“I was embarrassed because everyone’s scores were better than I expected. “It’s not a difficult course, but it’s not super easy either, so I was a little embarrassed because the other players did well.”
This is what Seongjae Lim said after completing the first round of the men’s golf tournament at the Hangzhou Asian Games held at Xihu International Golf and Country Club (par 72) in Hangzhou, China on the 28th. Lim Seong-jae, who entered Hangzhou on the 25th and meticulously inspected the course for 48 hours on the 26th and 27th, commented on the scores of the top ranked players. On this day, Seongjae Lim was ranked tied for 15th with 6 under par, 66 strokes, with 7 birdies and 1 bogey. He is 5 strokes behind national team junior Jang Yu-bin (11 under par, 61 strokes), who is in the lead.
The importance of ‘mistake-free play’ has increased in Korean men’s golf, which aims to sweep individual and team competitions. In the first round, Jang Yu-bin took the lead, Jo Woo-young tied for 3rd (9 under par, 63 strokes), and Im Seong-jae and Kim Si-woo tied for 15th, with all Korean players performing well. However, the competitors were also formidable. Taichi Ko of Hong Kong, who is active in the Asian Tour, ranked second with 10 under par and 62 strokes. China’s Chen Gu-shin and Japan’s Masato Sumiuchi also formed a joint third-place group with Jo Woo-young. In the team competition rankings, which are calculated by adding up the scores of the top three players from each country in each round, Korea ranked 1st to 3rd with 26 under par, Singapore with 22 under par, and Japan with 21 under par.
Xihu International Golf and Country Club, where the tournament is held, is known to have a relatively flat course. Therefore, the winning score was expected to be quite low to some extent. However, there are also predictions that the actual score to aim for the gold medal will be lower than expected, as there were two players who lost more than 10 strokes on the first day. Kim Si-woo said, “I thought the score would be good, but he became softer than during the practice round. “The score came out better than I expected,” he said. Jo Woo-young said, “(The total number of strokes of the top three players) was at least 15 under par and up to 25 under par in each round,” and added, “For male players, there is a chance for every hole as long as the tee shot goes straight. “I was expecting the same score as the first round,” he said.
The Korean players, who have completely learned the characteristics of Sihu International Golf and Country Club through practice rounds and the first round, are determined to play while reflecting on the ‘importance of one stroke’ in the second round. Seongjae Lim said, “One hit can have a big impact later. He said, “I will do it without regrets with the intention of saving one stroke,” and Jang Yu-bin also said, “I am thinking more about the team competition than the individual competition. 안전놀이터 “While thinking about the team score, I will go back to work with a fresh mind (without being concerned about the first round performance)