Byung-hoon Ahn, who switched from a broomstick putter to a broom-sweeping broomstick putter to free himself of nagging putt anxiety, fired the first shot of his long-delayed maiden victory on the U.S. Professional Golf (PGA) Tour.
Ahn shot a 9-under 61 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour Genesis Scottish Open ($9 million purse) at The Renaissance Club (par-70) in North Berwick, Scotland.
The 9-under 61 tied the course record set by Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) in the second round of the 2019 event.
It was also Ahn’s lowest 18-hole score. His previous low round was a 62 in the first round of the 2019 Wyndham Championship.
“It was my best round,” said Ahn, who carded a perfect nine birdies without a bogey, “I hit my driver, my irons, my chip shots and my putts well, so I had a clean scorecard.”
Starting on the 10th hole (par-5), Ahn got off to a good start with a birdie on the first.
After four straight birdies on holes 13-16, Ahn continued his momentum with back-to-back birdies on holes 2 (par-4) and 3 (par-5).
After dropping another shot on the fifth (par-4), Ahn completed his course record tie with a birdie on the back nine (par-3).
He missed the green just four times, all of which were for par.
His putting was phenomenal, saving nine of his 14 birdie chances. On the day, Ahn averaged just 1.36 putts per hole when he put the ball on the green in regulation.
Ahn, who is a long hitter and a good ball-striker, was unable to capitalize on his putts.
He has already played 175 tournaments on the PGA Tour, but he has only three runner-up finishes and no wins.
Last year, he was relegated to the Confederation Tour, and this season he has only two top-10s.
One of the first signs of relief for Ahn was the introduction of the Broomstick putter.
“I talked to players such as Adam Scott and Siu Kim who use this putter,” said Ahn, who has been using the Broomstick putter since the beginning of the month. “It doesn’t look bad and it feels good. My putts have improved a lot.”
Not only did he make a lot of birdies with his putter on the day, but he was also pleased with his “par saves and two good putts from long distances.”
Kyung-hoon Lee shot a 5-under 65 to move into a tie for fifth place.
After a clean round of five birdies without a bogey, 먹튀검증토토사이트 Lee, who had missed the cut in his last four tournaments, said, “I’ve been playing poorly, but I’ve been patient,” and added, “I was patient today on a very windy and difficult course. I didn’t aim directly at the pins. I learned a lot here, which is different from the courses in Korea and the U.S. last year.”
Kim Joo-hyung, who finished third in this event last year, shot a 4-under 66 and is tied for seventh.
Kim Sung-hyun shot a 1-under 69 and is tied for 46th.
Lim Sung-jae did not meet expectations, tying for 74th (even-par 70).
Among the South Korean players, Bio Kim finished the first round with the best score, shooting an even-par 70.
Kim Young-soo was 5-over par and Seo Yosub was 6-over par at 76.
Davis Riley (USA) shot a 7-under-par 63 to finish two strokes behind Ahn.
Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) carded a 6-under-par 64 to finish in a tie for third place. World No. 1 Scotty Schaeffler (USA) is tied for 26th at 2-under 68.
Defending champion Xander Schauffele (USA) finished the first round with an even-par 70.