Kim Seong-hyun and Kang Seong-hoon "Start Tied 50th at 2 Under Par"

Smuder Man Leads Mexico Open 1R at 8 Under Par
Ram 14th, An Byeonghun 65th, Noh Seungyul 81st

Rookie Kim Seong-hyun (photo) had a steady start.

On the 27th (local time), Kim Seong-hyun scored 2 under par in the first round of the PGA Tour Mexico Open (total prize money $7.7 million) held at Vidanta Vallarta (Par 71, 7,456 yards) in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, placing him tied for 50th. Austin Smotherman leads with 8 under par 63, while Erik van Rooyen (South Africa) and Tano Goya (Argentina) are tied for second at 7 under par 64, engaging in a chase.

Kim Seong-hyun recorded 6 birdies, 2 bogeys, and 1 double bogey. His shots were shaky, with a fairway hit rate of 46.15% and a green in regulation rate of only 55.56%. When hitting the green, his putting average per hole was 1.6. This season, Kim has participated in 19 tournaments and made the cut 14 times. His personal best finish is tied for 4th at last October's Shriners Children's Open.

World No. 1 Jon Rahm (Spain) dropped 4 strokes to sit tied for 14th. He is on a steep rise this season, having secured 4 wins including the Masters. From Korea, Kang Sung-hoon made 3 birdies and 1 bogey, tying for 50th. An Byeong-hun finished tied for 65th (1 under par 70), and Noh Seung-yul ended the first round tied for 81st (even par 71).

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