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Lee leads Koreans at WGC in star-studded field

November 5, 2015

Richard T. Lee leads Korean golfers after the first round of the WGC HSBC Championship in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

By Brian Han

No, it’s not Korean New Zealander Danny Lee who’s leading the Korean golfers at the World Golf Championship in Shanghai after the first round.

It’s Canada’s Richard T. Lee.

The 25-year-old put together a 4-under 68 in his opening round Thursday to put himself in a tie for 16th with some big names including Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler to name a few.

His game was a little bit erratic throughout the day with a front nine that included three consecutive bogeys and a back nine that had three consecutive birdies.

He tacked on a few more birdies, but it wasn’t enough to catch up to the leader South African Branden Grace who shot a 9-under. His strong performance only provided a one stroke lead though and part of that came from how easy the course played with little wind and soft conditions.

“Today was phenomenal out there,” Grace told reporters after the round. “Barely had a breath of wind out there and the golf course is playing probably as easy as it could be playing. There’s some low scores out there. The guys are playing some great golf, and when you play on greens like this, it helps. You just have to get the ball on the right line and it goes in. It was fun.”

Korean American Kevin Na didn’t get a chance to join in on that fun though.

He couldn’t quite nab enough birdies and trailed off towards the end of his round. He bogeyed the par-5 18th, one of the easier holes on the course.

The 32-year-old ended up with an even-par 72. He’s coming off of three consecutive strong performances in which he finished second, second and third, respectively.

An Byeong-hun who is coming off of the best year in his young career shot a 3-under 69 to tie for 31st.

Danny Lee shot a 1-under 71 in a round that included two bogeys and three birdies to tie for 54th.