'2-Person Team Battle' Zurich Classic Day 1 Four-Ball
Hossler-Clark Lead, Noh Seung-yeol-Michael Kim 3rd
Bae Sang-moon-Kang Sung-hoon 7 Under, Kim Si-woo-Kim Joo-hyung 6 Under
Im Sung-jae is on the march to victory.
On the 20th (local time), Im Sung-jae teamed up with Keith Mitchell (USA) in the first round of the two-man team battle Zurich Classic (total prize money $8.6 million) held at Louisiana TPC (par 72, 7,425 yards) in Avondale, Louisiana, USA. They shot a 10-under 62 in the four-ball format (each player plays their own ball and the better score is counted), placing them tied for 3rd. The tournament is played with four-ball in rounds 1 and 3, and foursomes (two players alternate shots with one ball) in rounds 2 and 4.
Im Sung-jae (right) and Keith Mitchell are smiling brightly after making a birdie on the 7th hole of the 1st round at the Zurich Classic. [Avondale, USA = Photo by AP]
Im Sung-jae and Mitchell recorded 1 eagle and 9 birdies (1 bogey). Starting at the 10th hole (par 4), they made three consecutive birdies from holes 12 to 14 and added “stepping stone birdies” on holes 16 and 18, reducing 5 strokes in the front nine. In the back nine, they immediately recovered from a bogey on hole 1 (par 4) with a birdie on hole 2 (par 5), followed by three consecutive birdies from holes 4 to 6 and an eagle on hole 7 (par 5). They are just one stroke behind the joint leaders.
Im Sung-jae has two career wins, while Mitchell has one. Both players share the common achievement of winning the Honda Classic. Im teamed up with Mitchell instead of An Byeong-hun, who had been his partner for the past two years. Their pre-tournament power ranking was 4th. Im said, "I had so much fun playing," and cheered, "We made a lot of birdies and started in a good position on the first day." He added, "Tomorrow, I think I will hit more iron shots," and said, "I will control the distance well so Keith can putt comfortably."
Beau Hossler-Wyndham Clark and Sean O'Hair-Brandon Matthews (all from the USA) dominated the top of the leaderboard with 11-under 61. No Seung-yeol-Michael Kim (USA), and the “English golfing brothers” Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick are tied for 3rd. Matt laid the foundation for a second consecutive win following his victory at last week's RBC Heritage. Billy Horschel-Sam Burns (all USA) are tied for 14th at 8-under 64.
Bae Sang-moon and Kang Sung-hoon are tied for 30th at 7-under 65, while “Presidents Cup stars” Kim Si-woo-Kim Joo-hyung and Collin Morikawa-Max Homa (all USA) are tied for 43rd at 6-under 66. Defending champions Patrick Cantlay-Xander Schauffele (all USA) and An Byeong-hun-Kim Seong-hyun finished the first round tied for 56th at 5-under 67.
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