Northwestern University Athletics
Eric Chun Has Wildly Successful Open Championship Debut
7/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
July 15, 2010
Open Championship Home Page and Results
Coach Bailey's Golfweek Caddie Blog Recap
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- Playing in by far the nastiest weather conditions of Thursday's opening round at The Open Championship at St. Andrews, Northwestern rising junior Eric Chun (Ansung City, South Korea/International Christian School) shot an exceptional score of 1-under 71 to put himself 59th in the field.
Chun's score puts him ahead of names such as Phil Mickleson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Zach Johnson and Angel Cabrera on the leaderboard and ranks him second among the seven amateurs in the Championship. He is three shots behind fellow South Korean amateur Jin Jeong, who fired a 4-under 68 during a much calmer morning at the Old Course.
Chun is tied at 1-under with the likes of reigning U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia, Tom Lehman, Ian Poulter, Tim Clark, Kenny Perry and Steve Stricker. Chun and Stricker are the most recent golfers to win the Big Ten individual title as freshmen (Stricker in 1986, Chun in 2009).
Led by first-round leader Rory McIlroy's blistering and record-tying 9-under 63, competitors with morning tee-times had virtually no wind and only a spot of rain to contend with. By the time Chun hit the course at 2:42 p.m. local time (8:42 a.m. CT), a stiff wind of 20-25 mph had blown up and dark clouds were threatening off the coast.
In terms of golf tradition and history, there currently is no more awe-inspiring way to begin a first-career Major Championship than the opening hole on the Old Course at St. Andrews after celebrated official starter Ivor Robson -- performing his duties for the 36th time -- announces your name. This is the experience Chun had, and he promptly birdied the 376-yard par 4 with a difficult pin position just 12 paces off Swilcan Burn.
Playing with 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson and five-time European Tour winner Martin Kaymer, Chun gave that shot back on the second when he missed the fairway with his drive before two-putting for bogey. In an eventful handful of holes at the start, Chun made birdie at No. 3 to get back into the red on his day.
After saving par following an errant drive on No. 4, Chun notched his third birdie of the day on the par-5 fifth, taking advantage of the front pin position on the massive 92-yard deep green. Chun then made par on the final four holes on the front side, lipping out a short four-foot birdie attempt on No. 9 to conclude a 2-under 34 on the outbound nine.
The 2009 Big Ten champion's back nine began on the 10th with a lengthy birdie putt, which he left just short before tapping in for his par. On the par-3 11th, Chun ended up far right and past the flag before putting back up the hill and leaving another short par effort, which he drilled.
Chun made his seventh-straight par on the short 348-yard par 4 12th, at which point the skies over St. Andrews opened up. The rain did not bother the Big Ten-weather veteran, who clinically found the fairway and the green before two-putting his way to par on the 465-yard 13th hole.
Just as quickly as it came, the rain stopped during a widely ranging weather day. Contrary to the up-and-down of the conditions, Chun's game kept churning out pars. He hit 10-straight with a four on the 455-yard 15th, but broke that streak when he took a five on No. 16 -- his first bogey since the second.
Chun's drive on the infamous Road Hole found the fescue left of the fairway. He followed the advice of his caddie, Northwestern associate head men's golf coach Steve Bailey, and simply chased his second up the edge of the fairway to just shy of the green and away from the trouble presented by the Road Hole bunker. Chun then pitched it in nice and tight to save par on one of the most difficult par 4s in Major Championship golf.
Walking to the 18th tee, the wind and rain continued to ebb and fade. Chun ripped his tee shot on the wide open home hole to shy of the Valley of Sin in front of the green, then pitched to eight feet past the stick. His birdie effort fell away from the hole, and he tapped in to complete his first-career round in a Major under par.
Playing 11 groups in front of Chun, fellow Northwestern graduate Luke Donald fired a 1-over 73 to sit in 97th place after Thursday's opening round. Donald, who won the Madrid Masters on the European Tour earlier this season, played a steady round, carding 15 pars and balancing a bogey at No. 8 with a birdie on the 618-yard par-5 14th. He found the infamous Road Hole bunker on No. 17, however, doing well to escape and make no worse than bogey for his 73.
Chun tees off at 9:31 a.m. local time (3:31 a.m. CT) Friday for the second round of the Championship. He is the second active Wildcat in the last five years to play in one of golf's four Major Championships. In 2006, then senior Dillon Dougherty competed in the Masters and the U.S. Open after finishing as the runner-up at the 2005 U.S. Amateur Championship.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! Get the latest news, schedule updates, video and interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!
