“After correcting my spine that slanted to the right, the uncomfortable place disappeared. Thanks to that, I am practicing without wanting to. Golf is not about playing well just by sending it far. I know how to get good grades. I want to occupy it again.”
In a recent interview with the Maeil Business Newspaper, Choi Kyung-ju, a ‘Korean tank’ who turned 53 this year, said, “I will try again to win the PGA Tour, not the PGA Tour Champions, where players over the age of 50 play. I was inspired by seeing my juniors win. . The passion was on fire,” he said.
And from the first day of the first round of the Sony Open, his first full-field tournament in 2023, which he set as the stage for his full-fledged challenge, Choi Kyung-ju proved the confidence he said sexually.
The first round of the tournament was held at the Waialae Country Club (par 70, 7044 yards) in Honolulu, Hawaii on the 13th (Korean time). Choi Kyung-ju recorded 4-under-par 66 by grabbing 5 birdies and blocking 1 bogey.
With 10 out of 144 players unable to finish the game due to the sunset that day, Kyung-Joo Choi finished the first day in a tie for 11th place, two strokes behind Jordan Spieth and Chris Kirk (above USA) who shot 6-under-par 64. .
Choi Kyung-joo, who achieved satisfactory results after a long time, looked back and said, “I played happily because I remembered when I won this tournament in 2008.” seemed He continued, “I made a few mistakes today, but I think I covered them well with putts. It was easy to read the greens today, and I’ll work harder for the remaining three days to get good results.”
Looking at the contents of the match, Choi Kyung-joo’s seasoned beauty stood out. The average driver shot distance was 287.7 yards, which ranked 129th among the players, and the ‘longest hit’ was 313 yards, ranking 142nd, which was the lowest. However, in areas that require skill and experience, such as 1st in fairway hit rate (78.57%), 20th in scrambling (75%) to catch pars when the green is missed, and 35th in sand save (66.67%) to catch pars from bunkers around the green. ranked in the upper middle ranks. He played golf without any ‘blemish’.
Choi Kyung-ju participated in three PGA Tour events last season, but suffered the pain of missing all cuts. However, after correcting his spine this year, he regained his trademark fade shot, and after about 4 years after tying for 10th at the RBC Heritage in 2019, he was able to aim not only for the top 10 on the PGA Tour, but also for his ninth career win.안전놀이터
Among the seven Korean players who participated in this tournament, only one ‘rookie’ Kim Seong-hyun ranked higher than Choi Kyung-ju. Seong-Hyun Kim made 5 birdies until the 16th hole, but had to stop the game due to sunset with 2 holes left. He played bogey-free, although his tee shot was shaky and his fairway hit rate was only 53.85%. The ball fell into the bunker around the green three times, but all pars were caught, and although the ball missed the green four times, it did not lose any strokes with an elaborate short game. If you look at the contents of the game, it was the appearance of a veteran player.
Kim Si-woo tied for 22nd with Russell Henry (USA) with 3 under par 67 strokes. Lee Kyung-hoon finished his first day with a 1-under-par 69, tied for 53rd. Ahn Byeong-hun, who returned to the PGA Tour, could not reduce the number of strokes and tied for 79th, while Lim Seong-jae, the ‘top 2 Korean player in the world ranking’, lost one stroke and tied for 101st. Kim Joo-hyung, who rose to 14th in the world rankings and signed a contract with the global sports brand Nike, emerged as a box office card on the PGA Tour.