Si-Woo Kim (28) and Byung-Hoon Ahn (32) shaved three strokes off their rounds on day one of the U.S. Professional Golf (PGA) Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge ($8.7 million purse) to finish in a tie for seventh place, five strokes behind leader Harry Hall (England).
Kim carded five birdies and two bogeys for a 3-under 67 in the first round of the tournament at Colonial Country Club (par 70, 7209 yards) in Fort Worth, Texas (USA) on Saturday. Starting on the 10th hole, Kim birdied three straight holes before trading birdies and bogeys on the 15th and 16th. In the second half, she birdied the first hole but bogeyed the seventh.
“I had a good start today with three birdies in a row,” Kim said afterward, “but the wind picked up in the second half and it was a little difficult to keep the fairway.” “I think it’s one of the most difficult tournaments to stay in the fairway, but when it’s windy, the tee shots get harder and harder, so I think I’ll have to stay in the fairway tomorrow,” he said.
Day one leader Harry Hall [Photo: PGA Tour].
Kim, who made it four wins in a row at the Sony Open in January, has continued his recent run of good form, finishing tied for second at the AT&T Byron Nelson two weeks ago.
Ahn birdied four straight holes from the 11th to move into the lead. He dropped another shot on the back nine to move into sole possession of second place. However, he dropped a shot on the fourth and sixth holes to slip down the leaderboard. His best finish was a tie for sixth at the Valero Texas Open in April.
Harry Hall (England), who has yet to win on tour, carded a career-best 8-under 62 with eight birdies, including a chip shot off the green on the 12th hole that holed in. Harris English (USA) birdied the last two holes for a 5-under 65 to move into second place.
Tom Hoag, Adam Shank, Robbie Selton and Andrew Putnam (USA) are tied for third at 4-under par. Defending champion Sam Burns (USA), last year’s runner-up in a playoff, Scotty Schaeffler (USA), Korean-American Michael Kim, and provisional qualifier Min Woo Lee (AUS) formed a group of seven alongside Kim and Byung Hoon Ahn.
Lee, 32, shot a 2-under 68 and is tied for 22nd with Korean-Americans Justin Seo and Rickie Fowler (USA). Seong Jae Lim, 25, who finished 15th in this event last year, is tied for 82nd after dropping two strokes, while Sung Hyun Kim, 25, is tied for 111th after shooting 5-over par.토토사이트
Michael Block (USA), who tied for 15th at last week’s PGA Championship and is playing as an invitee, collapsed with three double bogeys on the back to finish at 11-over-par 81 and tied for last in the 120-man field.
JTBC Golf & Sports will provide live coverage of round two starting at 5 a.m. ET on Sunday. Rounds three and four on the 28th and 29th will follow at 2am with the crowning of a champion.