"AT&T Champ Lee Kyoung-hoon Leads: 'Good Start with 5 Under Par'... 'Memorial Battle Start~'"

'Nicklaus Host' Memorial Tournament Day 1 5 Under Par "152-Yard Shot to Eagle"

Lee Kyung-hoon is teeing off at the 17th hole on the first day of the Memorial Tournament. Dublin, USA = Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Getty Images

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] ‘AT&T Champ’ Lee Kyung-hoon (31, CJ Logistics) is off to a strong start.

On the 3rd (Korean time), at the Memorial Tournament (total prize money $12 million) held at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, USA (par 72, 7,533 yards), he shot 5 under par on the first day and immediately took the top spot on the leaderboard. This tournament is especially notable as it is a special event hosted by the ‘former golf emperor’ Jack Nicklaus (USA). Cameron Smith (Australia) and Luke List joined him in a tie for the lead, while Will Zalatoris (USA) is chasing from a tie for 7th place, one stroke behind (4 under par, 68 strokes).

Lee Kyung-hoon ranked 5th on the 2018 PGA Korn Ferry Tour (2nd tier) money list and moved to the United States in 2019, achieving his first victory last May at the AT&T Byron Nelson. He is the eighth Korean champion in history. It is noteworthy that he successfully defended his title last May. This is the first time in 22 years since Tom Watson (USA) achieved a ‘three-peat’ from 1978 to 1980 in the tournament’s history. Above all, it is a proud record as the first Korean player to win back-to-back PGA Tour titles.

On this day, he recorded one eagle, five birdies, and two bogeys. He made consecutive birdies on holes 2 and 3, a birdie on hole 5 (par 5), and even a ‘shot eagle’ from 152 yards on hole 9 (par 4). Although he had consecutive bogeys on holes 10 and 11 in the back nine, he recovered with consecutive birdies on holes 15 and 16. His greens in regulation rate was only 66.67%, but his ‘stingy putting’ stood out with an average of 1.42 putts per hole. “Missing the cut at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge actually helped me conserve energy,” he said, adding, “Muirfield is a course where you cannot afford to be careless,” showing his determination.

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