Whee Kim leads by 1 in Vegas after a 65

Whee Kim of South Korea shot a bogey-free 6-under-par 65 to take a one-stroke lead over five players before darkness halted play in the first round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.

The 25-year-old Kim, whose only pro victory came in the Shinhan Donghae Open on the Korean Tour, birdied two of the last three holes.

“I had really good putting all day,” said Kim, whose best result on the PGA Tour was a tie for second in the St. Jude Classic is June and was coming off a tie fourth in the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges in South Korea. “Didn’t miss any putts. I think I didn’t do any stupid mistakes all day. I think that was key. The greens were a little slower than what I expected like the last two years. But it was still fast and firm.

“It’s a nice start. I feel more comfortable. I played really good and my fans were really happy. … Yeah, it’s nice. I think I’m in a really good position on Thursday right here in Las Vegas. I feel really comfortable. Just happy.”

J.J. Spaun of Newport Beach and San Diego State birdied three of the last four holes to shoot 66 and is tied for second with John Huh of L.A. and Cal State Northridge, Ryan Blaum, Alex Cjeka of Germany and Jimmy Stanger, who was 5-under after 15 holes when darkness came.

Kevin Chappell of Fresno and UCLA posted a 67 and is tied for third with Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis, Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos and UCLA, Daniel Summerhays, Peter Malnati, Billy Horschel, Jason Kokrak, Kelly Kraft and Jason Stegmeier.

For completed results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html.

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