CHEONAN — Oh Seung-taek, who claimed his first win of the year since making his KPGA Tour debut, was punished by the difficulty of Woojeong Hills Country Club in the first round of the Genesis Championship on the 22nd. The $4 million tournament, co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA), is being played at the par-71 course in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. The 28-year-old dropped nine strokes on just two holes, carding a quadruple bogey and a quintuple bogey. He salvaged the round on the other 16 holes with three birdies and one bogey, signing for a 79, eight over par. He sits in a tie for 123rd among 126 players.
The trouble began on the par-4 first hole, where he made a double-par 8. His tee shot drifted right, forcing him to play a provisional ball. He found his original ball in the rough but needed three swings to escape it. He reached the green in six and two-putted for a quadruple bogey.
Oh steadied himself and was moving along smoothly until the par-4 12th, where he lost five shots for a quintuple bogey. His tee shot went into the penalty area on the left, leaving him on the green in four. That alone was manageable. But from barely five meters away, Oh took five putts to hole out — four on, five putts. The damage might have lingered, but he gave up only one more stroke over the remaining six holes to close out a grueling day.