Shin Sang-hoon sits one back in second after Genesis Championship opening round

Shin Sang-hoon, the KPGA Tour's top-ranked player in Genesis points, moved into sole second place after the opening round of the Genesis Championship on Thursday, putting himself in contention for a third victory of the season.

Shin carded six birdies and one bogey for a 5-under-par 66 at Woojeong Hills Country Club (par 71, 7,367 yards) in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, at the co-sanctioned KPGA Tour and DP World Tour event with a $4 million purse. He sits one stroke behind sole leader Casey Jarvis of South Africa, who fired a 6-under 65.

Shin has won twice on the KPGA Tour this season and ranks third on the money list. He also finished runner-up at the Charity Classic on Sunday, falling one shot short of Jeong Chan-min.

Shin's round got off to a promising start at the par-4 first hole, where he found a greenside bunker with his approach but converted the bunker shot for birdie. He made bogey at the par-3 fourth before bouncing back with a birdie at the par-5 fifth, then holed a chip-in birdie from about 29 meters at the par-4 ninth to turn at 2-under.

On the back nine, Shin drained consecutive birdie putts of about six meters at the par-4 11th and about 4.8 meters at the par-4 12th. He parred holes 13 through 17 before closing with a birdie at the par-5 18th, where he stuck an approach from the rough beside the green to within about 80 centimeters of the cup.

PGA Tour player Kim Si-woo, 31, posted five birdies and one bogey for a 4-under 67, joining Antoine Rozner of France, Frederic Lacroix of France, Mikael Lindberg of Sweden and Niklas Lemke of Sweden in a tie for third.

Kim opened with a bogey at the par-4 first but recovered with a birdie at the par-5 fifth. He then poured in four birdies on the back nine, including one at the par-5 18th, to pull within two shots of the lead.

Sole leader Jarvis made seven birdies against one bogey, going out in 3-under and adding three more on the back nine to claim the top spot on the leaderboard after day one.

Ryan Fox of New Zealand, who won The Open Championship this season, carded five birdies and two bogeys for a 3-under 68 to sit in a tie for eighth.

Im Sung-jae, 28, who played alongside Fox, finished at even-par 71 with two birdies and two bogeys, tied for 33rd.

Im, the 2019 champion, said the feel of his shots and putting was good early on but his distance control deserted him on the back nine and he was frustrated to miss par-saving opportunities. "From tomorrow I'll focus on cutting out the mistakes," he added.

Among Korean players, Lee Dae-han and Lee Sang-yeop both shot 2-under 69 to share 12th place. Defending champion Lee Jeong-hwan carded a 1-over 72 to sit tied for 53rd.

The Genesis Championship, marking its 10th anniversary this year, runs through Sunday. The winner will receive $680,000 and two-year playing rights on both the KPGA Tour and the DP World Tour.