Lee Kyung-hoon 2nd Place "Flying 8-Under Par on First Day of Title Defense"... Munoz 12-Under Par Course Record

AT&T Byron Nelson: Tied 2nd as of 8:30 AM on Day 1, World No.1 Scheffler Tied 11th at 5 Under Par

Lee Kyung-hoon is teeing off at the 2nd hole on the first day of the AT&T Byron Nelson. McKinney, Texas, USA = Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Getty Images

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-joon] "I like Craig Ranch."

Lee Kyung-hoon (31, CJ Logistics) shot 8 under par from the first day of his title defense. On the 13th (Korean time), at the opening round of the AT&T Byron Nelson (total prize money $9.1 million) held at Craig Ranch Golf Club (par 72, 7,468 yards) in McKinney, Texas, USA. This is the "Promised Land" where he won his first PGA Tour victory last year. As of 8:30 a.m., he is tied for 2nd place, 4 strokes behind, while Sebastian Munoz (Colombia) set a course record of 12 under par and currently leads the leaderboard.

Lee Kyung-hoon made 1 eagle and 6 birdies. He started well with a birdie on the first hole (par 4), followed by two pairs of consecutive birdies on holes 5-6 and 8-9. After a birdie on the 11th hole (par 4), the highlight was an eagle on the 12th hole (par 5) with a '2-on 1-putt'. His second wood shot from 259 yards landed 3.4 meters from the hole. Missing a 2.2-meter birdie putt on the final 18th hole (par 5) was somewhat regrettable. He combined a green hit rate of 94.44% with 'computer iron shots' and an average of 1.56 putts per hole, showing 'stingy putting.'

Lee Kyung-hoon (right) is looking at the course on the 13th hole on the first day of the AT&T Byron Nelson. McKinney, Texas, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

Lee Kyung-hoon is a player who won two titles: the 2012 Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) Nagashima Shigeo and the 2015 Honma Tour World Cup, and also achieved back-to-back victories at the Korean Open, the 'national title of Korea,' in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, he ranked 5th on the Korn Ferry (second-tier) Tour money list, which qualified him to move to the U.S. in 2019, where he became the 8th Korean champion in history after 80 events. After missing the cut in three consecutive recent tournaments, he finished tied for 25th at the Wells Fargo Championship on the 9th, completing his 'warm-up.' The second round has become even more important.

Munoz made 2 eagles, 9 birdies, and 1 bogey, with particularly significant eagles on the 9th and 12th holes. It is interesting that he reduced 6 strokes on the four par-5 holes, including birdies on the 5th and 18th holes. Above all, his average of 1.31 greens in regulation per hole stood out. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is tied for 11th at 5 under par, looking forward to the second round. He has won 4 times in the last 7 tournaments, including his first major of the 2022 season, the Masters, and is already on a '5-win march.'

Strong contenders such as Dustin Johnson (USA) and Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) have joined this group. 'Texas boy' Jordan Spieth (USA) is tied for 22nd at 4 under par. After enjoying a vacation following his RBC Heritage win on the 18th of last month, he is challenging for a 'second consecutive Texas win.' For Korea, Noh Seung-yul (32) is tied for 38th at 3 under par, 'domestic No. 1' Kim Joo-hyung (20) is tied for 63rd at 2 under par, Kang Sung-hoon (35) is tied for 79th at 1 under par, and Kim Si-woo (27) is tied for 106th at even par.

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