Korea’s Noh fires “amazing” 60 for 3-shot lead at AT&T Byron Nelson

McKinney, Texas, US, May 12: Korea’s S.Y.Noh, who won once on the PGA TOUR back in 2014, had an “amazing” day as he charged to a three-shot first round lead over Australia’s Adam Scott and Marty Zecheng Dou of China at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Noh shot a career low 11-under 60 on Thursday.

The 31-year-old Noh, whose lone win was the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2014,  needed only 21 putts at TPC Craig Ranch as he sank an eagle and nine birdies to tie the tournament 18-hole record and season’s low round.

He even overcame a  cracked driver as he bids to become  the fourth Korean winner at the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Playing on his adopted home course, Dou, who is Dallas resident, birdied five of his last seven holes to also post his personal low round and was Tied second alongside Adam Scott with a round of 8-under 63.

It was also a good day for Korea’s four-time TOUR winner Si Woo Kim, who snared seven birdies on way to a 65 while former AT&T Byron Nelson champions Sung Kang and Sangmoon Bae, rookie S.H. Kim and Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama opened with 66s. Two-time defending champion K.H. Lee carded a 70 while playing alongside World and FedExCup No. 2, Scottie Scheffler who delighted his hometown fans with a 64.

Noh, who turned pro in 2007, has not won since his 2014 win on PGA TOUR. In 2017 he took time off golf to do ‘mandatory military service’ in Korea and returned to action in 2019. He has won on the PGA TOUR, DP World Tour, Korn Ferry and the Asian Tours.

“You know, just everything was going amazing,” said a beaming Noh. “Like not perfect, it’s going just amazing today. Off the tee, missed two drivers because of the crack of the driver’s head. Except the two shots off the tee through the green, everything was going perfectly. I’m really happy for my career low,” said Noh.

A playing partner who keeps you level 🤝

James Hahn helped S.Y. Noh play free during his opening-round 60 and early lead @ATTByronNelson. pic.twitter.com/Pd7KqeWKRh

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2023

Needing an eagle on the par-5 18th hole, Noh resisted the temptation to attack the hole where the green is guarded by a creek. He thought about pulling out his 3-wood but opted to layup instead which yielded his final birdie of the day. “It’s like borderline. I’m just trying to make birdie, just forget about the eagle an

Wow watch this…https://t.co/aiXhs76HJd

— V Krishnaswamy (@Swinging_Swamy) May 12, 2023

Things to Know

• S.Y. Noh ties the AT&T Byron Nelson 18-hole scoring record with a personal-best 11-under 60
• Noh ties Patrick Cantlay (Shriners Children’s Open/R3) for low round of the season
• World No. 2 and Dallas resident Scottie Scheffler sits T4 following a 7-under 64
• Seeking to join Tom Watson as the only players to win the AT&T Byron Nelson three straight times, defending champion K.H. Lee opens with a 1-under 70
• Records nine birdies, one eagle (No. 9) and eight pars en route to an 11-under 60, tying the AT&T Byron Nelson 18-hole scoring record (Sam Snead/1957/R2, Arron Oberholser/2006/R2, Keegan Bradley/2013/R1, Sebastian Munoz/2022/R1, S.Y. Noh/2023/R1)
• Shares low round of the season with Patrick Cantlay, who shot 60 in round three of the Shriners Children’s Open
• Making his 143^rd start since winning his lone PGA TOUR title at the 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
• Players from Korea have won the AT&T Byron Nelson four out of the last nine times, including three straight (Sangmoon Bae/2013, Sung Kang/2019, K.H. Lee/2021 and 2022)
• Adam Scott (T2/-8) cards a 63, his best opening-round score on the PGA TOUR since carrying a first-round 62 to a third-place finish at the 2014 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard; is his best round on TOUR since a second-round 63 at the 2021 CJ CUP @ SUMMIT (T5)
• Dallas resident Zecheng Dou (T2/-8), who plays out of TPC Craig Ranch, birdies five of his last seven holes to post his career-low round on the PGA TOUR (63); seeking first top-10 finish in 45^th TOUR start (best finish: T17/2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship)
• World and FedExCup No. 2 Scottie Scheffler (T4/-7) eagles the par-5 18^th hole to post a 64 in his fifth start at the AT&T Byron Nelson, where he made his PGA TOUR debut in 2014 as a 17-year-old amateur (T22); opens 6-under in his first six holes (birdie-par-birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle), marking his lowest score to par in his opening six holes of a round on TOUR
• Making his first start since the 2023 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, 2018 AT&T Byron Nelson winner Aaron Wise (T46/-3) posts an opening-round 68
• K.H. Lee (T89/-1) opens with a 70 in bid to become the sixth player in the last 50 years to win a PGA TOUR event three straight times; the others: Johnny Miller, Tom Watson (1978-80 AT&T Byron Nelson), Tiger Woods, Stuart Appleby and Steve Stricker