Han the surprise leader at Aussie PGA

December 11| South Korean Han Min-kyu was the surprise first round leader at the Australian PGA Championship on Thursday, shooting a blistering 9-under-par 62 to take a four-shot lead over Australian Ryan Haller.

Teeing off at 6:25 in the morning, Han made full use of the mild conditions at the revamped Hyatt Regency resort course, firing 11 birdies against two bogeys—on holes 1 and 18.

2nd placed Haller (66) was followed by five other Aussies at 67: Stuart Appleby, Matthew Griffin, Scott Strange, Andrew Dodt and Henry Epstein.

Newly crowned Australian Open Champion Adam Scott was in a group of players at 68, while defending champion Geoff Ogilvy and Robert Allenby each shot 70. American drawcard and noticeably lighter John Daly had a 71.

Han started with birdies on his first 4 holes. He is one of 15 South Koreans in the tournament, which is now part of the new One Asia regional tour.

“I played like Tiger Woods today,” Han said of his incredible performance. “I felt almost like I was in heaven.”

Han, 26, spent 5 years in Florida till the age of 21 in order to develop his game. He was 0 for 16 in tournaments on the Korean tour last year.

He missed the cut last week at the Australian Open, which was his first appearance in an Australian tournament.