Kang Sung-hoon 2nd Place "Surprising 6-Under Par Surge"... What About 'Texas Boy' Spieth?

Balero Ties for 2nd on Texas Open Day 1, Villegas Leads at 8 Under, Spieth and No Seung-yeol Tied 4th in Pursuit

Kang Sung-hoon is watching the ball immediately after his tee shot on the 16th hole on the first day of the Texas Open. San Antonio, Texas, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] Kang Sung-hoon (34, CJ Logistics) made a surprising spurt.

On the 2nd (Korean time) at San Antonio Golf Club in Texas, USA (par 72, 7,435 yards), Kang started the long journey of the PGA Tour Valero Texas Open (total prize money $7.7 million) with a 6-under-par round on the first day, tying for 2nd place. Camilo Villegas (Colombia) leads with 8-under-par, followed by 'Texas boy' Jordan Spieth (USA) tied for 4th at 5-under-par. No Seung-yeol (31) also joined the tie for 4th, showing strong form after a while.

Kang recorded 1 eagle, 5 birdies, and 1 bogey. He gained momentum by sinking an impressive 11.5-meter birdie putt on the first hole, the 10th hole (par 4), and recovered from a bogey on the 12th hole (par 4) with a birdie on the 18th hole (par 5). The highlight was the eagle on the 2nd hole (par 5) in the back nine. After successfully reaching the green in two shots from 292 yards, he made a 9.1-meter eagle putt. He added three birdies at the 6th hole (par 4) and the 8th and 9th holes at the end. With a greens in regulation rate of 77.78% and precise iron shots described as 'needle-like,' he powered through with an average of 1.57 putts per hole, showing excellent putting skills.

Kang Sung-hoon is the 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson champion. He entered the PGA Tour in 2011 but did not achieve notable results, so he dropped down to the Korn Ferry Tour (second-tier) in 2013, where he honed his skills for three years before returning in 2016. Since then, he has successfully settled in with two top-10 finishes. Last year, he narrowly missed winning the Genesis Championship in February, finishing as runner-up. Interestingly, he has been in a slump with 10 missed cuts out of 16 tournaments in the 2021 season. This is a good opportunity to change the momentum.

Locally, the spotlight is on Spieth's march toward victory. Born in Texas and a graduate of the University of Texas, this is truly his 'home course.' The former world number one has been without a title for four years since The Open in July 2017. Fortunately, he has entered revival mode with four top-10 finishes in his last six tournaments, and today he made 7 birdies (2 bogeys). Although he missed the green nine times, his dazzling short game stood out.

Scottie Scheffler (USA) is watching for an opportunity from a tie for 7th at 4-under-par. His shot form seems alive after finishing runner-up at the World Golf Championships (WGC) Dell Technologies Match Play, which ended on the 29th. Defending champion Corey Conners (Canada) remained tied for 22nd at 1-under-par. From Korea, Lee Kyoung-hoon (30) is tied for 13th at 2-under-par, Kim Si-woo (26, CJ Logistics) and Choi Kyung-ju (51, SK Telecom) are tied for 38th at even par, and An Byeong-hoon (30) is tied for 125th at 5-over-par.

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