"Changed the Atmosphere"... Kim Juhyung's Excitement with 5-Under Par in a Major

PGA Championship 1R Tied 4th, 4 Shots Behind
Schauffele Leads, Finau 2nd, McIlroy 4th
Schauffler and Kepka Tied 12th, Kim Seonghyun 46th

Kim Joo-hyung had a somewhat slow start this year on the PGA Tour.

Kim Joo-hyung is teeing off at the 12th hole during the first round of the PGA Championship. [Louisville, USA AFP · Yonhap News]

He played in 13 tournaments but never broke into the top 10 even once. His best personal result was a tie for 17th at the WM Phoenix Open in February. In the last two tournaments, he finished tied for 52nd (The CJ Cup Byron Nelson) and tied for 47th (Wells Fargo Championship). He did not show the form expected of a ‘young gun’ with three PGA Tour wins.

Kim Joo-hyung changed the momentum. On the 16th (local time) at Valhalla Golf Club (par 71, 7,609 yards) in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, during the first round of the 106th PGA Championship, the second major tournament of the year, he shot 5-under 66 to tie for 4th place. Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), world No. 2 and last week’s Wells Fargo Championship winner, is also in this group.

Kim Joo-hyung made six birdies (one bogey). He reduced two strokes in the front nine with birdies on holes 1 and 7, then added three more birdies on holes 10, 12, and 13 in the back nine. He made a bogey on the 14th hole (par 3) after sending his tee shot into the rough but recovered with a birdie on the 17th hole (par 4). His tee shots were outstanding, missing the fairway only once. His putting was also excellent, averaging 1.57 putts per green in regulation.

World No. 3 Xander Schauffele (USA) showed perfect play with nine birdies and no bogeys. He leads by three strokes at 9-under 62. Tony Finau (USA) is chasing in second place at 6-under 65. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and LIV Golf star Brooks Koepka (both USA) are tied for 12th at 4-under 67. Kim Sung-hyun is tied for 32nd at 2-under 69, and LIV Golf member Jon Rahm (Spain) is tied for 47th at 1-under 70.

Ahn Byung-hoon is tied for 65th at even par 71, while ‘Golf Emperor’ Tiger Woods (USA) is struggling at tied for 85th at 1-over 72. Im Sung-jae and Kim Si-woo are tied for 108th at 2-over 73, and Lee Kyung-hoon and Yang Yong-eun are tied for 126th at 3-over 74, worrying about the ‘cut off.’

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