Lee Kyung-hoon "Flying with 8-under on first day of title defense"... Munoz "Did you see the 12-under course record?" (Summary)

AT&T Byron Nelson Day 1: Tied 2nd, 4 Shots Behind Mu?oz Leading, World No.1 Scheffler Tied 12th at 5 Under Par

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

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

Lee Kyung-hoon (31, CJ Logistics) surged with an 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. He is tied for 2nd place, 4 strokes behind, while Sebastian Munoz (Colombia) set a course record with 12-under par, taking the top spot on the leaderboard for now.

Lee Kyung-hoon made one eagle and six 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. Birdies on the 11th hole (par 4) and an eagle on the 12th hole (par 5) with a '2-on 1-putt' were highlights. 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 a bit disappointing. His green hit rate of 94.44% with pinpoint iron shots and an average of 1.56 greens in regulation per hole stood out.

Lee Kyung-hoon is a two-time champion, having won 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, known as Korea's national title, in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, he ranked 5th on the Korn Ferry Tour (second-tier) 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 struggling with three consecutive missed cuts, he changed the momentum with a tie for 25th at the Wells Fargo Championship on the 9th. "This tournament seems to bring good energy," he said, gathering his resolve.

Munoz made two eagles, nine birdies, and one bogey, with the two eagles on the 9th and 12th holes being especially significant. It's interesting that he gained six strokes on the four par-5 holes, including birdies on the 5th and 18th holes. He relied on an average of 1.31 putts per hole, demonstrating excellent putting. Mito Pereira (Chile) and Peter Malnati (USA) are tied for 2nd place. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is tied for 12th at 5-under par, looking forward to the second round. He has won four of the last seven tournaments, including the Masters, and is already on a "5-win march."

Strong contenders such as "Texas boys" Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson (both USA), and Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) have joined this group. Spieth is challenging for his second consecutive Texas win after enjoying a vacation following his RBC Heritage victory on the 18th of last month. From Korea, No Seung-yeol (32) is tied for 40th at 3-under par, domestic No. 1 Kim Joo-hyung (20) is tied for 66th at 2-under par, Kang Sung-hoon (35) is tied for 79th at 1-under par, and Kim Si-woo (27) is tied for 107th at even par.

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