Byeonghun An and Siwoo Kim "2-under par tied 15th"... Low leads

Valero Texas Open Round 1 Suspended at Sunset
Kuchar and Harrington Tied for 2nd, Kim Seong-hyun Tied for 49th

Byeonghun An has made a smooth start.

Byung-Hoon An is teeing off at the 11th hole during the first round of the Texas Open.
[San Antonio, USA=Photo by AFP and Yonhap News]

On the 30th (local time), Byeonghun An scored 2-under-par 70 in the first round of the Valero Texas Open (total prize money $8.9 million), which opened at TPC San Antonio (par 72, 7,438 yards) in Texas, USA, and stood tied for 15th place. Justin Lower (USA) surged with 5-under-par over 9 holes, taking the top spot on the leaderboard. Some players were unable to finish their rounds due to fog followed by sunset.

Byeonghun An recorded 4 birdies and 3 bogeys. He was cruising with birdies on the 10th and 14th holes but lost all the strokes he had gained with bogeys on the 17th and 3rd holes. However, he showed strong finishing power with consecutive birdies on the 8th and 9th holes at the end of the round, improving his position. His powerful drives, reaching up to 378 yards, and a green hit rate of 83.33% stood out. He is 3 strokes behind the leader. This season, Byeonghun An has played in 16 tournaments and entered the ‘Top 25’ four times. His best result was a tie for 4th place at the Fortinet Championship, the season opener last September.

Lower collected 1 eagle and 3 birdies by the 9th hole. He is a player with no wins yet and ranked 224th in the world. Matt Kuchar (USA) and Padraig Harrington (Ireland) are chasing in a tie for 2nd place (4-under-par 68). From Korea, Siwoo Kim, the winner of the Sony Open, reduced 2 strokes over 9 holes and joined the group tied for 15th. Rookie Seonghyeon Kim exchanged 3 birdies for 3 bogeys and is tied for 49th place (even par 72).