Taichi Kho, who played in the first round of 2023 Open Championship on Thursday, was in a greenside bunker at Royal Liverpool when he completed the par five in two shots.
He needed eight shots to put the ball into the cup (plus a penalty shot). He was able to get the ball in the cup with only eight shots.
The 18th hole at Royal Liverpool has been a difficult one to close in recent major championships. It could be a big swing on Sunday.
Kho was not spared either, receiving a 10
Taichi Kho’s shot on the 18th at Royal Liverpool during his first round. He recorded a 10. (Photo: The Open).
Justin Thomas, two-time champion of majors, had a 9 in the hole. It’s no surprise that these two players are at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Even though there are chances for a birdie, it is not a good par 5.
Open Championship in 2023: Leaderboard and tee time information
In the second to last group, Jorge Campillo carded a 8. Phil Mickelson added an ocho. Seungsu Han, who was in the final group of the tournament, had a score of 2 over par for the day when he stepped on the 18th hole and made a triple bogey.
Why is it so hard?
The right side of fairway is lined with internal out of bounds, starting near the tee-box and continuing to the green. Out of bounds is only a few yards from the fairway. This means that anything to the right could get into trouble.
— NUCLR Golf (@NUCLRGOLF 20 July 2023
There are five bunkers on the green: three to the left, and two to the right. The ones on the left were disastrous, and may be a preview for what is to come in the final stretch.
The average score for the first round was 5.12. While 28 percent of players made birdie or better, 22 percent made bogey or worse. How many times has someone in the sand gotten it up and down? 25 percent.
Kho and Thomas suffered major losses on the 18th hole, which was a difficult one. Christo Lamprecht, the co-leader, and Emiliano Grillo also birdied this hole. Tommy Fleetwood was the other leader and he carded par.
Golfers who make good shots will be rewarded. However, golfers who are off by a little bit may have a bad taste in their mouth for the rest of the game.
