Norman confident of Kim comeback despite top and shank
Greg Norman insists Anthony Kim's talent will eventually "come flooding through" despite watching him top the ball and hit a horrific shank in his first competitive round for nearly 12 years at LIV Golf Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
The former US Ryder Cup star (38), who kept a low profile for 12 years before signing for LIV Golf as a wildcard, opened with a six-over 76 to prop up the 54-man field at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City, around 100 km north of Jeddah.
He's 14 shots behind leaders Adrian Meronk and Jon Rahm. who opened with 62s, but Norman believes the three-time PGA Tour winner will eventually find his feet.s
Kim started at the par-five 18th and topped his second shot en route to an opening bogey six alongside Cam Smith and Graeme McDowell, who shot respective rounds of 69 and 72.
He dropped another shot at the fifth, where he shanked his approach, then followed a birdie at the sixth with another five bogeys.
"It'll take him a few rounds to get into any kind of comfort zone," said Norman, who blamed a hovering drone for Kim's topped shot at his first hole. "To expect him to go out here and shoot 66 or something really low, I think that's just unreasonable."
Kim said: "Obviously disappointed with the score, but I played much better than the score. It was unfortunate that I made so many unforced errors from the middle of the fairway."
He added: "I've got a lot to build on, and I'm looking forward to the next two days."
On the DP World Tour's SDC Championship at St Francis Links in Eastern Cape, Tom McKibbin dropped four shots in his last two holes to slip six shots behind England's Dan Brown.
He was five-under for the day after an eagle three at the sixth (his 15th) before he bogeyed the seventh, double-bogeyed the eighth and dropped another shot at the ninth.
A two-under 70 left him tied for ninth on five-under as Brown shot 67 to lead by three shots from South Africans Robin Williams and Shaun Norris on 11-under.
Meanwhile, Lurgan's Annabel Wilson will face Wales' Darcey Harry in the quarter-finals of the Copa de SM La Reina at Guadalhorce in Spain.
She beat the Dane Cecile Leth-Nissen 3&2 and the Swiss Natalie Armbruester 4&3 as Kanturk's Mairead Martin beat France's Carla de Troia at the 19th before being forced to retire against Sweden's Kajsalott Svarvar in the last 16. Scores https://rfegolf.livegolfscoring.es/torneos/clasificacion/241
In the weather-delayed Copa del Rey, which has become a 72-hole stroke play event following the loss of time earlier this week, five of the seven Irish made the cut for the top 64 and ties.
Sean Keeling is the best of the bunch on two-under. Scores - https://rfegolf.livegolfscoring.es/torneos/clasificacion/240
