Michael Kim Making Moves Early on Saturday at Aronimink

The big question heading into the weekend at the 108th PGA Championship was: how will Aronimink play?

Through two rounds, it was an absolute beast. Would much warmer weather, less wind and – maybe – more accessible hole locations make it any more gettable?

For Michael Kim – at least through nine holes – it’s an emphatic “yes.”

Late Friday, Kim chipped in for eagle on the par-5 ninth hole to get to 3 over and inside the cut line.

Clearly, the momentum from that late eagle has carried into Saturday where Kim birdied six of his first seven holes out of the gate. Kim’s 5-under 30 on the front nine included an incredible seven one putts.

And they weren’t all shorties, either. Kim made a nearly 40-footer for birdie on the par-4 third hole:

His only bogey on the outward nine came at the par-4 fourth hole after his tee shot found some thick rough.

But Kim got right back aboard the birdie train with this 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fifth hole – his first in another string of three consecutive birdies.

Kim would par the final two holes on a front nine that saw him make just over 90 feet in putts. To put that in perspective, Jordan Spieth (who starts the day at 1 over and five shots off the lead) made just 37 feet worth of putts in his entire second round.

There’s obviously a lot of golf left to be played on Moving Day, but Kim has soared 50 spots in the right direction so far and at 2 under, he’s just two shots off the lead.

Now comes the statistically more difficult back nine.