31 years old Korean Dong-Kyu Jang made fabulous 6 straight birdie finish to close his Round 1 with 64, 7 under and became solo leader for the day.

He started out from 10th and made 3 great bounce backs. On 12th, where he suffered going left and right in the trees but made 5-meter birdie putt on 13th. On 17th, he made another bogey by hitting his shot to left but made a chip in bunker shot at 18th to grab an eagle. After the turn, he made bogey on 1st, but erased it with a birdie on 2nd.

Then from the 4th hole, he has made a magnificent birdie charge, and closed his last 6 holes with straight birdies.
"I forgot about the 2-meter birdie on 4th, so I thought it was 5 in a row, but it was 6."

6 straight birdies tie the record for most consecutive birdies at Phoenix CC which Chris Stroud accomplished in 2014.

Dong-Kyu Jang started golf at the practice range that his father used to go. The teaching pro at the practice range saw him and taught him. In his Junior High School days, he was in South Africa to learn golf and study English abroad. After returning back to Korea, he turned Pro. He has been playing on Japan Tour since 2011, but has been away for 2 years from 2016 due to his country's compulsory military service

He came back to Japan Tour last season but couldn't make satisfying results. He finished at 4 th on this tournament last year to get out of the slump he had. So, this Dunlop Phoenix suites him.
"This course is said to give advantages to long hitters, but the fairways are very narrow. I may not be a long hitter, but my 1W goes really straight so I think I am doing well here."

His Japanese has really improved after the military service.
"During my 2 years at service, I took my Japanese textbook and studies on off duty night hours."

He has made his first win at the 2014 Mizuno Open, but "if I add my 2 years in service, I haven't won for 4 years. So, I really want to win. I want to make this chance into a victory."