South Korea’s Byeong Hun An hopes a mind shift in his mental approach will steer him to a maiden PGA TOUR victory after charging into contention at the Valspar Championship with a 4-under 67 on Friday.

The 33-year-old An hit five birdies against a lone bogey at Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead Course) in Palm Harbour, Florida where his 5-under total was good for tied second place alongside Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune (66) and 2023 FedExCup champion, Viktor Hovland (67). American Jacob Bridgeman leads the US$8.7 million tournament by one stroke after a 69.

Chinese Taipei’s Kevin Yu and three-time PGA TOUR winner, Tom Kim sit in a share of 14^th after rounds of 68 and 66 respectively as the Asian contingent showed up in strength on the second day.

After making his TOUR Championship debut and winning a second DP World Tour title at the Genesis Championship at the end of last season, An took time to get his game into high gear in 2025. He needed seven starts before posting his first top-10 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard earlier this month and was T52 at THE PLAYERS Championship last weekend.

“I’m quite happy. I’m hitting it pretty well. I had some great short game moments out there. Putting’s pretty decent. It’s been pretty good the last three weeks, not missing many putts. It’s not like everything’s going in, but I love to have this kind of putting display the last few weeks, so I hope this keeps going. I think I’m hitting it a lot better than the beginning of the year, so hopefully this stays this way, too,” said An.

He reckoned he became too result-oriented with his approach which led to the slow start in the new season which yielded three missed cuts in his first six tournaments before finishing T8 at Bay Hill. His ball striking through 36 holes at Innisbrook has been immaculate as he ranks in the top-20 for Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (8^th) and Approach the Green (16^th).

“It’s (swing) a little different than on the range. You get a little more kind of result base instead of making the swing I want to. I’ve been working on that the last couple weeks. It’s been feeling a lot better, more toward the range, and still won’t be the same as the range swing, but I’m working on trying to make the same range swing out on the course as well,” said An, who holds five career runner-up finishes on TOUR.

The powerful Korean won on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 at the LECOM Suncoast Classic, which location isn’t too far away from Innisbrook and hopes the Florida vibes will shine brightly this weekend as he chases a first PGA TOUR win. 

“I mean this year obviously win a TOUR event and finish in the TOUR Championship. That would be my goal, like every year,” said An.

“I lost my card in 2022 and then that (LECOM Suncoast Classic) was I think the third event for me. Now I’m back on the TOUR, but that third event helped a lot. It helped regain my confidence and it was kind of easy for the rest of the year because I had a win under my belt. So that was definitely a big confidence booster because I had a terrible year before.”

Hisatsune, 22, fired seven birdies against two bogeys for a 66 which propelled him into contention. The young Japanese rising star converted two lengthy birdie putts from nearly 30 feet on the third and eighth holes as he chases a maiden TOUR win. He ranked fifth in Strokes Gained: Putting on Friday.

“I’m very happy. These last few weeks very tough weeks. Then I was like a little nervous on the start. But the start was a good birdie, and then we get moving and I feel more comfortable,” said Hisatsune, whose season includes one top-10 in Mexico and four missed cuts including at last week’s PLAYERS.

Second-Round Notes – Friday, March 21, 2025

Weather: Partly cloudy and breezy. High of 64. Wind N at 12-15 mph with morning gusts to 25 mph.

Cut: 77 professionals and one amateur at 2-over 144 from a field of 152 professionals and two amateurs. Note: In the final grouping of the day, Neal Shipley (T65/+2) cards bogey at the 36^th hole, shifting the cut to 2-over

Second-Round Leaderboard

Jacob Bridgeman (1^st/-6)

• Only player to card an eagle at No. 11 in round two en route to a 2-under 69; marks his second eagle this week (No.1/R1), his first time notching multiple eagles in an event
• Holds his first 36-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA TOUR
• Clemson product in his second season on TOUR; finished No. 113 in the 2024 FedExCup Fall standings after posting five top-15 finishes, including a season-best T11 at the Sanderson Farms Championship
• Finished No. 14 in the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List to earn his PGA TOUR card for the first time
• Ninth start this season; posted a career-best T2 at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches

Miscellaneous Notes

• In his sixth TOUR start this season, Viktor Hovland (T2/-5) makes his third cut, but first in a tournament featuring a 36-hole cut (T36/The Sentry, T22/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am); seeks seventh TOUR victory in his 120^th start, and first since the 2023 TOUR Championship
• Ryo Hisatsune (T2/-5) birdies three of his last five holes to match his low round of the season (66/R1/Mexico Open at VidantaWorld/T10); T10 finish in Mexico marks his lone made cut in his last five starts on TOUR; won the 2023 FedEx Open de France on the DP World Tour and was named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year later that season
• Byeong Hun An (T2/-5) is in search of his first PGA TOUR victory in his 211^th start; owns five runner-up results, most recently, the 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii when he lost in a three-man playoff to Grayson Murray (Keegan Bradley); never finished better than T45 (2023) in four prior appearances at this event
• Shane Lowry (T5/-4) posts 6-under 29 on the back nine (his opening nine) en route to a 4-under 67; ties four players for the low back-nine score in relation to par at the Valspar Championship
• In his seventh career start, PGA TOUR rookie Kevin Velo (T5/-4), who earned his card via the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, makes his second consecutive cut after missing the cut in his first five career starts on TOUR (T40/Puerto Rico Open)
• World No. 3 Xander Schauffele (T5/-4) posts 3-under 68 and extends his TOUR-best streak of made cuts to 60
• PGA TOUR rookie Jeremy Paul (T5/-4) seeks to become the first player from Germany to win the Valspar Championship in a tournament with winners representing eight different countries (USA, England, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Korea, Sweden, Fiji)
• In his 20^th start at this event (tied most with Brian Gay), Lucas Glover (T26/-1) makes a tournament-record 15^th cut at the Valspar Championship
• Luke Clanton (T53/+1), one of two amateurs in the field, makes his 10^th cut in 13 starts on the PGA TOUR
• Steven Fisk (T65/+2) makes a hole-in-one at the 17^th hole with a 6-iron from 194 yards; marks his first ace on TOUR and the fifth ace at No. 17 on the Copperhead Course since 2000; makes the cut on the number
• Defending champion Peter Malnati (MC/+4) is the first Valspar Championship winner to miss the cut the following year after winning since 2014 champion John Senden.