Korean American Michael Kim shoots dream 59 at PGA Tour 3M Open

Korean American Michael Kim fired a round of 59 at the PGA Tour 3M Open (purse: $8.8 million) to surge to the top of the leaderboard.

Kim carded 12 birdies against no bogeys for a 12-under-par 59 on Saturday at TPC Twin Cities (par 71) in Blaine, Minnesota. It was the 16th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history.

The PGA Tour's all-time low for a single round is 58, set by Jim Furyk of the United States at the 2016 Travelers Championship.

Kim, whose only PGA Tour victory came at the 2018 John Deere Classic, vaulted into sole first place with a 36-hole total of 14-under-par 128.

Ben Kohles, Chandler Phillips (both United States) and Emiliano Grillo (Argentina) shared second place, three strokes back at 11-under-par 131.

Kim's previous best round was a 62. Of the 12 birdies he made in the second round, eight came from putts of more than 3 meters.

"It felt like the ball was moving exactly the way I imagined when I was putting," Kim said in a post-round interview. "Saturday was a really great day, but we're only halfway there." He added that he would stay focused on the rounds ahead.

Kim made six birdies on the front nine alone and never lost his concentration on the back. He closed with four consecutive birdies from the 15th through the 18th hole. At the par-3 17th, which runs alongside a water hazard, he drained a 5-meter birdie putt; at the par-5 18th, his third shot rolled more than 7 meters past the hole, yet he converted that putt for birdie as well.

Kim Joo-hyung, who won the Scottish Open this season and is chasing a PGA Tour playoff berth, managed only a 2-under round with three birdies and one bogey. He made the cut at a 36-hole total of 5-under-par 137, tied for 31st.

Im Sung-jae finished at 1-under-par 141 for 36 holes, two strokes short of the cut line, and will not advance to the third round. It is his sixth missed cut of the season.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States made four birdies but was held back by a double bogey and a bogey, finishing at 7-under-par 135 in a tie for 13th.