RIDGELAND, South Carolina: Tom Kim felt as much a spectator as a player Thursday in the CJ Cup, amazed at how Rory McIlroy produces so much power with so little effort.
Kim wasn’t too bad himself. They were the star attractions on a beautiful morning at Congaree Golf Club, one of them pursuing the No.
1 world ranking, the other a 20-year-old who is quickly becoming one of the more popular players among his peers. Trey Mullinax and former US Open champion Gary Woodland each had a 6-under 65.
McIlroy and Kim, who played together in the same group with Rickie Fowler, were among those another shot back at 66. “He makes this game look so easy,” said Kim, who won two weeks ago in Las Vegas to become the first player since Tiger Woods with two PGA Tour titles before turning 21. “It was really hard to just kind of play my own game sometimes, seeing the lines he took.