Siwoo Kim Tied for 7th... "Off to a Good Start"

2-under-par in Round 1 of the prestigious Memorial Tournament
Strong performance continues at Muirfield Village
Griffin leads, Scheffler in 7th, Im Sungjae in 23rd

Siwoo Kim made a refreshing start at a top-tier tournament.

On May 29 (local time), at Muirfield Village Golf Club (par 72, 7,569 yards) in Dublin, Ohio, USA, Siwoo Kim shot a 2-under-par 70 in the first round of the PGA Tour Memorial Tournament (total prize money $20 million), finishing tied for 7th place. Ben Griffin led the field with a 7-under-par 65, followed by Collin Morikawa in second place with a 5-under-par 67, and Max Homa (all USA) in third with a 4-under-par 68.

Siwoo Kim is teeing off at the 2nd hole of the 1st round of the Memorial Tournament. Dublin, USA - Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

Siwoo Kim carded four birdies and two bogeys. After a bogey on the 5th hole (par 5), he gained momentum with consecutive birdies on the 6th and 7th holes. On the back nine, although he lost a stroke with a bogey on the 12th hole (par 3), he added two more birdies on the 13th and 16th holes. He is five strokes behind the leader, putting him in a position to contend for the title. Siwoo Kim has finished within the top 30 in every tournament he has played this month, including a tie for 8th at the PGA Championship, a major tournament. At the Memorial Tournament, he has shown strong performances in recent years, finishing tied for 9th in 2021, tied for 13th in 2022, 4th in 2023, and tied for 15th last year.

Ben Griffin, who claimed his second PGA Tour win of the season at last week's Charles Schwab Challenge, recorded one eagle, seven birdies, and two bogeys. Shane Lowry (Ireland), Keegan Bradley (USA), and Nick Taylor (Canada) are tied for 4th place with a 3-under-par 69. World number one and defending champion Scottie Scheffler (USA) finished the first round tied for 7th. Among Korean players, Sungjae Im is tied for 23rd with a 1-over-par 73, and Byeonghun An is tied for 31st with a 2-over-par 74.