RBC Heritage Day 1: Im Sung-jae and Kang Sung-hoon Tied 17th at 3 Under, Sink Chases 2nd at 8 Under, 'Number 1' Johnson Stalls at 1 Under
Lee Kyung-hoon is tied for 8th place at 4 under par on the first day of the RBC Heritage, challenging for his first PGA Tour victory.
[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "The K-team is off to a good start."
Lee Kyung-hoon (30) led the way on the first day of the PGA Tour RBC Heritage (total prize money $7.1 million) held on the 16th (Korean time) at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina, USA (par 71, 7,121 yards), finishing tied for 8th at 4-under par. Im Sung-jae (23) and Kang Sung-hoon (34, both from CJ Logistics) are tied for 17th at 3-under par. Cameron Smith (Australia) leads at 9-under par, with Stewart Cink (USA) chasing closely in second place at 8-under par 63, just one stroke behind.
Lee Kyung-hoon recorded five birdies and one bogey. Starting at the 10th hole (par 4), he opened his scoring with a birdie on the 13th hole (par 4). He added a second birdie on the 2nd hole of the back nine (par 5), and although he had his only bogey on the 4th hole (par 3), he recovered with consecutive birdies on the 6th and 7th holes. His iron shots on both holes were notably precise, landing very close to the hole. He finished on a high note with a birdie on the final 9th hole (par 4). Attention is drawn to his 'stingy putting' with an average of 1.83 putts per hole.
Lee Kyung-hoon was the gold medalist in the team golf event at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. He moved to Japan and secured two wins on the Japan Golf Tour (JGTO), including the 2012 Nagashima Shigeo and the 2015 Honma Tour World Cup. He also built a golden legacy by winning the Korean Open, the national title on the Korean Tour, consecutively in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, he ranked 5th on the Korn Ferry Tour (second-tier) money list, which earned him a spot on the 2019 PGA Tour, where he successfully maintained his card for two consecutive years, achieving a smooth transition.
His runner-up finish at the Phoenix Open in February was a career-best performance. After a slump, he regrouped with a tied 23rd place finish at the Valero Texas Open, which ended on the 5th. Im Sung-jae is aiming to redeem himself at the Masters. After struggling with a 5-over par on the first day and 8-over par on the second day, he missed the cut, a disappointing result compared to his historic second place finish last year as the first Asian player to do so. However, he showed signs of recovery with four birdies and one bogey on this day, and his iron shot accuracy has improved, with a green in regulation rate of 83.33%.
Cameron Smith is reading the putting line on the 12th hole on the first day of the RBC Heritage. Hilton Head (South Carolina, USA) = Getty Images / Multivitz
Smith drew the spotlight by racking up nine birdies on a tough course. World No. 4 Collin Morikawa (Japan) and Matt Wallace (England) are tied for 3rd at 6-under par 66. Billy Horschel, the champion of last month's World Golf Championships (WGC) Dell Technologies Match Play, is tied for 5th at 5-under par 66, and Will Zalatoris, who caused a stir with his runner-up finish at the Masters, joined the group tied for 17th.
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson remained tied for 46th at 1-under par. Despite aggressive play that produced six birdies, he also had three bogeys, including a double bogey caused by a tee shot into the water on the 4th hole (par 3). Defending champion Webb Simpson (USA) also struggled, finishing tied for 67th at even par. For Korea, American Express champion Kim Si-woo (26) is tied for 67th, Ahn Byung-hoon (30) is tied for 81st at 1-over par, and 'Tank' Choi Kyung-joo (51, SK Telecom) is tied for 128th at 5-over par.
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