Shin Sang-hoon takes second place on the first day of the KPGA Genesis Championship... Jarvis leads by 1 stroke (overall)

Kim Si-woo tied for 3rd place and Lim Seong-jae tied for 33rd place

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Young-ho = Shin Sang-hoon got off to a fresh start with a solo second place on the first day of the Genesis Championship (total prize money of $4 million) co-hosted by the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Tour and the DP World Tour.

Shin Sang-hoon hit 5 under par 66 with 6 birdies and 1 bogey in the first round of the tournament held at Woojeong Hills CC (par 71) in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province on the 22nd.

Shin Sang-hoon hit 6-under-par 65 with 7 birdies and 1 bogey that day, and ranked second, one stroke behind Casey Jarvis (South Africa), who took the sole lead.

Shin Sang-hoon, who has won two games on the KPGA Tour this season and is ranked first in Genesis points and third in prize money, got off to a good start by catching a birdie with a great bunker shot, although his second shot in the first hole (par 4) fell into a bunker around the green.

Shin Sang-hoon, who made his first bogey in the 4th hole (par 3) when the par putt missed the hole, escaped the crisis with a birdie in the 5th hole (par 5), and then hit a chip in-birdie from 30 meters away in the 9th hole (par 4), reducing the lead by 2 strokes in the first half.

Shin Sang-hoon dropped a burdensome 6m birdie putt in the 11th hole (par 4), and then showed off his sharp putting sense by successfully making a 4.8m birdie putt in the 12th hole (par 4).

Shin Sang-hoon, who was tied for second place after continuously saving pars in holes 13-17, did well on the first day by reducing 5 strokes on the first day by hitting the approach shot 0.8m into the hole and dropping a birdie putt, although his second shot went to the rough next to the green in the 18th hole (par 5).

Shin Sang-hoon said, "I was able to finish the day comfortably because my short game was good and my putts were good," and "I continued to save par, so when the opportunity came, I was able to grab a birdie one by one and play steadily."

He laughed, "I made two three-putt mistakes, but I didn't waver because I knew this was a green where even the slightest mistake could cause the putt to miss. The green is really difficult."

Kim Si-woo and Lim Seong-jae, who are performing well on the PGA Tour this season, had mixed feelings on the first day.

Kim Si-woo hit 5 birdies and 1 bogey and recorded a 4-under par 67, cruising to a tie for 3rd place with Antoine Rosner, Frédéric Lacroix (France), Michael Lindberg, and Niklas Lemke (Sweden).

Kim Si-woo, who had a difficult start with a bogey on the 1st hole, balanced the score with a birdie on the 5th hole and put himself in the lead by concentrating to reduce 4 strokes in the second half.

Kim Si-woo said, "I think I finished better than I started. When I started, I thought, 'If I just hit under par, I'll start well,' but I played well in the second half and it went better than I thought. I will play with more sense for the remaining three days."

On the other hand, Lim Seong-jae, who started from the 10th hole (par 4), won a birdie in the first half, then made a birdie and two bogeys in the second half, and finished the first day of play with an even par 71 strokes, tied for 33rd along with Moon Do-yeop, Lee Su-min, Jeong Jae-hyun, Choi Seung-bin, and Cho Woo-young.

In addition, Ryan Fox (New Zealand), winner of this year's British Open, tied for 8th place with 3 under par 68 strokes.

Lee Dae-han and Lee Sang-hyeop both recorded 2 under par 69 strokes and tied for 12th place, while 'defending champion' Lee Jeong-hwan scored 1 over par 72 strokes and was pushed to tied 53rd place.