Korea's Tom Kim smiles his way to opening 66 at PGA Championship

Korean star Tom Kim is displaying his pedigree once again after equaling his career best score in a major championship with a 5-under 66 for a share of fifth place in the first round of the PGA Championship on Thursday (Friday Manila time).

The 21-year-old Kim, a three-time PGA Tour winner, has endured a challenging season without a top-10 to show for through 13 starts. But a near flawless round at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky was enough reason to inject some optimism and confidence that better days are just around the corner.

“Great. I played really nice, really solid. Just to kind of get things going, second major championship of the year, and definitely put myself in a good position and just going through the same game plan for tomorrow,” said Kim, the highest placed Asian through 18 holes.

Xander Schauffele, last week’s Wells Fargo Championship runner-up, holds the lead after a record-setting 9-under 62, the lowest score in PGA Championship history, and leads by three from Tony Finau, Sahith Theegala and Mark Hubbard, who shot 65s.

Major debutant, S.H. Kim of Korea, opened with a solid 69; while 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan was the only other Asian player who broke par with a 70. Byeong Hun An, ranked sixth on the FedExCup points list, carded a 71 comprising of two birdies against as many bogeys.

In a city well known for horse-racing and the Kentucky Derby, Tom Kim, who finished T8 and T2 at the US Open and The Open Championship, respectively, last season, is fast becoming a familiar name atop major championship leaderboards. He also shot 66s in the final round of last month’s Masters Tournament, and the third round of the US Open last year.

He began his day with a 21-foot birdie on the first hole before adding another on the seventh. He then edged up the leaderboard with a burst of three birdies over a four-hole stretch, with a lone bogey on 14 being erased with a final birdie on 17 from five feet. He drove the ball beautifully all day, hitting 13 fairways and was precise with his putter where he ranked fifth in Strokes Gained: Putting.

“I was just going into the back nine with the same game plan and gave myself some good