Kim Joo-hyung, who received ankle treatment, ran second on the first day alone

Kim Joo-hyung, who received ankle treatment, ran second on the first day alone

PGA Playoff Game 1R

6 under...3 consecutive birdies at their peak

"I'm not in perfect condition yet

There was no stress throughout the game."

Pull up your pants...

Kim Joo-hyung (21) ranked second on the first day of the first round of the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) Tour playoffs.

In the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship (total prize money of $20 million) held at TPC South Wind (par 70) in Memphis, Tennessee, on the morning of the 11th (Korea Standard Time), Kim Joo-hyung tied seven birdies and one bogey to hit a 6-under 64. Kim Joo-hyung was one stroke behind No. 1 Jordan Spieth (7-under 63, USA).

The St. Jude Championship is the first playoff game in which only the top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings participate, and there is no cut elimination. The 70 players compete for $3.6 million in prize money and 2,000 FedEx Cup points. After this tournament, they will select the top 50 FedEx Cup rankings and play the BMW Championship, the second round of the playoffs.

Kim Joo-hyung injured his ankle shortly after the first round of the major tournament The Open held at the end of last month. The pain was so serious that he considered abstaining, but Kim Joo-hyung was tied for second place after enduring the pain and finishing the competition. Kim Joo-hyung, however, gave up his participation in the Wyndham Championship last week. It was his first PGA Tour title defense, but Kim Joo-hyung returned from injury after focusing on ankle treatment for about two weeks for the playoffs.

Kim Joo-hyung showed a "all-weather" play with 24 putts along with a long hit of up to 322 yards (about 294m). Kim Joo-hyung, who started in the 10th hole, reduced four shots in the first half alone and maintained an excellent shot in the second half, taking three consecutive birdies in the second and fourth holes. In particular, he made a birdie putt at a distance of 9.5 meters on the fourth hole (par 3). However, he lost one shot with a bogey on the seventh hole (par 4) because his tee shot went into the right rough.

Kim Joo-hyung said, "I did (ankle) rehabilitation training hard. It was really hard when I heard that I wouldn't be able to play for a while. "I felt that word was harder because I got really good results at The Open," he explained. "It's not in perfect condition yet. There were some difficulties, but overall, I played well. I played without stress throughout the game," he added.

Spieth took the lead with a 7-under 63 with a "no defect" play that caught one eagle and five birdies without a bogey. Good luck followed. The chip shot attempted outside the green on the 16th hole (par 5) went into the hole and caught the eagle. Spieth, the 2015 playoff champion, won 13 PGA Tour titles but failed to reach the top this season. Colin Morikawa of the U.S. and Emiliano Grillo of Argentina tied for third with a 5-under 65.

Ahn Byung-hoon and Lim Sung-jae tied for 15th with a 3-under 67. Ahn Byung-hoon got off to a good start with three birdies in the first half, but he was shaken in the second half and failed to reduce his number of strokes with one eagle, three birdies, two double bogeys and one bogey. Im Sung-jae left one eagle, two birdies, and one bogey. Kim Si-woo is tied for 34th with a 2-under 68. 토토사이트