Incheon, Korea, September 19: Korean-American Chan Kim took advantage of his booming drives to share the first round lead with Japan’s Shugo Imahira after signing for a five-under-par 66 at The 35^th Shinhan Donghae Open on Thursday.

Kim, a former Asian Tour member, currently leads the driving distance on the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO) and powered ahead after overcoming a nervy start where he dropped four shots in his opening four holes at the Bear’s Best Cheongna Golf Club.

Imahira, who is the highest ranked Japanese in the field this week, also underlined his credentials by marking his card with six birdies and one bogey to share the morning’s spotlight with Kim.

The Japanese is making his first competitive start in Korea this week and did not display any sign of nerves, showing composure with his shot accuracy on the opening day.

Zimbabwean Scott Vincent found himself in familiar position on the leaderboard again as he signed for a 67 to stay in the mix, one shot off the lead in a share of third place with Korea’s Taehee Lee and Australia’s Wonjoon Lee at the Shinhan Donghae Open title which is being tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Korean PGA and JGTO.

Ends.

Did you know?

• Chan Kim is a former member of the Asian Tour. He topped the Asian Tour Qualifying School in 2013.
• He finished third on the JGTO money list in 2017, thanks to three wins.
• Kim came in second at the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open on the Japan Golf Tour in July where he earned his spot to The Open.
• He is currently leading the driving distance stats category (320.34) on the JGTO.
• Shugo Imahira won the 2018 Order of Merit on the Japan Golf Tour and ended last year in 53rd place on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) last year.
• He is ranked 75th on the OWGR and is coming into the week on the back of two top-10s in his last two weeks on the JGTO.
• Taehee Lee trained under Korean legend Sangho Choi, who is the third oldest winner on the Asian Tour, having won the Maekyung Open at the age of 50 years and 145 days.
• The Korean immediately took up an Asian Tour membership after winning The 38th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship in May.
• Lee won the Genesis Championship in 2018 for his second professional victory. That win earned him two starts on the PGA Tour – The CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges last October and the Genesis Open in February earlier this year.
• He enjoyed a solid season in 2018, claiming one victory and four top-10 finishes on his domestic circuit.
• Lee also claimed his first career victory in 2015.
• Scott Vincent, the only Zimbabwean member on Tour, has never finished outside the top-three in his last three outings at the Shinhan Donghae Open.
• He finished tied-second in 2016, tied-third in 2017 and second last year.
• Vincent claimed his first international win at the Landic Challenge 7 held on the Japan Challenge Tour in June.
• He notched four top-10s in Australia, Japan, Korea and Malaysia to sit in ninth place on the latest Asian Tour Order of Merit. He has not missed a single cut in eight starts so far this season.
• Vincent was crowned the Asian Tour Rookie of the Year in 2016 after ending his season in 28th place on the Order of Merit.

Shugo Imahira (Jpn) First round 66 (-5)

I was very accurate with my shots today. I hit most of them onto the fairways. Although this is my first time playing competitively in Korea, I feel like home, like in Japan, I’m very comfortable here. I’m very happy with my position now. I don’t have too much of a strategy, to be honest. I don’t want to complicate the process. I just want to focus on each shot, see where they land and then approach it from there. To me, this is another tournament, which I’ll approach in the same manner as the others.

Chan Kim (Usa) First round 66 (-5)

It was tough in the beginning, but my birdie on 13 changed things. The winds died down and I managed to regain my momentum. It became more of a mental game for me at that point. The winds were working to my advantage and I had a great feel of my putter each time I lined up for my putts. That really helped today. The rough are really thick this week and it favours the long hitters like me as it gives you a higher chance to hit it further and put the ball on the green. I’ve got a good feeling about my game and hopefully, this could be my week.

Scott Vincent (Zim) First round 67 (-4)

I got some good history here and got back into the mix again. I hit the ball very nicely today and I hope to carry this form forward to the next three days. It was important for me to get off to a good start and I’m glad I managed to do that today. There were a few shots that I could have done better but overall, it was still a solid round and I’m happy. There have been a lot of changes since last year. The rough feels very much the same but actually it’s thicker out there. The speed on the greens has picked up from yesterday and I’m sure it’s going to be like that again the next three days.

Taehee Lee (Kor) First round 67 (-4)

The course is very challenging and I’m pleasantly surprised how I managed to return with such a good score. I used to put a lot of pressure on myself to excel, sometimes too much. I missed the cut in India last week, and that somehow put things into perspective for me. Sometimes even when I try so hard, I still miss the cut, I knew I was putting too much pressure on myself and maybe sometimes have to take a step back a bit. You’ve to hit fairways to give yourself chances here. Even if I missed with my tee shots, I was still able to recover and put the ball back onto the fairway with my second shot. Since taking up membership with the Asian Tour, it has been a good experience traveling to the different countries. I’ve learnt a lot about myself too. I enjoy the comforts of home this week. It’s a steep learning curve for me especially with the food, weather and culture. But as a professional, I’ve got to learn how to play outside my comfort zone too.

Ends.

Incheon, Korea, September 18: Korea’s Sanghyun Park has ruled out being a shoo-in to successfully defend his Shinhan Donghae Open title when the event which is being tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Korean PGA and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO) starts on Thursday.

Fresh off another victory on the Japan Golf Tour a fortnight ago, Park is brimming with confidence ahead of his title defence at the Bear’s Best Cheongna Golf Club.

However, he is not taking anything for granted, insisting his task is now made tougher by the quality field from the three Tours.

The 36-year-old had a season to remember last year when he won twice and capped another three top-10s to finish second on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and crowned the Rookie of the Year.

Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond is ready to put up a challenge befitting of his status as the current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader.

Jazz’s rise, which he credited to his country’s elder statesman like Thongchai Jaidee, has been well documented with his victories in Singapore and Korea this year and for this week’s 35^th Shinhan Donghae Open, the 23-year-old will turning to Zimbabwean Scott Vincent  for advice given the latter’s impressive record at the tournament.

Japan’s Shugo Imahira, who is the highest ranked Japanese this week, will be hoping to make it a memorable week in what is going to be his first competitive start in Korea.

Imahira’s distinguished  career has seen him win twice on the Japan Golf Tour and topping their money list last year.

Did you know?

• Sanghyun Park’s winning score of a 22-under-par 262 in 2018 would be the record lowest in the tournament history if not for the preferred lies ruling in play.
• Park was the best-placed Asian player when he finished in tied-16^th place at The 148th Open in July.
• Park won twice on the Asian Tour last year. Finished second on the Order of Merit and was crowned the Rookie of the Year.
• Jazz Janewattananond is making his first return to Korea after winning their National Open in July.
• That win was his second victory this season and fourth Asian Tour title.
• At the age of 23 years 6 months and 27 days, Jazz becomes the youngest ever player to achieve four wins on Tour.  
• In his last two starts on the Asian Tour, Jazz has finished tied-sixth on both occasions in Malaysia and Indonesia.
• Jazz also enjoyed a tied-14th place finish at the PGA Championship in June which was the best-ever result achieved by a Thai player at the PGA Championship.
• Shugo Imahira received a special invitation to play at The Masters Tournament this year. It was his first appearance at The Masters where he would unfortunately missed the cut.
• Imahira won the 2018 Order of Merit on the Japan Golf Tour and ended last year in 53^rd place on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) last year.
• He is ranked 75^th on the OWGR and is coming into the week on the back of two top-10s in his last two weeks on the JGTO.

Sanghyun Park (Kor)

It’s obviously great to be back in a tournament which I’ve won before and returning as the defending champion.  felt I was lucky with my low winning score last year. Everything worked in my favour then. As a tri-sanctioned event with the Asian Tour, KPGA and JGTO, all the best players from the region will be here and that makes my title defence tougher. Over the years, I’ve grown in confidence and maturity. It’s not just about my golf skills anymore, but also all of these attributes that make me a better player. It was a good win in Japan a fortnight ago and I’m feeling very good about my game. My ball control is good and I’m confident. Having said that, I’m not taking anything for granted as this golf course is very challenging and I believe it’ll be a level playing field for everyone. Nobody will have an advantage and all of us will start off equal.

Jazz Janewattanond (Tha)

I haven’t had much success at this tournament in the past. My best finish was tied-31^st last year but I’ve returned as a better player now. My ball striking has been better and that is important especially when we are playing such a long course like this. I probably have to ask Scott Vincent for advice on how to do well here. (laughs) It’s nice to know that this event is being tri-sanctioned as we’re able to benchmark ourselves against the best players from the three different Tours and ultimately improve as a region together. Like K.J. Choi and Y.E. Yang who have been the role models for the younger generation of Korean golfers, we have players like Thongchai Jaidee in Thailand to look up to as well. Every country needs players like them so that they can guide the younger generation and continuously develop the game in the country.

Shugo Imahira (Jpn)

This is my first time playing in Japan and from what I’ve seen so far, this golf course is very challenging. I’ll just have to do my best. Lots of Koreans play on the Japan Golf Tour so I see many familiar faces here which makes me feel very comfortable here. It’s good that the Shinhan Donghae Open is a tri-sanctioned event as this will make it very competitive.

Scott Vincent (Zim)
I’ve some great results from this tournament and I’ve always played well here. From what I’ve seen, the course looks similar and is in great shape. Hopefully my form is still there and I can go even better than what I did in the past. Hard work , more than anything has contributed to this great form that I’m having now. I’m getting more comfortable with my game and where I’m at with it at the moment. My wife plays a great part in that and makes me feel as comfortable as I can, have little distractions so that I can perform well on the golf course. And obviously as you get older and more mature, you understand your game a lot more and that shows in your results. There’s no guarantee this week but I’m hoping for a good one and putting together four good rounds. I’m very comfortable with the layout of this course as it suits my game. I’ve done really well on the greens in the past and I’m hoping to make more good putts like what I’ve done.

Seungyul Noh (Kor)
It’s an interesting situation because I’ve never been in a position like this where I had such a long break away from competitive golf. I miss playing professional game having been in the military for the last two years. Physically, I’m good but I’m feeling nervous and the pressure that comes with it. I still had the chance to practise my golf every day as I was in a non-combat position and that allowed me to go home where I can leave the camp at 6pm, have my dinner at home and go to the gym and driving range. But it’s different from playing competitive golf. Military life is different from life on Tour but it was a good experience. This is my first competitive event since being discharged from army and to be honest, I’m feeling the pressure. Hopefully, it will be okay as the week goes on.

Yikuen Chang (Kor)
I wanted to regain my feel of the game and that’s why I decided to play in Jakarta and Taiwan. I did so well, finishing second in Jakarta and then winning my first Asian Tour title in Taiwan the next week. This week is very important too as Shinhan is my sponsor and I want to play well to justify their faith in me. As a tri-sanctioned event, a win this week would also do wonders as you get to play on three different Tour after that. I’ve prepared for this tournament, the same way as what I did the last two tournaments. I finished tied-19th last year and hopefully I can do better this week. I took two days off after my win in Taiwan but began practising for this tournament after that.