Koreans struggle at US Open as 2 golfers secure Olympic tickets

Korean golfer Kim Si-woo tees off before the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York, May 16, 2023. Newsis

Korean golfers have finished well out of contention at the U.S. Open in North Carolina, with two of them

virtually grabbing spots in the Olympic tournament starting in August.

Of six Koreans in action at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina, only three made

the cut. Tom Kim was the top performer for the trio, as he finished tied for 26th at six-over 286.

Kim started the final round in ninth place but fell out of the top 10 after shooting a six-over 76 with three

birdies, seven bogeys and one double bogey Sunday (local time).

Kim Si-woo ended in a tie for 32nd at seven-over 287, while Kim Seong-hyeon tied for 56th at 12-over 292.

Kim Seong-hyeon had the best opening round among Koreans with a 69 on Thursday but followed that

with rounds of 72 and 83. He bounced back with a 68 on Sunday, tied with four others for the second-best

score of the final 카지노사이트모음 round.

Im Sung-jae, Kang Sung-hoon and An Byeong-hun all missed the cut.

The U.S. Open was also the last opportunity for golfers to secure places in the men's tournament at the

upcoming Paris Olympics. The 60-man field for the Olympics will be set based on the world rankings after

Sunday's final round.

A country can send up to four golfers if they are all ranked in the top 15, and a maximum of two players if

they are positioned outside the top 15.

After the top 15, the remaining spots will go to the highest-ranked players from countries that don't

already have at least two golfers qualified. Each nation can have a maximum of two players in this

scenario.

For Korea, Tom Kim and An will fly the flag in Paris.

Kim, whose given Korean name is Joo-hyung, entered the U.S. Open as the highest-ranked Korean at No.

22, followed by An at No. 23. Im was next at No. 30.

After the U.S. Open, Kim dropped to 26th and An fell to 27th, while remaining as the top two Korean

players. Im is now No. 34.

Kim, who turns 22 on Friday, is set to make his Olympic debut on Aug. 1. An competed at the 2016 Rio de

Janeiro Olympics and finished tied for 11th then.

An is the son of two Olympic table tennis medalists: Ahn Jae-hyung of Korea and Jiao Zhimin of China.

KOREANS STRUGGLE AT US OPEN AS 2 GOLFERS SECURE OLYMPIC TICKETS