Thitikul cards record 9-under 63 to lead

Tom Kim felt as much a spectator as a player Thursday in the CJ Cup, amazed at how Rory Mcilroy produces so much power with so little effort.

Kim wasn’t too bad himself.

They were the star attractions on a beautiful morning at Congaree Golf Club, one of them pursuing the No. 1 world ranking, the other a 20-year-old who is quickly becoming one of the more popular players among his peers.

Trey Mullinax and former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland each had a 6-under 65. Mcilroy and Kim, who played together in the same group with Rickie Fowler, were among those at 66.

“He makes this game look so easy,” said Kim, who won two weeks ago in Las Vegas to become the first player since Tiger Woods with two PGA Tour titles before turning 21. “It was really hard to just kind of play my own game sometimes, seeing the lines he took. It was like 380 (yards) to the runout and he was saying, ‘Sit!’ I was like, ‘Really? Like sit?’ But he almost made it.

“Obviously, what was the most important thing for me today was trying to play my own game and not look at his line. But it was still so much fun.”

Mcilroy was equally impressed, mainly at how polished Kim plays at such a young age.

They matched birdies for so much of the day in different manners. One example was the par-5 fourth hole, where Mcilroy hit a 360yard drive that bounded along the firm, wide fairway, and belted a fairway metal just through the green. Kim was 50 yards behind him off the tee, still 64 yards from the hole after a fairway metal, and then clipped a wedge over a bunker to 7 feet for birdie.

Mcilroy really showed his driving ability on the 366yard 15th, with sand and water along the right side of the green. He hit his drive just onto the front of the green, even as Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas in the group ahead were putting.

“The longer I stood over that tee shot, the more likely it was that I was going to lay up, so I just needed to step up and hit it,” Mcilroy said. “Whether they were on the green or not,

I had to go.”

Some apologies were in order by Mcilroy, minus the hard feelings.

“He was never going to fly it on the green,” Thomas said. “It was never going to hit us. We’re just jealous. I wish I had hit on the green.”

Atthaya Thitikul shot a 9-under 63 to set a tournament record and lead after the first round of the BMW Ladies Championship.

She was a stroke ahead of Minsol Kim and three up on a trio of players: A Lim Kim, Andrea Lee, and Yaeeun Hong.

Thitikul had an eagle two on the 13th hole and added seven birdies without dropping a shot.

Three more players carded 68s and were five off the lead: Lydia Ko, Lilia Vu, and Alison Lee.

Thitikul has already won twice in her first season on the LPGA Tour, and is looking for more.

Minsol Kim, in addition to getting off to a quick start with a 64, got to play with a personal hero. It’s also her first year on the tour.