South Korea’s Joo Hyung Kim, 21, got off to a solid start in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship ($9 million), a major on the DP World Tour.
Kim carded four birdies and two bogeys for a 2-under 70 in the first round at the par-72 Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England, on Thursday.
Sitting in a tie for 32nd place, Kim is six strokes off the pace of leader Markus Helikilde (DEN). Helikilde, ranked 232nd in the world, shot an 8-under 64 with 10 birdies.
Kim played his first full season on the PGA Tour in 2022-23 and won one event, the Shriners Hospitality Open last October. Despite a mid-season slump, Kim had a successful season, finishing runner-up at the Open Championship and, for the first time in his career, earning a spot in the Tour Championship, a playoff event that features only the top 30 players.
At the end of an exhausting PGA Tour season, Kim finished 20th in the final FedExCup standings, earning him a spot in next season’s field as well as an invitation to the event. While the lower-ranked players were competing in the PGA Tour’s Fall Series, Kim was competing in the DP World Tour’s biggest event, the BMW PGA Championship. He will play two consecutive DP World Tour events before the Cajun Open de France next week.
Kim got off to a good start on the first day. After hitting his second shot in front of the pin on the seventh (par-4) for his first birdie from two feet, Kim made bogey on the ninth (par-4) after sending his second shot into the rough around the green.
After birdieing the 10th (par-3) by putting his tee shot back to within two meters of the pin, Kim dropped another stroke on the 11th (par-4) when he hit his tee shot into the deep rough and had to lay up.
Kim quickly made up for her earlier mistake with a birdie at the 12th (par-5) after going for two-under. On the final 18th (par-5), Kim put his second shot on the green and two-putted for birdie to close out the match.
The tournament was a last-minute tune-up for a number of European players who will be competing in the Ryder Cup, the men’s golf competition between the United States and Europe that begins on Monday, with Maschu Fitzpatrick (England) the best performer with a 6-under-par 66 and Ludvig Oberg (Sweden), who is making his Ryder Cup debut, tied for 12th with a 4-under 68. Oberg, who turned pro in June, won his first title two weeks ago at the Omega European Masters.메이저사이트
Viktor “Ace” Hovland (NOR), who won three times on the PGA Tour in the 2022-23 season and is the reigning FedExCup champion, tied for 21st at 3-under 69. “We’re all playing with a Ryder Cup mentality,” Hovland said. It’s a little bit strange to have to think about both this tournament and the Ryder Cup at the same time.”
World No. 3 Jon Rahm (Spain) is tied for 46th at 1-under 71, while Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), who missed out on victory at last week’s Irish Open after a difficult final day, began the day at even-par 72 and tied for 65th.