Twenty-two of the 47 remaining players in the second round qualified for the weekend; scores will now reset for the final 36 holes to be played Saturday and Sunday.
The top-three finishers at the four-round event will be awarded full-season, wild-card spots for the 2026 LIV Golf League season, and each of the top 10 finishers plus ties will be exempt for the 2026 International Series co- sponsored by the Asian Tour.
Kim was among several players who received an exemption into the second round, including Australia's Matt Jones, while others began Thursday with a play-in round.
The former wunderkind from California, now 40, returned from a 12-year hiatus from the game (2012-24) when he competed on the LIV circuit as a wild card in 2024, and again in 2025.
But he was relegated at the end of the 2025 season and is trying to earn his way back.
The birdie at the final hole on Friday clinched him a one-under-par 69, which got him into the top 20 and ties that advanced to the weekend.
He tied six players at that score, including fellow ex-LIV golfers Jones and Kieran Vincent of Zimbabwe.
"Today was a rough day. Didn't get off to a great start," Kim said. "But after I made bogey on 17, I knew I needed to make birdie on 18. Gave myself a chance and felt good over the putt, and fortunately it fell."
He said he felt calm over the putt, which had more riding on it than most others in the second act of his pro career.
"Today, I'll be honest, was about a 5," Kim said. "I thought I would be a little sharper after playing in Asia and Saudi. But not playing tournament golf, it definitely - it's something that you have to get used to.
"It's not nerves, but it's just different lines you're taking and how aggressive you want to be on certain holes. I didn't do a great job of it, but I stayed patient and made a putt when it mattered."
The best two-day score belonged to Canada's Richard T. Lee, an Asian Tour player who followed Thursday's 64 with a 66 that featured eagles at the par-5 ninth and 16th holes.
"I stuck a five-wood to about five feet and got a lucky bounce, actually, and made the putt," Lee said of the first eagle.
"Made another eagle on 16, as well. I was in the waste bunker and just ran a five-iron up there and stuck it about three feet and pretty much made my round like that."
The low score of round 2 was posted by South Korea's Jeunghun Wang, who was exempt from the play-in and shot a bogey-free 65 his first trip around the course.
"It would be a really big opportunity for me," Wang said. "Maybe for all the players, because it's a really big league and a lot of good players, big names in LIV. I would be very excited to play on LIV."
