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K.J. Choi shoots 67 to stay in Top 10 at Zurich Classic, Noh struggles

April 23, 2015
(AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

(AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

By Brian Han

South Korea’s K.J. Choi came up with a vintage performance Thursday after shooting a bogey-free 5-under 67 to tie for ninth in the first round of the Zurich Classic.

His game looked very consistent throughout the day, although his driver gave him trouble on occasion.

On the 399-yard opening hole, Choi pulled a drive left into a fairway bunker, but recovered with a green-in-regulation and a par.

He finished the front nine with a 1-under 35 then switched gears on the back where he nabbed three birdies in the first four holes.

Choi is one of the shorter hitters on the PGA Tour, but that didn’t stop him from taking advantage of the par-5s where he shot 3-under for the day.

Defending Zurich Classic champion Noh Seung-yul admitted to being in the middle of restructuring his swing with a new coach, which might be the reason why he couldn’t make any significant moves up the leaderboard.

Noh had one bogey on the front, but got back to even par after making a birdie on the 10th hole. His ball found the water on the last hole after an errant approach shot, which led to another bogey.

He finished with a 1-over 73.

Last year, Noh played three bogey-free rounds before winning by two strokes.

Boo Weekley and Brandon de Jonge lead the tournament after both shooting rounds of 8-under 64.