Woods 18th "1-Under Par Warm-Up"... 'Hulk' DeChambeau 1-Over Par

On Memorial Tournament Opening Day, Pinau Leads at 6 Under Par, McIlroy at 2 Under Par in 8th, Korea's An Byeonghun Ties for 18th

Tiger Woods is looking at the course on the first hole of the Memorial Tournament's first day. Dublin, Ohio, USA = Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Getty Images

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] "1-under par warm-up."

The 'resurrected golf emperor' Tiger Woods (USA) is on his '83-win march.' On the 17th (Korean time), at the opening day of the PGA Tour Memorial Tournament (total prize money $9.3 million) held at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio (par 72, 7,456 yards), he tied for 18th place. Tony Finau leads at 6-under par, with Ryan Palmer (both USA) chasing in second place (5-under par 67). 'The Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau (USA) remained tied for 42nd at 1-over par.

The fact that Woods participated itself is big news. It has been a full five months since the Genesis Invitational in February. Last April, he won the Masters for his 15th major victory, and in October, he won the Zozo Championship, which counts toward the 2020 season, marking Sam Snead's (USA) all-time record of 82 wins. This year, he tied for 9th at the Farmers Open in January but missed several top-tier matches such as the Arnold Palmer and 'the 5th major' The Players Championship in March due to a back injury sustained during the Genesis Invitational.

This time, he is challenging the PGA Tour's all-time wins record. The PGA Tour break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic gave Woods time to recover physically. In fact, he demonstrated unrusted performance with 4 birdies and 3 bogeys on the day. After a birdie on the first hole (par 4), he gained momentum with an 'eagle-like birdie' by landing his second shot next to the hole on the third hole (par 4). It was unfortunate that he missed the green and made bogeys on the 6th and 8th holes.

On the 15th hole (par 5), he changed the mood again by placing his third shot close to the hole. He made a bogey on the 16th hole (par 3) but recovered with a birdie on the final 18th hole (par 4), ultimately finishing under par. Attention should be paid to Woods' maximum 351-yard long drive. His iron shot green hit rate was 72.22%, and his average putts per hole were 1.69. He expressed confidence, saying, "Overall shot feel is good," and "I will focus on finding my putting touch."

Bryson DeChambeau is showing disappointment right after putting on the 13th hole during the first day of the Memorial Tournament. Dublin, Ohio, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

Locally, DeChambeau's attempt at back-to-back wins in two tournaments emerged as another point of interest. Recently, he has bulked up and achieved the longest average drive distance (323 yards). He has shown consistency by entering the 'top 8' in seven consecutive tournaments this season, including his first win of the season at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on the 6th. However, on this day, he struggled with shaky iron shots and managed only 2 birdies and 3 bogeys.

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), who played alongside Woods, finished tied for 8th at 2-under par, advancing to the second round. From Korea, An Byeong-hun (29) is performing well, tied for 18th. After cruising at 3-under par, he made a double bogey on the last 9th hole (par 4) when his second shot landed in the water. Kim Si-woo (25) is tied for 42nd, Kang Sung-hoon (33) tied for 59th at 2-over par, Im Sung-jae (22, both CJ Logistics) tied for 115th at 6-over par, and 'Tank' K.J. Choi (50, SK Telecom) tied for 120th at 7-over par.

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