An Byeong-hoon (35, CJ) and Song Young-han (35, Shinhan Financial Group) both finished tied for 24th place on the opening day of the LIV Golf New York tournament, which boasts a hefty 30 million USD purse.
An Byeong-hoon carded a 1-over-par 72 in the first round at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey on Friday. His scorecard showed three birdies against four bogeys on the par-71 layout.
Starting his round on the 6th hole (par 4), An stumbled out of the gate with a bogey. He bounced back with a birdie on the par-5 8th, only to drop another shot on the par-4 10th.
An seemed to find his rhythm with birdies on the par-5 15th and 18th holes. However, his momentum was short-lived as he closed with back-to-back bogeys on the par-4 3rd and par-3 4th, settling for a 1-over-par round.
Song Young-han’s day began with a rocky start, double-bogeying the opening 15th hole. He continued to struggle, dropping shots on both the 18th and 2nd holes (par 4), pushing him down the leaderboard.
However, Song showcased his resilience in the latter half of his round. He caught fire late, draining three clutch birdies to climb back into contention.
Fellow Korean Golf Club members Kim Min-kyu and Moon Do-yeop also teed it up. Kim finished tied for 36th with a 3-over-par 74, while Moon struggled to a 5-over-par 76, leaving him tied for 49th.
Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, fresh off his victory at the Busan event in May, stormed into the solo lead with a sizzling 7-under-par 64. England’s Ian Poulter and Australia’s Lucas Herbert share second place, both carding impressive 5-under-par 66s.