March 10, 2010
International Final Qualifying -- Asia Results
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Northwestern sophomore Eric Chun (Ansung City, South Korea/International Christian School) fired a 5-under 67 on the first day of International Final Qualifying (IFQ) - Asia Wednesday to enter the final round in a third-place tie at the Saujana Golf and Country Club. The top four individuals in the 72-player field earn a berth in the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews in July.
Starting from the back nine, Chun, who grew up playing golf in Malaysia, produced seven birdies in his first bid to qualify for The Open.
"I had a lot of good breaks. I shot good distances to the hole so it was good for me to take advantage of those," said Chun, who turned 20 on Monday. "I can't compare myself with the professionals after one round. They do this every day. I'm just going out there tomorrow to play the golf course. I'm not trying to outplay the other guys. If I stick to the game plan, I should be fine."
 Eric Chun (left) was featured on the Open Championship Web site ahead of this week's International Final Qualifying event in Malaysia.  |
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Chun was on fire in his first nine holes, making birdies on Nos. 11, 13, 14 and 15. He shot a 4-under 32 on the back before a pair of birdies and a bogey on the front side left him at 1-under 35 and 5-under 67 for the round.
Chun and fellow South Korean Chang Won Han are the lone amateurs in the field after earning their spots at the inaugural Asian Amateur Championship last November. Chun was runner-up in that event while Han, who sits tied for 22nd at 1-over 73 at IFQ -- Asia, was the champion.
Chun begins Thursday's final round of the 36-hole qualifying tournament at 9:15 a.m. local time in Malaysia, which is 7:15 p.m. today, Wednesday, in Evanston. He is paired with Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant and China's A Shun Wu, who both are tied for fifth place at 3-under 69, two strokes behind Chun.
For more information on The Open Championship, IFQ -- Asia and results, visit Opengolf.com. Northwestern's team is off for winter quarter finals before resuming the 2009-10 season March 25-26 at the Barona Collegiate Cup in San Diego, Calif.