Seoul, May 20, 2010: Big-hitting Korean Kim Dae-hyun, who won OneAsia’s GS Caltex Maekyung Open two weeks ago, shot a bogey-free 66 to share a five-way tie for the first-round lead at the SK Telecom Open. Fellow Koreans Lee Seong-ho and Hwang Jae-min and Australians Brad Kennedy and Henry Epstein also shot six-under-par over the 7,241-yard Ocean Course at the Sky 72 Golf Club, near Incheon International Airport
A shot behind were a trio of young Koreans – Daegu-based Kim Do-hoon, 21, Son Joon-eob and Kang Sung-hoon, both 22.
K.J. Choi, fellow PGA Tour star Kevin Na and defending champion Park Sang-hyun each shot 70 to lie in a tie for 24th place.
Kim Dae-hyun, the Korean Tour’s longest hitter, shot four birdies on the front nine and two on the back to justify his tag as one of the pre-tournament favourites after the 22-year-old’s stunning win two weeks ago.
“I was really happy as I didn’t have any bogeys, although it’s too early to think about winning. I’ll see where I am after the third round,” said Kim.
“It was a good, steady round, although sometimes I was going a little left with my tee-shots.”
Kim also enjoyed playing with 26-year-old Na, who is making a rare appearance in his homeland.
“I enjoyed playing with Kevin as we talked a lot about his time on the PGA Tour,” Kim said. “I talked to him about going to Qualifying School and he said he thought I would do well. I watched him carefully, especially on his approach shots and his putting.”
Kennedy and Lee, both playing in the flight in front of Kim and Na, each birdied the par-five 18th to set the clubhouse lead.
“It was a great morning overall as it has been a few years since I’ve seen my name near the top of the leaderboard,” said 35-year-old Kennedy.
“A bit of breeze got up early on and that was good – it woke us all up. We all started quite well and started to push each other, but I was really happy to shoot five-under on the back nine.”
The 23-year-old Lee, a two-time winner on last year’s Korean Tour and third in the Order of Merit, benefited from the return of Australian coach Brett Saunders, who was on his bag.
“I’m really happy and it’s nice to be in contention again. I putted really well and that helped me score well. It helped a lot to have Brett back as it made a huge difference to have him giving exact yardages,” Lee said.
“I’ve played this tournament twice, when I was runner-up in 2006 and sixth last year, so I do pretty well here. I feel good.”
Epstein, the 31-year-old Hong Kong-born Australian, teed off on 10 and reached six-under by birdieing the par-four ninth, his last hole.
Hwang was the last to join the leaders after the 31-year-old birdied three of the last four holes.
Scotland’s Simon Yates, the 2004 champion, carded a 68 to share ninth with Australian Andrew Tschudin and Koreans Kim Hyung-tae, Kang Kyung-sool and Bae Sang-moon, the 2007 winner.
Bae, who has won the last two Korean Tour Order of Merit titles, topped the leaderboard for much of his round but dropped back with a double-bogey on the par-four 16th and parred the last two holes.
Full coverage of this week’s SK Telecom Open is available domestically on Korean broadcaster Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), as well as internationally on ESPN Star Sports, ESPN3.com, Network Ten and America One among others.
Since it was launched last year, OneAsia’s tournament schedule has more than doubled in size, offering a multitude of full-field playing opportunities to leading players across the region. In 2010, OneAsia will stage 11 tournaments, ultimately seeking to provide players in Asia with an alternative pathway to the PGA Tour and the European Tour.
SK Telecom Open, OneAsia
Leading first-round scores (par 72)
66 – Lee Seong-ho (KOR), Brad Kennedy (AUS), Kim Dae-hyun (KOR), Henry Epstein (AUS), Hwang Jae-min (KOR)
67 – Kim Do-hoon 752 (KOR), Son Joon-eob (KOR), Kang Sung-hoon (KOR)
68 – Bae Sang-moon (KOR), Kang Kyung-sool (KOR), Simon Yates (SCO), Andrew Tschudin (AUS), Kim Hyung-tae (KOR)
69 – Lee Yong-hun (KOR), Kwon Myung-ho (KOR), Choi Jin-ho (KOR), Cho Min-gyu (KOR), Heo Won-kyung (KOR), Ashley Hall (AUS), Jung Sung-han (KOR), Anthony Summers (AUS), Lee Boo-young (KOR), David Oh (USA)
70 – Michael Hendry (AUS), Craig Scott (AUS), K.J. Choi (KOR), Park Sang-hyun (KOR), Song Young-hoon (KOR), Kevin Na (USA), Lee In-woo (KOR), Jung Jae-hoon (KOR), Richard Backwell (AUS), Song Ki-joon (KOR), Park Jae-bum (KOR), Lee Soo-min (KOR – A), Park Do-kyu (KOR), Brad McIntosh (AUS), Kim Kyung-tae (KOR), Suk Jong-yul (KOR), Jun Tae-hyun (KOR)
ENDS
About OneAsia
OneAsia is a non-profit organisation developed to maximize elite tournament opportunities in Asia-Pacific. The Founding members of OneAsia are the China Golf Association, the Korea Golf Tour, the Korea Golf Association and the PGA of Australia. The mission of OneAsia is not just to allow the region's best players to gain access to more events, but to ultimately provide them with an alternative pathway to the PGA Tour and the European Tour, thus retaining the best golfing talent in the region without compromising their development.
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Janice Lee Fang
PR & Media Manager - OneAsia
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