PGA Tour Valspar Championship Round 1
Byeonghun An had a refreshing start.
On the 17th (Korean time), Byeonghun An shot a 3-under-par 68 in the first round of the PGA Tour Valspar Championship (total prize money $8.1 million) held at the Copperhead Course (par 71, 7,340 yards) of Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida, USA, placing him in a tie for 7th. Adam Schenk and Ryan Brehm (both from the USA), and Stephan Jaeger (Germany) are fiercely competing at the top, tied for the lead at 5-under-par 66.
An Byeong-hun is walking on the green of the 13th hole during the first round of the Valspar Championship. [Palm Harbor, USA=Photo by AFP·Yonhap News]
Byeonghun An showcased clean play with three birdies and no bogeys. After securing birdies on the 5th hole (par 5) and the 10th hole (par 4), he made a chip-in birdie from the rough near the green on the 17th hole (par 3). An relied on his powerful drives, reaching up to 364 yards. On the notoriously difficult 'Snake Pit' holes 16 through 18 at the Copperhead Course, he reduced his score by one stroke with one birdie and two pars.
He is only two strokes behind the joint leaders, putting him in a position to hope for his first career victory. An's best finish this season was a tie for 4th at the Fortinet Championship last September. He said, "I think I finished well as I planned. Especially on par 3 holes, I hit many good shots, which made it easy to make par." He added, "I made the cut two years ago but didn't achieve the results I wanted. Since this is a course I like, I want to perform better this year."
Jordan Spieth (USA) displayed perfect play with four birdies and no bogeys. He is tied for 4th at 4-under-par 67 along with Lucas Glover and Maverick McNealy (both USA), just one stroke behind the leaders. Sam Burns (USA), who is aiming for his third consecutive tournament win, started solidly tied for 12th at 2-under-par 69. Justin Thomas (USA) is also in this group. From Korea, Sung Hyun Kim is tied for 32nd at even par 71, while Kyung Hoon Lee is tied for 96th at 3-over-par 74.
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