Noh is three shots clear of Adam Scott and Zecheng Dou in a tie for second at eight under, with world No 2 Scottie Scheffler and Jason Day among those a further stroke back; Watch coverage from day two of the AT&T Byron Nelson live on Sky Sports Golf from 9pm, Friday
Last Updated: 12/05/23 9:32am
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Highlights from the first round of the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch
Highlights from the first round of the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch
Seung-Yul Noh survived a broken driver to shoot a sensational opening 60 and take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson near Dallas.
The South Korean – ranked 536th in the world and who has won only once on the PGA Tour, in 2014 – cracked the head of his driver on the 12th tee, but made an eagle and nine birdies over the course of his round to card the first 60 on the PGA Tour since Patrick Cantlay’s at the Shriners Children’s Open last October.
It leaves Noh three shots clear of Australia’s Adam Scott and Zecheng Dou of China in a tie for second place at eight under, with world No 2 Scottie Scheffler and Jason Day among those a further stroke back.
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World number 536 Seung-Yul Noh shot a course record of 60 in the opening round at the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson despite breaking his driver.
England’s Harry Hall had four birdies in five holes to the turn en route to an opening round of 67, one better than Tyrell Hatton who sits three under after the first round.
Noh required an eagle at the par-five 18th for a 59 and the course record. But rather than go for the green in two shots, he laid up short of the water and used a wedge for his third shot, which spun to within nine feet of the hole as he ultimately settled for birdie.
“Except two shots off the tee through the green, everything going perfectly today,” Noh said. “Then I’m really happy for my career low on the PGA Tour.”
The 31-year-old Noh’s one and only win on the PGA Tour came at the 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, before the tournament was converted into a team event. He took two years off from his career to complete mandatory military service in South Korea and though he returned in 2019, his game has wavered since; he was outside the top 1,000 in the world rankings for much of last year.
If Noh should win the Byron Nelson, he would earn the final spot in the field at next week’s PGA Championship, the second major of the season.
Colombia’s Sebastian Munoz also opened the AT&T Byron Nelson with a round of 60 last year, before two-time defending champion Kyoung-Hoon Lee ultimately claimed the prize. Lee opened with a one-under 70 on Thursday.
Scottie Scheffler is in contention, four shots off the lead after an opening round of 64
Home-crowd favourite Scheffler, the highest-ranked player in the field, was six under through six holes after a pitch-in eagle from just off the green at the sixth.
However his round then stalled with a stretch of three bogeys and four pars, but after snapping out of that funk with consecutive birdies at 14 and 15, he finished with an eagle at the last to stay in contention four off the lead.
The 2022 Masters champion said: “I was pretty frustrated mid-round. I didn’t feel like I was doing anything wrong, I just kind of got on the wrong end of a few things, and the putts definitely weren’t falling middle of the round, but the beginning and the end everything was going in.”
Watch coverage from round two of the AT&T Byron Nelson, live on Sky Sports Golf from 9pm on Friday.
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