Kang Sung-hoon's Charge "5-Under Par Surge"... Koepka Leads with 8-Under Par

FedEx St. Jude Invitational Day 1: Seongjae Im Tied 4th, Fowler 2nd, DeChambeau and Im Seongjae Tied 9th 'Chasing Battle'

Kang Sung-hoon is hitting an iron shot on the 10th hole on the first day of the FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Memphis, Tennessee, USA = Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Getty Images

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Kang Sung-hoon (33, CJ Logistics) is on his way to victory.

On the 31st (Korean time), at the Southwind Golf Club in Memphis, Tennessee, USA (Par 70, 7,244 yards), the first day of the World Golf Championships (WGC) FedEx St. Jude Invitational (total prize money $10.5 million) kicked off, and Kang posted 5 under par to position himself in 4th place. Defending champion Brooks Koepka leads with 8 under par 62, while Ricky Fowler and Brendan Todd (both from the USA) are tied for 2nd place at 6 under par 64. This tournament is famously known as the 'money feast' of the WGC series.

Only 78 players compete without a cut, battling for the winner's prize of $1,785,000 (21.3 billion KRW). Kang made six birdies and one bogey. Starting at the 10th hole (par 4), he made a bogey at the 11th hole (par 3) but immediately recovered with a birdie at the 12th hole (par 4), then added three more birdies at the 15th, 17th, and 18th holes. In the back nine, he added 'stepping stone birdies' at the 4th and 6th holes to jump into the winner's race. His powerful long drives averaging 310.5 yards stood out.

His 'needle-like iron shots' with a green hit rate of 77.78% and an average of 1.643 putts per hole were also outstanding. He is three strokes behind the leader, and this is his chance for his second PGA Tour win in one year and two months since his first victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson last May. Kang Sung-hoon is the protagonist who caused a sensation by winning the Korean Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour Lotte Skyhill Open as an amateur. He made a name for himself by winning his first professional title at the 2010 Eugene Investment & Securities Open.

He joined the PGA Tour in 2011 but dropped to the Web.com Tour (second tier) in 2012 due to poor performance, where he honed his skills for three years before returning in 2016. He has consistently performed well with one runner-up finish in 2017 and two third-place finishes in 2018, finally achieving success at the AT&T Byron Nelson last year after '158 attempts and 159 tries.' This year, he has twice entered the top 10, tying for 2nd at the Genesis Invitational and tying for 9th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, currently ranking 49th in the money list with $1,492,324 and cruising smoothly.

Brooks Koepka is reading the putting line on the 9th hole on the first day of the FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Memphis, Tennessee, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

Koepka swept up nine birdies and one bogey to dominate the top of the leaderboard. His driving power reaching up to 342 yards and an average of 1.50 putts per hole are his driving forces. 'Golf's idol' Ricky Fowler (USA) is also chasing the leader just two strokes behind, looking for an opportunity. 2018 champion Justin Thomas is tied for 5th place (4 under par 66), while 'The Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson (both USA), and Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics) are tied for 9th place (3 under par 67), making a solid start.

Ahn Byung-hoon (29, CJ Logistics) is tied for 15th place (2 under par 68), and 'WGC slammer' Dustin Johnson (USA) is tied for 27th place (1 under par 69). On the other hand, Jon Rahm (Spain), who made his first appearance since becoming world number one, exchanged four birdies for four bogeys, finishing tied for 36th place (even par 70). 'Number 2' Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) also managed only two birdies but gave away five bogeys, struggling at tied 67th place (3 over par 73) on a thorny path.

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