"AT&T 2 Consecutive Wins" Lee Kyung-hoon Leads "Good Start with 5 Under Par"..."Memorial Battle Start~" (Summary)

'Nicklaus Host' Memorial Tournament Day 1 5-Under Par "152-Yard Shot to Eagle", Im Sung-jae Tied 24th at 2-Under Par

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

[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 first place, while Will Zalatoris (both from the USA) is chasing in a tie for 7th place, one stroke behind (4 under par, 68 strokes).

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

That 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 average of 1.42 putts per hole stood out for its precision. “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 complacent,” showing his determination.

Sungjae Im tied for 21st place at 2-under par on the first day of the Memorial Tournament.

Korea’s ‘Shriners Champ’ Im Sung-jae (24) is positioned tied for 21st at 2 under par. It is interesting that he returned to Korea last month for the Korean Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour Woori Financial Championship after 2 years and 7 months but was held back by COVID-19. He is back on track after finishing tied for 15th at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He expressed confidence, saying, “My condition and shot feel are both good.” Kim Si-woo (27) follows behind tied for 48th at even par.

The ‘return match’ between defending champion Patrick Cantlay and last year’s runner-up Collin Morikawa (both from the USA) is in a lull. Morikawa is tied for 34th at 1 under par, and Cantlay is tied for 48th as they regroup. ‘Number 2’ Jon Rahm (Spain) is also tied for 48th, showing little presence. Rahm especially harbors frustration after leading by six strokes on the third day last year but was forced to withdraw due to COVID-19. ‘Hulk’ Bryson DeChambeau (USA) fell back to tied for 96th at 4 over par.

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