Rookie Kim Seong-hyun "4-Under Par Excitement"... Riley and Gordon Share Lead at 6-Under Par

Seonghyun Kim Tied 10th, 2 Shots Behind After 1R at Sanderson Farms Championship
Defending Champion Burns Tied 25th, Byung-hoon An Tied 88th

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Rookie Kim Seong-hyun (24) is on a roll.

Kim Seong-hyun is reading the putting line on the 9th hole during the first day of the Sanderson Farms Championship.

On the 29th (local time), at the Country Club of Jackson (par 72, 7,461 yards) in Jackson, Mississippi, USA, Kim shot a 4-under-par 68 on the first day of the PGA Tour Sanderson Farms Championship (total prize money $7.9 million), placing him tied for 10th. Davis Riley and Will Gordon share the lead at 6-under-par 66, while Andrew Putnam and Brandon Matthews (both USA), and Christiaan Bezuidenhout (South Africa), among seven players, are tied for 3rd at 5-under-par 67.

Kim Seong-hyun recorded six birdies and two bogeys. Starting at the 10th hole, he had consecutive bogeys on the 12th and 13th holes, making for a shaky start, but he recovered the lost strokes with back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th holes. He then joined the race for the title with 'stepping stone birdies' on the 17th and 1st holes, and birdies on the 5th and 8th holes. His Strokes Gained Putting was an impressive 2.64. He is two strokes behind the co-leaders, presenting a chance to contend for his first win in only his second event of the 2022-2023 season.

Kim Seong-hyun has two career wins in Korea and Japan, both in major tournaments: the KPGA Championship on the Korean Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour in August 2020, and the Japan PGA Championship on the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) in July last year. He recorded a 'dream 58' on the final day of the JGTO Golf Partner Pro-Am Tournament. Last season, Kim finished 12th on the PGA Korn Ferry Tour money list and has now joined the PGA Tour this season. Two weeks ago, he tied for 36th at the season-opening Fortinet Championship.

Davis Riley swept up six birdies without any bogeys to dominate the top of the leaderboard. Although he debuted on the PGA Tour last season, he has yet to secure a win. His best finish was runner-up at the Valspar Championship in March. Nick Taylor (Canada) is tied for 10th, and defending champion Sam Burns (USA) is tied for 25th at 2-under-par 70.

For Korea, An Byeong-hun (31) made two birdies, one bogey, and one double bogey, losing one stroke and currently tied for 88th at 1-over-par 73, facing difficulties. An performed well with a tie for 4th at the Fortinet Championship. Im Sung-jae (24), Kim Joo-hyung (20), Kim Si-woo (27), and Lee Kyung-hoon (31), who played for the International Team at last week's Presidents Cup, chose to rest this week.

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