▲ Professional golfer Kim Joo-hyung
Kim Joo-hyung has made a strong start in the first round of the Genesis Scottish Open (total prize money of $9 million), co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
On July 9 (local time), Kim shot a 5-under-par 65 in the first round of the tournament held at The Renaissance Club (par 70) in North Berwick, Scotland, recording six birdies and one bogey.
He is tied for first place alongside world No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Patrick Cantlay (USA), Bernd Wiesberger (Austria), and Rasmus Højgaard (Denmark).
Starting on the 10th hole (par 4), Kim signaled a great start with consecutive birdies on the 12th hole (par 5) and the 13th hole (par 4).
He maintained the fairway with accurate tee shots and did not miss the birdie opportunities created by his precise iron shots.
On the 17th hole (par 3), his tee shot landed in a bunker, but he saved par by hitting an exquisite bunker shot that placed the ball 1.8 meters from the hole.
After finishing the first half at 2-under-par, Kim recorded his first bogey on the 1st hole (par 5) as his shots became shaky.
However, he regained his momentum afterward.
He succeeded in a 4.8-meter birdie putt on the 3rd hole (par 3) and followed up with consecutive birdies on the 4th hole (par 4) by placing his second shot 1.2 meters from the hole.
He then added more birdies on the 6th hole (par 4) and the 7th hole (par 5).
Kim, who placed 3rd in this tournament in 2022, said after the round, "I think I had a good start," adding, "Overall, my feel for the game was good, so I tried to play calmly."
When asked by reporters about the fact that he has never finished outside the top 20 in this tournament, he stated, "I really love links golf," and added, "It is a course where patience is important, so it rewards mentally strong players. I will try to maintain my composure for the remaining rounds."
Links golf refers to the traditional Scottish course style, played on courses built on sandy dunes by the sea.
Kim, who has three career PGA Tour wins, experienced a long slump starting from the 2024 season but has shown signs of a revival this year by entering the top 10 twice.
In particular, he provided a momentum for a rebound by finishing sole 3rd at the major tournament, the U.S. Open, held last month.
Kim Si-woo, who also competed in this tournament, recorded an even-par 70 with four birdies, two bogeys, and one double bogey, placing him in a tie for 72nd.
Im Sung-jae remained in a tie for 124th with one birdie and three bogeys, finishing at 2-over-par 72.
Choi Seung-bin, who mainly plays on the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Tour, tied for 99th at 1-over-par 71. Lee Jung-hwan, whose main stage is the DP World Tour, and Ok Tae-hoon, who won five awards on the KPGA Tour last year, both tied for 124th at 2-over-par 72, while Kim Baek-jun tied for 149th at 5-over-par 75.
Australian-Korean Lee Min-woo shot a 4-under-par 66 to tie for 6th place with Brooks Koepka (USA) and others.
They are one stroke behind the lead group.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) and Chris Gotterup (USA), who has won three times this season including the John Deere Classic, the previous PGA Tour event, both tied for 27th at 2-under-par 68.
Meanwhile, at the ISCO Championship (total prize money of $4 million), another PGA Tour event held on the same day at the Hurstbourne Country Club (par 70) in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, Noh Seung-yul shot a 2-over-par 72 and finished in a tie for 112th.
Noh had an opportunity to achieve a good result as most of the world's top-ranked players were competing in the Scottish Open, but he slipped to the bottom of the leaderboard due to inconsistent performance.
Steven Fisk, Lucas Glover, Troy Merritt (all from the USA), and Stephan Jaeger (Germany) tied for 1st place at 7-under-par 63.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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