Korean Player in Lower Ranks on First Day of Valspar Championship

Kyung-Hoon Lee 72nd, Sungjae Im and Seonghyun Kim Tied 92nd
Strillman Leads, Roy 2nd, Shoply 13th
Tournament Suspended at Sunset, 2 Players Did Not Complete 1st Round

Korean players struggled at the Valspar Championship on the PGA Tour.

Lee Kyung-hoon

On the 21st (local time), Lee Kyoung-hoon finished the first round of the Valspar Championship (total prize money $8.4 million) at Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course (par 71, 7,340 yards) near Palm Harbor, Tampa, Florida, with an even-par 71, tied for 72nd place. He exchanged 3 birdies for 3 bogeys. His green hit rate dropped to 55.56%, making it difficult to create birdie opportunities. Last week, he missed the cut at The Players Championship, known as the 'fifth major.'

Im Sung-jae, who tied for 4th place in this tournament in 2019, recorded 2 birdies, 1 bogey, and 1 double bogey. He is tied for 92nd place (1-over-par 72). His long-standing strength, iron shots, missed the green 8 times, showing a poor performance. Since missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, Im Sung-jae has not entered the top 10 even once. Kim Sung-hyun made 2 birdies and 3 bogeys, tying with Im Sung-jae for 92nd place.

Kevin Streelman (USA) swept up 7 birdies without any bogeys, taking the top spot on the leaderboard at 7-under-par 64. The 45-year-old veteran has two PGA Tour wins in total. Kevin Roy (USA), who joined the PGA Tour last year, is positioned one stroke behind at 6-under-par 65. World No. 5 Xander Schauffele (USA) started comfortably, tied for 13th place at 3-under-par 68. Justin Thomas (USA) is also in this group. The round was suspended due to sunset, and two players have yet to complete their first round.

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