Date: May 09, 2013
Author: Omnisport

Pilkadaris shares lead in Seoul

Australia&aposs Terry Pilkadaris and South Korea&aposs Cho Min-gyu share the first-round lead at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in Seoul. The leading pair both shot eight-under 64s at the Namseoul Country Club on Thursday, with the Australian shooting five birdies on his back nine. They both birdied their final hole of the day – the par-five ninth – to be three clear of the chasing pack. Pilkadaris, 39, said the opening round was a turn in fortunes for him at the OneAsia Tour event. “I only made the cut for the first time a couple of years ago… I haven&apost had a good run here,” he said. “But the greens are also bit slower than they normally are; I had a couple of downhill putts that I managed to two-putt where in previous years you&aposd be lucky to do that.” Included in the group of five tied for third is Australian Matthew Griffin, who shot a five-under 67 – finishing his day with four straight birdies to catapult himself up the leaderboard. Griffin is level with four locals – Lee Kyoung-hoon, Kim Do-hoon, Kim Hyung-sung and Park Jun-won. Rounding out the top 10 are another 10 South Koreans tied for eighth on four under – Kim Gi-whan, Park Il-hwan and Kim Tae-woo the trio of that group to go through their first 18 holes bogey free. Joining them on four under is Australian Peter Wilson, whose highlight was an eagle on the par-five 16th. Others to card 68s were Song Young-han, Park Ju-hyuk, Park Eun-shin, Kim Seng Yong, Park Jae-kyung, Kang Kyung-nam and Kim Woo-chan. There are three Australians tied for 19th – Jake Higginbottom, David McKenzie and Anthony Brown – alongside New Zealand&aposs Gareth Paddison, South Koreans Lee Tae-hee and Jang Ik-jae, and China&aposs Wang Ming-hao.