Kim stays hot, in hunt on weekend

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Last we saw Anthony Kim, he was holding the trophy at the Shell Houston Open even though he had hit a paltry 41 percent of his fairways for the week, the third lowest percentage by a PGA Tour champion in more than 25 years.

After two rounds at the Masters, Kim's sloppy driving is improving slowly (he has hit 15 of 28 fairways through 36 holes at Augusta National GC). Better still for the 24-year-old is that he continues to be posting red numbers. Kim followed up his opening-round 68 with a 70 Friday to sit in a tie for third place at six-under 138.

"My coach and I have started to figure it out," said Kim of his wayward tee shots. He said they have identified the problems as stemming from faulty posture and difficulty loading the ball. "It's coming, but it's still slow."

A bogey on the 18th hole Friday prevented Kim from being in solo third and securing a tee time with Tiger Woods in Saturday's third round. Instead, he'll be playing with Ricky Barnes.

"I'm just being patient and that's the key to the major, I think," Kim said. "I'm happy with my position going into this weekend."

--- Ryan Herrington