Kim Min-gyu Ties for 9th Place at Start... LIV Golf Dominates Top Ranks

Asian Tour Opening Round Saudi International Day One

‘Korean Open Champion’ Kim Min-kyu (photo) had a refreshing start.

On the 2nd (local time), Kim Min-kyu shot a 3-under-par 67 on the first day of the Asian Tour 2023 season opener, the PIF Saudi International (total prize money $5 million), held at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club (par 70, 7,048 yards) in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia, placing him in a tie for 9th. He recorded the best score among Korean players. Starting at the 10th hole (par 4), he made five birdies and two bogeys. He is four strokes behind the leader.

LIV Golf players dominated the top ranks. Abraham Ancer (Mexico) leads at 7-under-par 63, Sebasti?n Mu?oz (Colombia) is second at 6-under-par 64, Sergio Garc?a (Spain) and Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) are tied for third at 5-under-par 65, Patrick Reed is tied for 9th, and Phil Mickelson (both USA) and Henrik Stenson (Sweden) are tied for 38th at even par 72. World No. 4 Cameron Smith (Australia) struggled, tied for 88th at 3-over-par 73. Last year’s LIV Golf money leader Dustin Johnson (USA) withdrew due to a back injury.

Korea’s Lee Tae-hee is tied for 18th at 2-under-par 68, and Park Sung-hyun is tied for 38th. On the other hand, ‘Korean Tour money leader’ Kim Young-soo and Moon Kyung-jun are tied for 71st at 2-over-par 72, ‘International Series Jeju Champion’ Ok Tae-hoon is tied for 88th, and ‘Asian Tour Rookie of the Year’ Kim Bi-o and Jang Yi-geun are tied for 100th at 4-over-par 74.

This tournament, hosted by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund (PIF), began in 2019 as part of the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour). After the launch of LIV Golf supported by PIF last year, relations between the DP World Tour and PIF soured, leading to the event becoming part of the Asian Tour. It is an unusually large ‘big match’ for an Asian Tour event, with a total prize fund of $5 million (approximately 6.1 billion KRW).