Go Anthony Kim

Anthony Kim birdied his 18th to move within three shots of the leader Marcus Fraser on a shortened first day of the Ballantine’s Championship.

Tournament organisers were dealt a blow early on Thursday as thick fog descended on the course and caused a five-hour delay.

Worksop’s Mark Foster was leading the way after six holes when play was halted, having made an eagle and two birdies, and he carried on the momentum when play resumed with further birdies at eight, nine, 10 and 13. Bogeys on 15 and 17 saw him slip back to six-under, but he is still well placed after 18 holes.

For all Foster’s good work, he was overshadowed by Australian playing partner Fraser who made seven birdies in a round of 65.

Kim is one of the bigger names in the field and he looks sure to be in contention for the title after carding a four-birdie 68.

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Ryder Cup star Anthony Kim is eyeing up his first win outside of the United States this week as he tees it up at the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea.

The world No. 10 has been in great form of late, recently securing his third career title with a win at the Shell Houston Open and earning a third-place finish at the Masters with a terrific closing-round 65.

Kim finished 38th in The Race to Dubai last year but, despite spending the majority of his time playing on the PGA Tour, is adamant he wants to qualify for a place at the European Tour’s season-ending Dubai World Championship.

“I signed up for The European Tour again this year, and it wasn’t a tough decision,” Kim told reporters at Jeju Island, the venue for this week’s event.

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Anthony Kim has decided not to take part in the season-ending Dubai World Championship despite the huge prize money on offer.

The American, one of only three US-based players likely to qualify for the event later this month after, has opted to rest in order to begin preparations for next season.

The Ryder Cup player has already played the 11 tournaments required to qualify for the event, and jumped up to 39th in the Race to Dubai standings after reaching the final of last week’s World Match Play, where he lost to Ross Fisher, assuring of a place in the $7.5m tournament.

Kim admitted he had played too many tournaments in 2009 and will make some changes next year, although he still plans on renewing his European Tour membership.

“I’m not going,” he said. “I need the week off. My parents want to see their boy.

“Next year, I just want to be prepared for our season. The PGA Tour is my home tour, and it’s where I need to play well. I’ve made it my priority to play well in the States.

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