Seven birdies, no bogeys for 7-under 65
Bae Sang-moon, Kim Hong-taek share second; Choi Kyoung-ju tied eighth
Song Min-hyuk took the outright lead after the opening round of the KPGA Tour Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Choi Kyoung-ju Invitational, which carries a purse of 1.25 billion won ($922,000).
Song carded seven birdies against no bogeys for a 7-under-par 65 at Ferrum Club (par 72) in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday, finishing two strokes clear of joint runners-up Bae Sang-moon and Kim Hong-taek, who both shot 5-under 67.
The result sets Song up for a second win of the season and second on the KPGA Tour overall, having claimed his maiden title at the GS Caltex MK Open in April.
Song hit only 55.7 percent of fairways but offset that with precise iron play and steady putting, picking up three strokes on the front nine before adding four more on the back.
A highlight came at the par-4 13th, where his tee shot found a fairway bunker and his second settled on a mound beside the green, yet he holed a chip from about 11 meters for birdie. He drew level at the top with a birdie at the par-4 15th, then birdied the par-4 17th and par-5 18th in succession to close out the day as the sole leader by two.
"I went after the greens with the idea of leaving myself easy putts, and the ball kept finding good positions," Song said. "This course doesn't lend itself to going on a run, so whenever a chance comes — like it did today — I'll make sure to take it."
Bae Sang-moon, a nine-time winner on the KPGA Tour, and Kim Hong-taek, a three-time winner, both carded 5-under 67 to share second place. Tournament host Choi Kyoung-ju shot 1-under 71 to sit tied eighth.
Jang Yu-bin, who leads both the money list and the Genesis Points standings with two wins this season, made five birdies but ran up four double bogeys and two bogeys for a 5-over 77, leaving him tied 91st.
Hwang In-chun made a hole-in-one at the par-3 14th, a 185-yard hole, using a 7-iron. He combined that ace with two birdies and five bogeys to finish at 1-over 73, tied for 27th after the opening round.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
