Kim Juhyung Opens with 3 Under Par... Minwoo Lee Leads at 8 Under Par

Tied for 15th in Tour Championship Playoff Final First Round
Hovland, Gotterup, and Morikawa Share Second Place
Scheffler 5th, McIlroy 20th, Kim Siwoo 25th

Kim Juhyung had a refreshing start.

On August 28 (Korea Standard Time), Kim Juhyung carded five birdies and two bogeys in the first round of the U.S. Professional Golf (PGA) Tour Playoffs (PO) final event, the Tour Championship, held at East Lake Golf Club (par 70, 7,490 yards) in Atlanta, Georgia. He finished the day with a 3-under-par 67, placing him in a tie for 15th.

This tournament determines the strongest player of the 2026 PGA Tour season. Only 30 players who survived the regular season and the first and second rounds of the playoffs have qualified for this event.

Kim Joohyung is teeing off at the 2nd hole of the first round of the Tour Championship. Atlanta=AP Yonhap News

After a bogey on the first hole, Kim made up for it with a birdie on the 3rd (both par 4s), then picked up additional birdies on the 6th and 8th holes to keep his momentum. In the back nine, he bounced back from a bogey on the 10th (par 4) with a birdie at the 12th, and picked up one more shot on the final 18th hole (par 5), keeping his hopes for a come-from-behind victory alive.

Minwoo Lee, an Australian golfer of Korean descent, stormed to the top of the leaderboard with a bogey-free round that included eight birdies, finishing with an 8-under-par 62. Viktor Hovland (Norway), Chris Gotterup, and Collin Morikawa (both United States) shared second place at 6-under-par 64, trailing by two strokes.

The world’s number one ranked player, Scottie Scheffler (U.S.), had a smooth start with a 5-under-par 65 to sit in a tie for fifth. Matt Fitzpatrick (England), Sam Burns, and Gary Woodland (both U.S.) joined the 4-under-par 66 group in a tie for ninth.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) recorded five birdies and three bogeys, finishing tied for 20th at 2-under-par 68. Kim Siwoo carded three birdies and two bogeys to finish the round with a 1-under-par 69, tying for 25th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.