Valero Texas Open 2019: Si Woo Kim Makes Hole-in-One, Leads After Round 2

Si Woo Kim emerged from the second round of the 2019 Valero Texas Open in sole possession of the lead, despite heavy competition hot on his tail. 

After starting the tournament with a 66, Kim followed with another 66 on Friday that dropped his overall total to 12-under par. He put an exclamation point on his day with an ace on No. 16:

If Kim happens to falter over the weekend, there are no shortage of contenders waiting to take the top spot. A total of six players, including Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler, are tied for second place at eight-under par. 

2019 Valero Texas Open Second-Round Leaderboard, via PGATour.com:

1. Si Woo Kim (-12)

T2. Jordan Spieth (-8)

T2. Rickie Fowler (-8)

T2. Corey Conners (-8)

T2. Harold Varner III (-8)

T2. Adam Schenk (-8)

T2. Kyoung-Hoon Lee (-8)

T8. Brian Stuard (-7)

T8. Josh Teater (-7)

T8. Matt Jones (-7)

T8. Byeong Hun An (-7)

T8. Rory Sabbatini (-7)

T8. Jim Knous (-7)

T8. Scott Stallings (-7)

Kim's round didn't really kick into high gear until the back nine. He was solid at the start of the day with two birdies on No. 5 and 8 to make the turn at two-under par. 

Fowler actually ahead of Kim for the lead at nine-under before the South Korean star hit his stride with birdies on No. 12 and 14:

Those shots were a warm-up act to the ace that gave Kim extra cushion to work with as he chases his first PGA Tour win since the 2017 Players Championship. 

Following his successful first-round performance, Kim told reporters he changed his technique for reading greens on Wednesday after struggling to focus.

"The yips," Kim said. "It's been better, reading [the greens] and the stroke. This time I don't have the yips. I'm reading good and putting well."

That alteration has paid off in spectacular fashion. Kim gained 3.8 strokes with his putter on Thursday and 2.3 on Friday, per PGATour.com. 

Even though Spieth is facing an uphill climb to finish this weekend with a victory, he's off to a great start that should ease some concerns after he missed at the Players Championship.

Per Justin Ray of 15th Club, Spieth's success through 36 holes can be directly attributed to his much-improved putting:

Spieth's best moment of the day didn't involve his putter at all thanks to this 113-yard eagle on the par-five eighth hole:

While Spieth was busy celebrating his climb up the standings with that eagle, Fowler wasn't as lucky down the stretch. He did have an eagle earlier in the round on No. 5 thanks to a 327-yard tee shot that stopped just short of the hole:

Fowler's momentum was halted with back-to-back bogeys on 15 and 16 that dropped him down to seven-under. He did get one shot back with a birdie at 17, but those previous mistakes left him looking up at Kim with the rest of the field. 

Things are set up perfectly for Kim heading into the weekend. His two best scoring averages this season come in the third (68.89) and fourth rounds (68.33), per PGATour.com. He's been close to perfect through 36 holes already and has enough wiggle room to get away with one or two minor errors over the next two days.