IRELAND’S SEAMUS POWER hit 66 in the opening round of the US PGA Shriners’ Children’s Hospital Open at Las Vegas today as South Korea’s Kang Sung-hoon fired a 10-under par 61 to grab the early lead.
Kang made nine birdies and a closing eagle against a lone bogey to finish two strokes ahead of compatriot Im Sung-jae and Americans Charley Hoffman and Chad Ramey.
The round was the second-best of Kang’s PGA career, bettered only by his 60 in the second round of the 2016 Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Power was grateful for a strong back nine that leaves him in a tie for 12th, five shots off the lead.
After a steady start of three pars, Power really built up momentum between his 4th and 13th holes, registering six birdies in that spell of play.
The Waterford native began his round on the back nine, picking up shots on the 13th, 15th and 16th before a bogey on 17 saw him out in 34, two-under par.
He then powered up the leaderboard with birdies on the 1st, 2nd and 4th holes. A bogey followed on the par-three 5th but he made amends with a birdie on his last hole of the day, the par-five 9th.
- Additional reporting by AFP
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