Kang’s 61 gives him 2-shot lead in Shriners Children’s Open
Sung Kang found the missing piece to his game and put everything together Thursday in the Shriners Children’s Open for a 10-under 61 that gave him a twoshot lead after the first round.
Kang already had nine birdies against one bogey when he hit 7-wood from a fairway bunker to 18 feet on the par-5 closing hole at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas and made the eagle putt.
“Last few weeks I wasn’t driving it very good, but my iron play was pretty sharp and my putting was pretty good,” Kang said. “So I was just thinking if I can get my driver somewhere in play I could actually score better.”
Sungae Im made five straight birdies on the back and, along with an 8-foot eagle putt on No. 9 at the turn, shot a 63. He was joined by Charley Hoffman and Chad Ramey, who birdied all but two holes on the back nine.
Matthew Wolff, who lost in a three-many playoff last year at the TPC Summerlin, was among those at 64.
Sam Burns, coming off a victory last week in Mississippi, was poised to move closer to the lead until his tee shot on the par-3 17th hole found the water. He made double bogey — this after four straight birdies — and had to settle for a 66.
Las Vegas marked the return of six more Ryder Cup players on both teams, and the Europeans seemed to fare well. Viktor Hovland had a 67, with Paul Casey at 68 and Ian Poulter at 69.
Brooks Koepka also shot a 68, while Harris English was at even-par 71 and Scottie Scheffler opened with a 74.
Kang missed only two greens, one of them a par putt from 15 feet on the eighth hole, and his lone bogey was a three-putt from 20 feet on the par-4 third.
The par on his penultimate hole is what he savored because of the momentum he saved, especially with how he finished. He hit a slight draw with his 7-wood out of the sand, and then Matt Kuchar was on the same line with a chip, allowing Kang to see
Sung Kang had an eagle, nine birdies and just one bogey in a 61 at the Shriners Children’s Open.
the would would snap off to the left. He knew the eagle putt was good before it reached the hole.
LPGA
Jin Young Ko put a tough loss behind her quickly and ran off six birdies over a seven-hole stretch on the back nine for an 8-under 63 to build a three-shot lead in the
Cognizant Founders Cup.
It was her 11th consecutive round in the 60s, three short of the record that Annika Sorenstam set in 2005.
Sandra Gal had a 66 despite not making birdie on any of the par 5s at Mountain Ridge in West Caldwell, N.J.
The large group at 67 included Nelly Korda, the No. 1 player in women’s golf who had not played since the Solheim Cup a month ago, U.S. Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso and two-time major champion So Yeon Ryu.
Brooke Henderson of Canada got a putting lesson from Shirley Spork, one of the 13 LPGA founders, and it worked well enough for a 67. Spork said the “magic putter” now has a moniker, though Henderson chose to keep that their secret.
The first round was suspended by darkness because of a 90-minute delay Thursday morning due to fog. Thirty players didn’t finish the round. The best score of those was Moriya Jutanugarn at 3 under through 15 holes.
Ko, whom Korda replaced at
No. 1 in the summer, had control of the ShopRite LPGA Classic last week in southern New Jersey until she missed a series of putts from the 10-foot range, including the last hole to finish one shot behind Celine Boutier.
PGA European
Jon Rahm made a strong start on his return to Spain, shooting an 8-under 63 in the first round of the Spanish Open in Madrid.
Rahm was 6 under par through his first eight holes before making his only bogey before the turn and finishing with three more birdies on his back nine.
Rahm, who started on the 10th hole, was two shots behind clubhouse leader Ross McGowan, the Englishman who had eight birdies and an eagle in a 10-under round of 61.
Rahm also had an eagle on his front nine, at the par-5 14th hole. He was a shot behind second-placed countryman Sebastián García Rodríguez, who had only one bogey in his 9-under 62 at Clube de Campo Villa de Madrid.