Si Woo Kim goes ‘driver off the deck’ at the U.S. Open

No. 1 at Erin Hills is a lengthy par 5, so Si Woo Kim went with a rare club for his second shot on Friday.

The first hole for this week’s U.S. Open, at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, is a long par-5. On Friday it measured at 597 yards, which is reachable in two for the world’s best golfers if they have the desire to go for it.

Si Woo Kim posted a solid 69 (-3) during Thursday’s first round. That included a par on No.1, which came in at a hefty 613 yards.

Kim teed off on the tenth hole for Friday’s second round, and went out with a 34 on his first nine. Coming back to No. 1, after a solid tee shot with a good angle to do so, Kim decided he would go for the green in two. A fairway metal would normally be the best option, but Kim went with “driver off the deck” instead.

Kim walked off the green with a birdie to put himself at -6 for the tournament. He gave it back with a bogey on the par-3 ninth to end an otherwise par-filled nine holes, which gave Kim a 70 (-2) for the day and put him back to -5 heading into the weekend. As of right now, Kim is in a four-way tie for sixth place, four shots behind sole leader Rickie Fowler.

While using driver for a long second shot is rare, Friday was not even the first time Kim did it in a tournament this year. At the PLAYERS Championship in May, in a less than ideal position, he gave it a go.

With a pretty good result both times we’ve seen it, Kim is clearly comfortable using a driver aggressively on long approach shots. The degree of loft of the club itself and the lie is a factor in that too, to help create ideal contact, but maybe Kim will start a trend among his peers.