Four birdies, four bogeys for 72; Im Sung-jae tied 33rd at 1 over

Kim Si-woo plays out of a bunker on the 13th hole during the first round of the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, on Friday. [AFP]
Kim Si-woo plays out of a bunker on the 13th hole during the first round of the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, on Friday. [AFP]

Kim Si-woo opened the Memorial Tournament — a PGA Tour signature event with a $20 million purse — tied for 23rd after the first round on Friday.

Playing at Muirfield Village Golf Club (par 72) in Dublin, Ohio, Kim carded four birdies and four bogeys for an even-par 72.

He sits five strokes behind the group of co-leaders — Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun and Ryan Gerard of the United States, and Tommy Fleetwood of England — who all shot 5-under 67.

Kim had led through three rounds of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson before Clark overtook him in the final round to win; Kim finished runner-up in that event, which ended May 25. He skipped the Charles Schwab Challenge to recharge and arrived at this week's tournament targeting his first win of the season.

Ranked second on the PGA Tour's official list of title contenders for the event, Kim got off to a promising start, draining a 5.8-meter putt for birdie on the par-4 2nd hole and converting an 8.2-meter putt on the par-5 5th. He added a third birdie on the par-5 7th despite his second shot finding a greenside bunker, moving to 3 under through seven holes.

The back nine proved costly. Kim's tee shot on the par-3 8th found a bunker, and he failed to get his second shot onto the green, making bogey; he then bogeyed the par-4 9th as well. A birdie on the par-4 13th was immediately cancelled out by a bogey on the 14th, and back-to-back bogeys on the par-3 16th and par-4 17th left him in danger of finishing over par. He salvaged even par with a 5-meter birdie putt on the 18th.

Fellow South Korean Im Sung-jae made three birdies against four bogeys for a 1-over 73, beginning the tournament tied for 33rd.

Clark, who rallied past Kim to claim his fourth PGA Tour title at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, shot 5-under 67 — featuring an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys — to share the lead.


yjc@heraldcorp.com