Kim Si-woo enjoys birdie streak to get into title hunt at The American Express

Kim Si-woo plays his shot from the fifth tee during the pro-am prior to the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on Jan. 10 in Honolulu, Hawaii. [GETTY IMAGES]

Korean star Kim Si-woo fired a career best six consecutive birdies en route to an impressive eight-under 64 on Thursday as he launched his quest for a second victory in four years at The American Express.

The 28-year-old Kim’s nine birdies at La Quinta, California also matched his PGA Tour career best total birdies during a round as he ended the first day in tied fifth place, two back of co-leaders Zach Johnson and Alex Noren who fired 62s on the same course.

The 156-man field will compete over three golf courses before the low-65 and ties make the cut for the final round, to be played at PGA West Stadium Course.

Japanese rookie Ryo Hisatsune, who earned his PGA Tour card from the DP World Tour Top-10 last year, and Korea’s Lee Kyoung-hoon carded 65s, also at La Quinta, while Im Sung-jae of Korea and Chinese Taipei’s Kevin Yu shot 66s at PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course. China’s Carl Yuan, who finished tied fourth at last week’s Sony Open in Hawaii, began with a 68 at the Nicklaus Tournament Course.

Kim, a four-time PGA Tour winner, got into his hot streak from the fourth hole with six straight birdies, after starting the day on the 10th hole. He had made three consecutive birdies from Holes 11-13 before dropping his lone bogey on the 14th.

“I’m quite happy with my score. Hit the ball good and didn’t get into too much trouble. It was nice to get the six straight birdies to end my round which is something I’ve not done before on Tour. After the birdie on four, I just kept hitting good shots and made some putts. Nice way to end the round,” said a delighted Kim, who defeated Patrick Cantlay by a stroke in 2021 for The American Express title and finished T11 and T22 in the past two editions.

A return to a familiar hunting ground, where he also earned his Tour card from Qualifying School back in 2012, always brings back positive vibes for the Korean star. He is hoping to translate that into a fifth career win this week against a stellar field which includes World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who opened with a 67. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, both top-10 players in the world, opened with 64s as well to tie Kim.

“It’s always nice to come back to this tournament. You always have good feelings when you’ve won a tournament and I always seem to play well here. Just keep doing the same for the rest of the week,” said Kim, whose previous best birdie streak was five during the third round of the 2020 Memorial Tournament.

Making his 13th consecutive start in The American Express, and 14th overall, American veteran Zach Johnson followed a birdie on No. 1 at La Quinta with a pair of pars before reeling off six consecutive birdies on Nos. 4-9, matching his career-best birdie streak (most recently: 2018 Travelers Championship). The 47-year-old, a 12-time PGA Tour winner, said: “I was excited for the day. All systems go. It's just one day, so I got to keep the ship straight and narrow and hopefully keep it going.”

Rico Hoey (63/Nicklaus Tournament Course) and Christiaan Bezuidenhout (63/La Quinta) share third place in the $8.4 million tournament, which is the third leg of the 2024 Season.

BY CHUAH CHOO CHIANG [kjdsports@joongang.co.kr]