Kim Juhyung 4 Under Par... Entered the Normal Trajectory

Tied for 10th in the First Round of the WM Phoenix Open
Impressive 83.33% Green Hit Rate with Precision Iron Shots
Clark Leads, Scheffler and Im Sungjae Tied for 27th

Kim Joo-hyung has returned to his former form.

Kim Juhyung is making an iron shot on the 8th hole of the first round at the WM Phoenix Open. Scottsdale=AFP·Yonhap News

On the 6th (local time), at TPC Scottsdale (par 71, 7,261 yards) in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, during the first round of the PGA Tour WM Phoenix Open (total prize money $9.2 million), he shot 4-under-par 67 to tie for 10th place. This marks a clear upward trend for two consecutive tournaments following his tie for 7th place last week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Wyndham Clark leads with 7-under-par 64, Taylor Moore and Lee Hodges are tied for 2nd at 6-under-par 65, and Justin Thomas (all from the USA) is tied for 4th at 5-under-par 66.

Kim Joo-hyung made five birdies and one bogey. He started smoothly with stepping-stone birdies on holes 3 and 5, and the bogey on the 6th hole (par 4) was immediately recovered with a birdie on the 7th hole (par 3). In the back nine, he added two more birdies on holes 13 and 17. He is three strokes behind the leader, a position that allows for a strong chance of a comeback. His iron shots stood out, boasting a green hit rate of 83.33%. His bunker save rate and scrambling ability were both 100%.

Ahn Byung-hoon recorded five birdies and two bogeys, tying for 16th place at 3-under-par 68. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA), returning to the field after a right-hand injury, posted a somewhat erratic scorecard with two eagles, three birdies, three bogeys, and one double bogey. He finished the first round tied for 27th at 2-under-par 69 along with Im Sung-jae and others. Lee Kyung-hoon tied for 92nd at 2-over-par 73, and Kim Si-woo tied for 109th at 3-over-par 74, falling short of expectations. Some players were caught by sunset.