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| Kim Joo-hyung / Photo provided by Gettyimages |
[Sports Today reporter Sangpil Lee] Kim Joo-hyung signaled a comeback.
On the 29th (Korean time) at Colonial Country Club (par 70 / 7,289 yards) in Fort Worth, Texas, Kim shot a 6-under 64 in the first round of the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge (total purse $9.9 million (approximately 13.2 billion KRW)), carding eight birdies and two bogeys.
Kim sits in a tie for the lead with Ryan Gerard, Andrew Putnam, J.J. Spaun, Matt McCarthy and Lee Hodges (all U.S.).
Kim captured his first PGA Tour victory at the 2022 Wyndham Championship, then rolled to back-to-back wins at the Shriners Children’s Open in 2022 and 2023, giving him three career PGA Tour titles.
But he hadn’t added another win since. He managed just one top-10 in the 2025 season and had yet to produce notable results early in 2026.
Earlier this month, Kim notched his first top-10 of the season with a tie for sixth at the Myrtle Beach Classic, and his hot start here provided a springboard at this week’s event.
Starting on the 10th tee, Kim strung together three straight birdies from Nos. 14–16 to build momentum. He then rattled off four consecutive birdies from 18 through 3 to climb into contention.
After cruising, he carded his first bogey at No. 5. He answered with a birdie at No. 6 but bogeyed No. 7. Kim parred the remaining holes to finish the round tied for the lead.
Im Sung-jae, playing in the same group, made three birdies but also had two bogeys and a double bogey, finishing even-par 70 and tied for 83rd.
Defending champion Ben Griffin (U.S.) shot 2-under 68 to sit tied for 41st, while Justin Thomas (U.S.) carded 1-under 69 to tie for 57th.
[Sports Today reporter Sangpil Lee sports@stoo.com]
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