69), Andrew Landry (65), Doc Redman (64) and British Open champ Shane Lowry, who shot a 63 to tie for Friday’s low round with Jason Kokrak.