Korea-Japan rivalry heats up from day one as Moon Do-yeop leads with 4-under 66 at Asian Games golf

South Korea and Japan launched a fierce battle for Asian golf supremacy on the opening day of the men's golf competition at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

South Korea's standard-bearer was team captain Moon Do-yeop, 34. Moon carded a bogey-free 4-under-par 66 — four birdies, no dropped shots — on Wednesday at Kasugai Country Club's East Course (par 70) in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Moon sat one stroke behind co-leaders Higa Kazuki of Japan and Wang Yi-hsuan of Taiwan, sharing third place with Japan's Nakashima Keita and others. Kim Ju-hyung, 24, and Kim Sung-hyun, 28, also cracked the top 10, giving South Korea a smooth start in the hunt for both individual and team medals.

Higa Kazuki, last year's Asian Tour money leader, fired six birdies against one bogey for a 5-under 65 to share the lead, living up to his billing as a gold-medal contender. Higa has also won the Shinhan Donghae Open twice.

Kim Ju-hyung flew directly to Japan after going 4-1 at the 2026 Presidents Cup and posted a 3-under 67 to share seventh place with China's Ding Wenyi. Despite fatigue from the time difference and long-haul travel, Kim managed five birdies and two bogeys to finish three under.

Kim Sung-hyun was tied for ninth at 2-under 68. He eagled the par-5 13th hole and added three birdies against three bogeys on the remaining holes.

South Korea also pushed hard against host Japan in the team competition, where the top two scores among each country's three players are combined each round. South Korea totaled 7-under par — combining Moon's minus-4 and Kim Ju-hyung's minus-3 — to share second place with China. Japan led by two strokes at 9-under, paced by Higa's 5-under and Nakashima's 4-under.

Reuters and Japan's Kyodo News were among the international outlets that highlighted the intense battle between South Korea and Japan, both strong gold-medal contenders. They noted that South Korea, bolstered by PGA Tour star Kim Ju-hyung, was applying heavy pressure on the host nation in both the individual and team events, with veteran Moon Do-yeop's bogey-free round leading the charge.

The head-to-head matchup between Japan's course-savvy players and South Korea's world-class experience emerged as the tournament's most compelling storyline.

The men's golf competition features 65 players competing over 72 holes of stroke play across four rounds, with no cut. With all South Korean players positioned near the top of the leaderboard after day one, momentum is building for the gold-medal race over the remaining three rounds.