Korea’s Heungchol Joo set the early pace by posting an opening six-under-par 65 to grab the first round lead at the Kolon Korea Open Golf Championship on Thursday.
Korean Amateur Seungtaek Oh showed he can also match up against the professionals by returning with a 66 to take outright second position while American Kevin Na ensured his homecoming got off to a good start when he signed for a 67 to trail Joo by two in equal third place at the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club.
Thailand’s Pannakorn Uthaipas also got off to one of his best starts this season when he signed for a 68 to be bunched in tied-seventh place that includes Korea’s K.T. Kim and Sanghyun Park, who recently won on home soil last month.
Joo, who is chasing his fourth win on the Korean Tour and first on the Asian Tour, got off the blocks quickly when he reached the turn in 33 after carding four birdies and one bogey.
He extended his advantage with another birdie on 11 and had a closing eagle on 18 to thank for giving him the outright lead at the KR?1,200,000,000 (approx. US$1,125,000) event.
Oh, who is part of the Korean national team, also showed his potential when he mixed his card with six birdies and two bogeys to stay close to Joo at the Kolon Korea Open Golf Championship which is part of The Open Qualifying Series this year.
Na was delighted his patient approach paid off and believes he can mount a serious challenge as the week progresses.
Did you know?
· Heungchol Joo turned professional in 2006 and made his debut on the Korean Tour the following year.
· He holds three wins on the Korean Tour and his best result in 2018 was a tied-11 finish at the DB insurance Promy Open.
· Seungtaek Oh is a member of the Korean national golf team.
· He was the winner of the BEAR CREEK CUP Amateur Golf Championship in 2016
· Kevin Na is the highest ranked player at world number 63 this week. He finished tied-13th at the Kolon Korean Open Golf Championship last year.
· Pannakorn Uthaipas topped the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit title in 2017 to earn his Asian Tour card for 2018.
· He has missed the cut twice in six starts on the Asian Tour.
Players’Quotes
Heungchol Joo (Kor) First round 65 (-6)
It was a good day and I managed to take advantage of most of my birdie chances. That eagle on 18 was a nice way to finish off the round as it meant I could take bragging rights for the day. I’m playing well and I just have to stay focused as it’s only the first day and anything can happen. I don’t want to get ahead of myself just yet.
Seungtaek Oh (Kor) First round 66 (-5)
It was a good round and I’m enjoying myself especially with this opportunity to play in a professional tournament like this. It’s still early days but I hope to maintain this form throughout the week.
Kevin Na (Usa), First round 67 (-4)
I felt really confident today. Obviously you don’t want to put too much pressure on yourself but I felt really good and I struck the ball very well today. I got off to an average start, I three-putted 15 but continued to stay patient. I made some putts coming in and managed to shoot four-under. It was a good day. I still feel like Korea is home and I’ve got to remind myself to get a visa when I come here. I keep forgetting. The crowd was great today and it helped I was playing with Sangmoon Bae and Sanghyun Park who are household names here too. It was a lot of fun. I’ve got to go low again tomorrow as I’m sure they are going to set it up really difficult over the weekend. I’ve to be ahead of the game.
Pannakorn Uthaipas (Tha) First round 68 (-3)
I’m very happy with my score today especially since this is my first time playing here. I’ve not been playing well lately and I needed a performance like this to lift my confidence and morale. I think the key to doing well here at Woo Jeong Hills is your tee shots. It’s important to get your tee shots onto the fairways. If you miss them, you’ll be in big trouble. I’ve been working hard on my driving and it has been okay today. I hope for more of that to continue this week.
Leading scores after round 1 of the Kolon Korea Open Golf Championship being played at the par 71, 7328 Yards Woo Jeong Hills Country Club course (am – denotes amateur):
65 – Heungchol JOO (KOR).
66 – Seungtaek OH (am, KOR).
67 – Hosung CHOI (KOR), Seungtaek LEE (KOR), Kevin NA (USA), Keunho LEE (KOR).
68 – Jaemin HAN (am, KOR), Sanghyun PARK (KOR), K.T. KIM (KOR), Keith HORNE (RSA), Innchoon HWANG (KOR), Pannakorn UTHAIPAS (THA), Junsung KIM (KOR), Sangha PARK (am, KOR), Junsub PARK (KOR).
69 – CHAN Shih-chang (TPE), Kyongjun MOON (KOR), Minchel CHOI (KOR), Daisuke KATAOKA (JPN), Dongha LEE (KOR), John CATLIN (USA), Woohyun KIM (KOR), Doyeob MUN (KOR).
70 – Jaemin HWANG (KOR), Khalin JOSHI (IND), Sengyong KIM (KOR), Prom MEESAWAT (THA), Gowoong CHOI (KOR), Giwhan KIM (KOR), Taehee LEE (KOR), Sungyeol KWON (KOR), Y. E. YANG (KOR), Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA), Richard T. LEE (CAN), Jaewoong EOM (KOR), Hyungjoon LEE (KOR), Kyungnam KANG (KOR), Chikkarangappa S. (IND)
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