‘3 Consecutive Wins Challenge’ Seo Yoseop "Oh no, lost ball at 4th hole~"… Lee Taehun ‘Leading with 9 Under Par’

Defending Champion Seo Yoseop Ties 58th at 2-Under on First Day of Shinhan Donghae Open
Tipong at 8-Under in 2nd Place, Kim Siwoo and Kim Taeho Tied 4th at 6-Under
Choi Jinho and Japan's Top Earner Higa Tied 10th at 5-Under

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Defending champion Seo Yo-seop (26) was hampered by a lost ball.

Seo Yoseop is teeing off at the 15th hole on the first day of the Shinhan Donghae Open. Photo by Shinhan Financial Group

Seo Yo-seop shot 2-under-par 69 on the first day of the 38th Shinhan Donghae Open (total prize money 1.4 billion KRW) held on the 8th at Koma Country Club in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan (par 71), with 5 birdies, 1 bogey, and 1 double bogey. He is tied for 58th place. If Seo Yo-seop wins this tournament after his victories at the Bodyfriend Phantom Robo Gunsan CC Open on the 28th of last month and the LX Championship on the 4th, he will achieve a historic record of winning three consecutive weeks on the Korean Tour for the first time.

Starting at the 10th hole (par 4), Seo made his first birdie at the 13th hole (par 5) and then fired three consecutive birdies from the 15th to the 17th holes. However, he made a tee shot mistake at the 4th hole (par 4). Unable to find his ball, he took a lost ball penalty and suffered a double bogey, a critical blow. His birdie at the 6th hole was erased by a bogey at the last 9th hole (also par 4). He is 7 strokes behind the leader.

“I should have shot around 6-under-par,” Seo said. “There was no wind and the weather was good, so I think other players could lower their scores a lot. It’s disappointing.” He added, “There are still three rounds left. I can definitely climb up. I will prepare for the second round with the mindset of quickly forgetting this and starting again,” showing his fighting spirit.

Lee Tae-hoon is reading the putting line on the 9th hole on the first day of the Shinhan Donghae Open. Photo by Shinhan Financial Group

Lee Tae-hoon (Canada) swept up 9 birdies without any bogeys to take the top spot on the leaderboard (9-under-par 62). He debuted on the Korean Tour in 2018 and has accumulated 3 career wins. Nitithorn Thippong (Thailand), who has won twice this year on the Asian Tour, is chasing in second place (8-under-par 63). Kim Si-woo (27), a ‘PGA member’ returning to the Shinhan Donghae Open after 12 years, started comfortably tied for 4th place (6-under-par 65).

Kim Tae-ho (27) joined the group tied for 4th place. Kazuki Higa (Japan), the ‘No. 1 earner in Japan,’ is positioned tied for 10th place (5-under-par 66). Choi Jin-ho (38) and Lee Sang-hee (30) are also in this group. On the other hand, two-time champion Kim Bi-o (32) and Park Sang-hyun (39) are tied for 95th place (even par 71), and Hwang Jung-gon (30) is tied for 105th place (1-over-par 72), showing poor performance.

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