Korea’s Si Woo Kim took advantage of a lucky bounce and produced a miraculous chip-in birdie on the demanding 18th hole at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard for tied sixth place on Thursday, his best position in any round since his tournament debut in 2016.
The four-time PGA TOUR winner battled to a 2-under 70 on a tough scoring day in the US$20 million Signature event to trail first round leader Wyndham Clark (67) by three, with Keegan Bradley, Shane Lowry, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Corey Conners sharing second place after matching 69s.
Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama was the next best Asian in tied 19th place following a 73 which featured two birdies over his closing three holes, as scores soared due to swirly winds and a tough course set-up which yielded an average score of 74.6.
Kim was relieved to escape with an unlikely birdie on the par-4 18th hole, ranked fourth hardest for the day, after his approach shot ricochetted off some rocks in a water hazard guarding the front of the green before landing in thick rough. After a free drop, he brilliantly chipped in from about 80 feet.
“The wind pushed the ball to the right, but luckily it stayed in play and I went on to chip in (for birdie). It was nice to finish the round on a positive note,” smiled the 29-year-old.
“It was a good round. It was very windy out there, especially with the rough being up. It played a little hard but I just kept patient and got a great finish. I’m looking forward to the next few days.”
It was only Kim’s sixth round of 70 or better at Bay Hill in what was his 28th round in the prestigious tournament held in honour of the legendary Arnold Palmer, winner of 62 PGA TOUR victories and credited for popularizing the game during his heydays.
Kim, making his 10th start in the event, knows he needs to stick closely to the proverbial one-shot-at-time routine at a venue which his best finish is T26 in 2022. “You need to wait for opportunities. I plan to keep working hard for the next three days,” said Kim, who is still without a top-10 this season.
He found only seven fairways and 12 greens in regulation, and converted birdies on Hole Nos. 5, 13 and 16 against dropped shots on the third and sixth holes. Kim said the windy condition reminded him of being in his U.S. base in Dallas.
“With the wind, the ball moves a lot. It’s a bit challenging to calculate the wind. It’s similar to practice conditions in Dallas, where the wind is also strong, so I felt okay trying to manage the conditions,” he said.
Sungjae Im and Byeong Hun An carded 76s while Tom Kim came home with a 78. Defending champion and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler opened his campaign with a 71 while World No. 3 Xander Schauffele, making his first start following a rib injury, shot a 77.
First-Round Notes – Thursday, March 6, 2025
Weather: Sunny with a high of 67. Wind WNW 14-18 mph with gusts of 25 mph.
First-Round Leaderboard
Pos. Player R1
1 Wyndham Clark 67 (-5)
T2 Keegan Bradley 69 (-3)
T2 Corey Conners 69 (-3)
T2 Christiaan Bezuidenhout 69 (-3)
T2 Shane Lowry 69 (-3)
