Noh Seung-yul plays a shot. [Getty Images]
Noh Seung-yul plays a shot. [Getty Images]

Noh Seung-yul finished tied for 19th in the first round of the PGA Tour's Corales Puntacana Championship, which carries a $4 million purse.

Noh carded five birdies and one bogey for a 4-under-par 68 on Friday at Puntacana Resort & Club (par 72) in Puntacana, Dominican Republic.

He finished three strokes behind co-leaders Todd Clements of England and Ivan Cantero Gutierrez of Spain, who each shot 7-under 65.

The tournament, which offers 300 FedEx Cup points, was scheduled the same week as The Open Championship for players who did not qualify for that major.

Making his fourth PGA Tour start of the season, Noh got off to a rocky start with a bogey on the par-3 second hole, but recovered with a birdie on the par-5 fourth and back-to-back birdies on holes six and seven to finish the front nine 2 under.

On the back nine, he added birdies on the par-5 12th and the par-4 15th to close out the round on a positive note.

Korean American Kim Chan shot 5-under 67 to sit tied for ninth, while Bae Sang-moon, playing on a sponsor exemption, struggled to a 5-over 77 — two birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey — to finish tied for 138th.


yjc@heraldcorp.com