Correspondent Hoon Kwon = Choi Kyung-ju (53), who declared that he would compete with juniors his son’s age on the PGA Tour, not on the senior tour, from this year’s first tournament of the new year.
In the first round of the PGA Tour Sony Open (total prize money: $7.9 million) held at the Waialei Country Club (par 70) in Honolulu, Hawaii on the 13th (Korean time), Choi Kyung-ju scored 5 birdies and hit a 4 under par 66.
Choi Kyung-joo, who tied for 11th place, two strokes behind the joint leader group, is looking forward to winning the top 10 of a PGA Tour event four years after finishing in a tie for 10th at the RBC Heritage in April 2019.
Kyung-Joo Choi, who won 8 career victories on the PGA Tour, moved to the Senior Tour from 2020, but he did not stop participating in PGA Tour events and announced that he would focus on participating in the PGA Tour rather than the Senior Tour this year.
Choi Kyung-ju, who won the 2008 Sony Open, showed off her accurate shots and computer putts that day, as if reviving the memory of winning the championship.
Although the flying distance was the lowest among the participating players, the fairway landing rate was 78.57% and the green hit rate was 77.78%, so the shot was accurate.
Waialay Country Club is better for players who hit accurate shots rather than long hits.
1.714 putts per hole wasn’t bad either.
Choi Kyung-ju, who put in a birdie putt over 9m in hole 5 (par 4), added a 4m birdie in hole 9 (par 5).
Choi Kyung-ju, who lost the ball in the bunker in front of the green on the 10th hole (par 4), missed a 4m par putt, but made up for it by dropping an 11m birdie putt on the 12th hole (par 4).
Following the 4.5m birdie on the 16th hole (par 4), the 18th hole (par 5) created a chance for a birdie a span of distance, ending the game in a good mood.
Choi Kyung-ju, who participated in the 19th Sony Open, said, “I was invited because I was not qualified to play. When I became the champion in 2008, many fans came and many things happened. Perhaps because I remembered that time today, I played a fun match.” I made up for it with a putt. It was easy to read the green. I will work harder in the remaining 3 rounds to get good results.”
Kim Seong-hyun (25), who jumped on the PGA Tour from the 2022-2023 season after winning the Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year last year, is poised to compete for the championship.
Kim Seong-hyun, who pulled out 5 birdies without a bogey until the 16th hole, when the game was suspended due to sunset, tied for 4th place, 1 stroke behind the lead, and displayed good performances to surpass the lead in the remaining games.
New bridegroom Kim Si-woo (28) had a good first day with 3 under par 67 strokes with 5 birdies and 2 bogeys. Kim Si-woo tied for 22nd place.
Lee Gyeong-hoon (32) shot 1 under par 69, and Ahn Byeong-hoon (32) recorded an even par 70.
Lim Seong-jae (25), with two birdies and three bogeys, was tied for 101st place with a 1-over-par 71 strokes, and his steps were heavy. 온라인카지노
In particular, it was painful to lose one stroke due to a mistake in the bunker shot on the 18th hole (par 5), the easiest hole.
Prior to this tournament, Kim Joo-hyeong (21), whom the PGA Tour expert group predicted had the highest chance of winning, was sluggish with a 2-over-par 72 strokes.
It seemed that the game was going smoothly with birdies on holes 1 and 3, but Kim Joo-hyung, who took a step back with a bogey on holes 6, 8 and 11, collapsed with a double bogey on hole 13 (par 4).
He got on the green in the third and made a 3-putt from a distance of 4m.
For Kim Joo-hyung, who tied for 115th place, passing the cut became an urgent priority.
Jordan Spieth, Taylor Montgomery, and Chris Kirk (above USA) tied for the lead with a 6-under-par 64.
David Lipsky, whose mother is Korean, Harris English, Brendan Todd, Denny McCarthy (USA), and Lori Sabatini (Slovakia) tied for fourth place with a 5 under par 65 by one shot.
10 players, including Kim Seong-hyun, could not complete the first round and had to play the remaining matches on the 15th.