Kim Si-woo fired a 7-under 64 in the opening round of the PGA Tour’s THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson (total purse 10.3 million USD (approximately 13.7 billion KRW)), vaulting himself into the early top five on the leaderboard.
On the 22nd (Korean time) at TPC Craig Ranch (par 71) in McKinney, Texas, Kim posted eight birdies and one bogey on opening day.
His 7-under 64 left him in a tie for fourth with Keith Mitchell, Michael Thorbjornsen (both USA), Emiliano Grillo (Argentina), Stephan Jaeger (Germany) and Gensei Hirata (Japan).
He stood two shots behind solo leader Tyler Moore (USA), who carded a 9-under 62.
Despite steady rain, Kim’s shot-making stood out. He stayed composed even while paired with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and 2018 champion Brooks Koepka.
Starting on the 10th hole (par 4), Kim drained a lengthy birdie putt of roughly 20 meters (about 66 feet) on his first hole. He followed with birdies at the 12th (par 5) and 14th (par 4) to turn in 4 under.
The momentum carried over on the back nine. On the 2nd (par 4), his second shot finished about 70 cm (roughly 28 inches) from the cup and he converted the birdie. He rolled in an approximately 2-meter (6.6-foot) birdie at the 3rd, and on the 5th (par 5) he used a mini driver to reach the front of the green before hitting a precise approach for another birdie. A three-putt bogey at the 7th (par 3) was his lone blemish, but he recovered with a birdie at the finishing 9th (par 5) to close out a strong first round.
After the round, Kim said, “It was a good round. My putting was excellent. My shots were a bit shaky, but I’m satisfied with the result. The greens were trickier than I expected, but my putting held up and allowed me to have a good round.”
Brooks Koepka (USA), who carded eight birdies with no bogeys, shot an 8-under 63 to sit in a tie for second with Jesper Svensson (Sweden).
Back on the PGA Tour after a stint with LIV Golf, Koepka produced his lowest round of the season at this event.
“It was my best round of the year,” Koepka said. “My feel with the putter was good. When what you feel matches the result, it really helps boost your confidence.”
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler finished at 5-under 66, tied for 16th.
“I hit a lot of good shots, but my irons came up a bit short, so I didn’t create as many birdie chances,” Scheffler said. “Overall, though, it was a day with a lot of positive signs.”
Among other Korean players, Noh Seung-yul is tied for 32nd at 4-under 67; Kim Joo-hyung, Im Sung-jae and Bae Yong-joon are T47 at 3-under 68; and Lee Kyung-hoon is T74 at 2-under 69.
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