Lee Kyung-hoon "Clash with World No.1"... "As Substitute for Defending Champ~"

Arnold Palmer Invitational 1st and 2nd Rounds Paired with McIlroy, Even Par on First Day

Lee Kyung-hoon is making a bunker shot on the 15th hole on the first day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Orlando, Florida, USA ? Photo by Getty Images/Multibits

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "Lucky substitute for the defending champion."

Lee Kyung-hoon (29, CJ Logistics) faced off against world No. 1 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland). This took place on the 6th (Korean time) during the first round of the PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational (total prize money $9.3 million) held at Bay Hill Golf Club in Orlando, Florida (par 72, 7,454 yards). It is interesting that he participated as an alternate player. Moreover, he secured a spot in the featured group after the defending champion Francesco Molinari (Italy) withdrew.

Lee Kyung-hoon was involved in a traffic accident while heading to a practice round the day before. Fortunately, it was not a serious accident, but he experienced neck stiffness as he was in the passenger seat. He cheered, saying, "The traffic accident turned into luck," and "Some kind of fate gave me this opportunity." Since the pairings had already been finalized, he inherited Molinari's tee time. Trading two birdies and two bogeys, he finished even par tied for 45th place, a decent start.

Lee Kyung-hoon was the back-to-back winner of the Korean Open 'National Title' in 2016 and 2017. He ranked 5th on the 2018 PGA Korn Ferry Tour money list and advanced to the PGA Tour last year, successfully settling in with two top-10 finishes in 30 tournaments. On this day, he unleashed a long drive of up to 327 yards and missed the green seven times but demonstrated crisis management by saving par five times. He will play in the same group for the second round as well.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.