Busan: Having been mired in seasonlong struggles, South Korean players in LIV Golf put on solid performances to begin the lone tournament held on their home soil Thursday. Representing Korean Golf Club, Song Young-han and Mun Do-yeob each carded a two-under 68 in the first round of LIV Golf Korea at the par-70 Asiad Country Club in the southeastern city of Busan. Team captain An Byeong-hun shot a 70, while Kim Min-kyu put up a 71. LIV Golf tracks team standings, with the combined scores of the four members on each of the 13 teams determining the rankings. Korean Golf Club is tied for fifth at three-under.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Korean Golf Club arrived at Asiad Country Club ranked last among 13 teams in the team standings with 20.75 points this season. It has finished last at four of the past five tournaments. With Mun replacing Danny Lee earlier this week, Korean Golf Club members all spoke about looking to use LIV Golf Korea as a turning point for their season. And Mun and Song did the heavy lifting Thursday to put their team on the right track.
Mun, who was leading the KPGA Tour in the Player of the Year points list this season before joining LIV Golf, admitted to feeling some jitters before his first tee shot but said playing on a familiar course helped him. "It is a huge honor for me to make my LIV Golf debut at home," Mun said at a press conference following the round. "I think I felt a little more comfortable because I got to play my first tournament here in Korea. I am really thankful for all the support from our fans today, and I will try to enjoy the next three days, too."
Song said the crowd's reaction to Korean Golf Club players was far more boisterous and passionate than he had imagined. "People don't really recognize us when we play overseas, and it felt refreshing to have this level of support," Song said with a smile. "I tried to get acclimated to this kind of atmosphere quickly. The greens were pretty tough and fast today but it feels good to get off to a good start."
This is LIV Golf's eighth tournament of the year and South Korea is the eighth different host country. Song said players have always performed well on their home soils this season, which has seen stops in Australia, South Africa, and Mexico, among other places, and he said it has put some pressure on Korean Golf Club to do the same here this week.
"Honestly, there is a little bit more pressure on us now this week because we're playing at home. But I will try to embrace that and play with a sense of responsibility," he said. "This kind of pressure can be stressful but we will try to feed off people's energy. We expect to have some great weather the next three days and hopefully, we will have even more fans come out and support us. I can't wait to see their reaction this weekend."