Day 1 of The CJ Cup: Tied 9th, 4 Shots Behind; Schauffele and Henry Tied 2nd; Rahm Tied 4th; Thomas Tied 32nd
Kim Si-woo is teeing off at the 14th hole on the first day of the CJ Cup. Las Vegas, Nevada, USA - Photo by Getty Images/Multibits
[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Kim Si-woo (25, CJ Logistics) has made a refreshing start.
On the 16th (Korean time), at the Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (par 72, 7,634 yards), the opening day of the PGA Tour The CJ Cup (total prize money $9.75 million), he shot 3 under par to tie for 9th place. Tyrrell Hatton (England) took the lead at 7 under par, with Xander Schauffele and Russell Henley (both USA) tied for 2nd at 6 under par. This year, due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the tournament is held in the United States instead of Jeju.
Kim Si-woo recorded 4 birdies and 1 bogey. Starting at the 10th hole (par 4), he made his first birdie at the 12th hole (par 4), followed by 'stepping stone birdies' at the 16th and 18th holes, and added another birdie at the 7th hole (par 5) in the back nine. The only blemish was a bogey at the final 9th hole (par 4) after his tee shot and second shot landed in the bunker. His fairway hit rate was 64.29%, green in regulation 66.67%, and putts per hole 1.67. He is 4 strokes behind the leader, in a position where a win at the sponsor's tournament is possible.
Kim Si-woo is the hope of Korean men's golf. In 2012, at just 17 years old, he passed the PGA Tour Qualifying (Q) School and caused a sensation. However, due to the 'age limit (18 years)' rule, he was relegated to the Web.com (now Korn Ferry) Tour for three years, struggling before making news by returning to the PGA Tour in 2015. In August 2016, he earned his first career win at the Wyndham Championship, and in May 2017, he won The Players Championship, known as the 'fifth major,' propelling him to world stardom.
It is unfortunate that he has not collected a trophy for over three years since then. In the 2019/2020 season, he played in 24 tournaments but only had one top-10 finish, showing inconsistency. The 2020/2021 season was also disappointing, including missing the cut at the US Open, but last week he changed the momentum with a tie for 8th at the Shriners Children's Open. Kim Si-woo, who said "everything was good except for the last hole," added, "I didn't take any reckless shots," and expressed his fighting spirit, saying, "If I play like today, I think I will have a chance over the weekend."
Hatton recorded 1 eagle and 7 birdies (2 bogeys). He is a strong European player with 5 wins on the European Tour. In March, he earned his first PGA Tour victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. World No. 2 Jon Rahm (Spain) is chasing at 5 under par, tied for 4th. Defending champion Justin Thomas (USA) is tied for 32nd at even par, 'No. 4' Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) is tied for 37th at 1 over par, and 2018 champion Brooks Koepka (USA) is tied for 46th at 2 over par.
Korea's Kang Sung-hoon (33) and An Byeong-hoon (29, both CJ Logistics) are tied for 37th. 'Korean Tour money leader' Kim Han-byeol (24, Golfzon) is tied for 46th, Kim Joo-hyung (18, CJ Logistics) and Lee Tae-hee (36, OK Savings Bank) are tied for 55th at 3 over par, Kim Sung-hyun (22, Golfzon) and Lee Jae-kyung (21, CJ O Shopping) are tied for 65th at 5 over par, Im Sung-jae (22) and Lee Kyung-hoon (29, both CJ Logistics) are tied for 72nd at 6 over par, and Ham Jung-woo (26, Hana Financial Group) is 77th at 7 over par.
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