Teenaged star defieswind to take early lead
Highly touted South Korean teenager Joohyung Kim lived up to his billing on the opening day of the New Zealand Open in Arrowtown.
The 17-year-old is the early clubhouse leader, having overcome blustery conditions to card a superb seven-under par 64 at Millbrook yesterday.
Kim, who has won on the Asian Tour and is already ranked 141st in the world, holed an eagle to go with his six birdies and had just one blemish – a bogey on the 370m par-four 12th – on the day.
Australian Brad Kennedy, the 2011 NZ Open champion, was breathing down Kim’s neck after his opening round six-under 66 at The Hills, while Kiwi Ryan Fox is five shots off the pace at twounder.
‘‘The wind was swirling all day and it was tough. But I managed myself really well and gave myself lots of good chances and made some good putts, too,’’ Kim said.
‘‘For tomorrow, I just have to play without any expectations and play the way I did today. A lot will depend on the wind, too.’’
In addition to the blustery and variable winds, heavy rain also occasionally pelted players and spectators during a wild afternoon.
Fresh off a string of top-10 finishes, Kennedy mixed seven birdies with an eagle and three bogeys during a colourful opening round.
His eagle on the 503m par 17 was setup by a monster drive, followed by a sweet 3-iron, which left him an 8-foot putt to bury.
‘‘That was tough, I thought it was going to hail there at one stage. The breeze changed about five or six different directions and actually caught me a couple of times, so to get in the clubhouse with as many birdies as I had, it was a good, fun round of golf,’’ the Queenslander said.
‘‘I don’t think I have had a day like that for a long, long time.’’ Ryan Fox
‘‘This was a pretty amazing breeze. There was times there where I chose a club and then I went down two clubs within 30
seconds because the breeze had totally changed, so you’re really on edge.’’
Having only arrived in Arrowtown from Mexico on Wednesday morning, Fox made an excellent start to the $1.4 million tournament and was in a share of the lead halfway through his round.
However, five-under the card after his 31 on the back nine at The Hills, he swiftly dropped off the pace after bogeying three of the next four holes, before finishing his round by dropping another shot.
‘‘I don’t think I have had a day like that for a long, long time. We started with a strong nor’easterly, and when we were standing on the 15th tee, it switched to a very strong nor’westerly,’’ he said.
‘‘When we were putting on the fourth, one of the signboards blew over on one. All of a sudden it dropped on seven and blew about three different directions coming home. Plus a couple of spits of rain, it was a strange day.’’
Paired with All Black Beauden Barrett in the pro-am, Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg, the first woman to contest the national tournament, was six-over the card in a share of 141st through 12 holes at Millbrook.