Kim Joo-hyung (21), who appeared in an official competition for the first time with the Nike logo as a ‘new partner’, ran with momentum from the first competition of the new year.
Kim Joo-hyung won the US Professional Golf (PGA) Tour 2022-2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions (total prize money of $15 million) held at the Kapalua Plantation Course (par 73, 7596 yards) in Kapalua, Maui Island, Hawaii, USA on the 6th (Korean time). In the first round, he tied 2 eagles, 5 birdies, and 1 bogey and shot 8 under par 65. Kim Joo-hyung, who was one stroke behind the joint lead group, finished the first round in fourth place alone.
With his performance on this day, Kim Joo-hyung increased his chances of winning three tours following the Wyndham Championship in August of last year and the Shriners Children’s Open in October. This tournament is a tournament in the nature of a “King of Kings” competition where only the winners of last year’s PGA Tour competition and the Tour Championship participants in the final FedEx Cup playoffs will participate. To match the value of the name, the prize money was set at 15 million dollars (approximately 19 billion won), nearly double that of last year (8.2 million dollars).
The FedEx Cup points given to the winner were also raised from 500 to 550. If Kim Joo-hyung, who currently ranks fourth in terms of prize money ($1,777,085) and FedEx Cup points (601 points), wins, he will become the sole leader in both categories. 안전놀이터
It didn’t start well. He missed the fairway on the 4th hole (par 4) and ended up writing down a bogey. However, he made up for the mistake with a birdie on the 5th hole (par 5), and on the 6th hole (par 3), he caught the eagle by putting the shot from 116 yards into the hole. In the 15th hole (par 5), the second shot from 252 yards was placed 2m next to the hole to catch the second eagle. A birdie was also added on the last 18th hole (par 5).
Kim Joo-hyung said, “The game was slow in the beginning (while reducing the number of strokes in the second half), but overall it was a good game,” and “It was a good round to start the new year.” Regarding the part where he played wearing Nike clothes, he said, “I feel very proud and full of confidence,” and “I try not to think too much (of wearing Nike).”
Colin Morikawa (26), J.J Spun (33, USA), and Yon Ram (29, Spain) recorded 9 under par 64 strokes side by side to form a joint lead group. Jordan Spieth (30, USA), who played with Kim Joo-hyung, is tied for 11th place with 6 under par 67 strokes.
Lim Seong-jae (25), a “new groom” who married last December, drove 7 birdies and tied for 5th place with a 7 under par 66 strokes. Lee Gyeong-hoon (32) starts the second round with a 5-under-par 68 and a tie for 17th.