‘Tank’ Choi Gyeong-ju (53) hit 8 under par on the first day of the PGA Champions Tour Sanford International (total prize money of $2 million) and finished tied for the lead with Steve Stricker (USA).
Choi Kyung-ju hit 8 under par 62 with 9 birdies and 1 bogey in the first round of this tournament held at Minnehaha Country Club (par 70, 6,729 yards) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA on the 16th (Korean time). In the senior tour for those aged 50 and over, he is attempting to win his second win following his win at Pebble Beach three years ago.
Choi Kyung-ju, who started the first half with a loss of strokes due to a bogey on the 3rd hole, made up for it with consecutive birdies on the 4th and 5th holes, and gained another birdie on the 7th hole to gain momentum. He finished the game in good spirits by catching three consecutive birdies starting from the 9th hole and rising straight to the lead, then continuing his streak of 3 consecutive birdies starting from the 14th hole.메이저놀이터
On this day, Choi Kyung-joo’s driver shot distance was 287.5 yards, which was powerful enough to rank 33rd, and he hit the green within the regular number of strokes in all holes. The average putts per hole was also 1.67, ranking 9th.
Stricker is also tied for the lead with Choi Kyung-ju with 9 birdies and 1 bogey. However, while he was leading, he had a disappointing finish as he made a bogey on the 17th hole. David Toms (USA) hit 7 under par and was tied for 3rd place, one stroke ahead of Alex Cheka (Germany), Darren Clark (Northern Ireland), and Rocco Mediat (USA).
Wi Chang-soo (51), who qualified to participate due to Tom Lehman’s absence, shot 5 under par 65 and entered the top 10, tied for 8th place with Joe Durant (USA). Bernhard Langer (Germany), who is breaking the Champions Tour’s all-time record, is tied for 22nd with 3 under par, and Yang Yong-eun (52) is tied for 36th with only two strokes less.
The second round of this match, in which three Korean players challenge for the championship, will be broadcast live from 5 a.m. on the 17th (Sunday) on the JTBC Golf & Sports Channel.
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